Seminerio indicted in $1M scheme

Less than two months after the FBI arrested Queens Assemblymember Anthony Seminerio, a Manhattan grand jury returned an indictment charging him with receiving approximately $1 million from hospitals and related entities for actions he undertook as a member of the State Legislature.
The grand jury indicted the 30-year Queens Assemblymember on Wednesday, December 10, on charges that carry a maximum sentence of 20 years, and the indictment casts an even greater cloud of uncertainty over his future as a lawmaker.
Seminerio’s attorney Ira S. Cooper has reportedly been discussing a plea deal with the U.S. Attorney’s office to avoid jail time. However, when The Courier contacted Cooper’s office, the person who answered the phone said that the attorney would not make any comments on the indictment or a possible plea deal.
According to the indictment, from April 2000 through September 2008, Seminerio allegedly defrauded the public of his honest services as a member of the Assembly by setting up a consulting firm - Marc Consultants - and soliciting and receiving payments from entities having business before the state of New York.
Some of the clients that Seminerio allegedly took money from were persons from hospitals and related entities, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office has not named any of the hospitals involved in the case. Seminerio allegedly took the funds he received from institutions in return for political favors and deposited them in the Marc Consultants bank account in order to conceal his stream of corruption payments from public scrutiny, according to the indictment.
Although there has been little talk about Seminerio resigning his post, one Democrat that has emerged as a possible replacement for him is south Queens attorney and community activist Albert Baldeo.
Baldeo ran against State Senator Serphin Maltese for his Senate seat in 2006 and garnered 49 percent of the vote, but Baldeo stepped aside before the Democratic primary in 2008 to allow Democratic City Councilmember Joseph Addabbo to run against Maltese. Addabbo defeated Maltese this past November, and some speculation has been that the Queens Democrat party looked favorably on Baldeo for stepping aside for the good of the party.
“I am ready. I hope that does not happen. I hope that Seminerio is found to be not guilty,” Baldeo said. “If, however, he does not beat the charges and the [Democrat Party] calls, I will answer the call at a moment’s notice.”
Baldeo stressed that he is not actively campaigning for the position while Seminerio remains in office, but he said that he has received support from district leaders on both sides of the political aisle about his ability to serve the area.
“This is where my candidacy was and my base is,” Baldeo said, referring to Seminerio’s district. “I have spent a lot of my time in the district working for the people.”
Michael Reich, Executive Secretary for the Queens Democratic Party said that the indictment was a bad day for the constituents of Seminerio’s district as well as his family. However, he said that the decision of whether Seminerio would take office in January would be his, but if he were to resign, the Queens Democratic Party would be ready.
“We stand ready to do whatever is necessary as a political organization if a vacancy occurs there,” Reich said.
If Seminerio resigned, a special election would take place to choose his successor. Multiple calls to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s office for comment on the indictment and whether or not Seminerio would be seated in January were not returned by press time.