A New York state judge was convicted Monday of obstructing a federal probe into one of the nation’s oldest and largest credit unions for over a half million New York City workers, including hospital employees, as well as state and federal workers.
At the end of a two-week trial, State Supreme Court Justice Sylvia Ash, 64, of Brooklyn, was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making a false statement to a federal agent. She was acquitted of another obstruction count.
The verdict was returned in Manhattan federal court after jurors heard evidence supporting charges that she took steps over multiple months to obstruct the investigation into financial misconduct at the Municipal Credit Union while she chaired the organization’s board of directors.
“Obstruction of justice, particularly by a sitting state court judge, is a serious crime, and Ash now faces punishment for her obstruction scheme,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a release.
The credit union is a non-profit financial institution headquartered in New York City that provided banking services to over a half million members. It did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Authorities said the obstruction occurred while Ash, a Brooklyn judge, was on the credit union’s board of directors from May 2008 to August 2016, when she resigned. She had served as the board’s chair from May 2015 until her resignation.
Prosecutors said Ash received tens of thousands of dollars in reimbursements and other benefits from the credit union from 2012 through 2016. The reimbursements included payments for airfare, hotels and entertainment for her and a guest to attend conferences domestically and abroad, along with annual birthday parties at a minor league baseball stadium and payment for phone, cable bills and electronic devices, authorities said.
Sentencing was set for April 20.
(AP)
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5 Responses
I agree with Attorney General, Letitia James. New Yorkers won’t feel safe until we cook up some discrepancies in former President Trump’s personal tax returns dating back to 1978. How can anyone in New York State sleep comfortably at night knowing that those dangerous tax returns are lurking out there?!
To Not getting involved: I have said this before and I will say it again: You should consider changing your screen name to “Don’t get it”. This woman was convicted of stealing. You should be glad she was caught and will (probably) be punished. Trump, or anyone else, who files false tax returns is doing the same thing.
Never mind Trump, they better start looking at what the Clintons & the Bidens have been doing for decades. When are some of you gonna get off the Democratic Plantation?
Benji69:
Yes, makes lots of sense.
As long as the Clintons and Bidens aren’t prosecuted, Trump should never be prosecuted for any crime whatsoever.
I’ll take that further, following your logic: Let’s overturn the convictions of all drug dealers and all thieves.
After all, the “big guys” like big pharma and executives of the big banks and big politicians never wind up going to jail, so why should anyone else?
Or was it just Trump who should be able to use that argument?
Trump was the US president for 4 years. Why did he not investigate the Clintons or Biden in those 4 years? (i) He is lazy and stupid and could not get the Justice Department to do an investigation; (ii) the Justice Department investigated and found nothing; (iii) the Clintons and Biden are so good at covering their tracks that any investigation would yield nothing. I cannot answer this question, but answer “i” seems most likely, though I do not rule out answers “ii” or “iii”.