Disgraced former City Councilman Larry Seabrook was slapped with a five-year jail sentence this morning after he was convicted of misdirecting hundreds of thousands of dollars for community projects to his girlfriend and family.
The Bronx Democrat, who will have to turn himself in by March 8, avoided a fine but will have to pay $619,715 restitution.
He was convicted of nine of 12 counts of conspiracy and fraud in a trial last summer in Manhattan federal court. The conviction came a year after another jury deadlocked on fraud charges.
“Councilman Larry Seabrook sacrificed the public trust on the altar of greed. He was a flagrant and serial abuser of City Council discretionary funds in a far too familiar New York tale of corruption," US attorney Preet Bharara said today in a statement.
Natan Dvir
Larry Seabrook last summer
"Today’s sentence finally vindicates the interests of the constituents whose trust he so casually violated by his fraud. We remain committed to making those who are corrupted by power pay the price, and the public can expect more arrests of politicians who have not learned this lesson.”
Prosecutors had asked for 7 to 9 years in prison. Before he was arrested, Seabrook also had served as an assemblyman and state senator.
Seabrook diverted money from 2002 through 2009 after directing more than $2 million of funds to nonprofit organizations that he controlled but weren’t doing legitimate work.
With Post wire services
Ex-councilman Seabrook sentenced to 5 years in jail for misdirecting funds
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Ex-councilman Seabrook sentenced to 5 years in jail for misdirecting funds
