During a pre-sentencing hearing for disgraced Queens Assemblymember Anthony Seminerio, prosecutor William Harrington called witnesses and played recordings from taped conversations between Seminerio and fellow disgraced Assemblymember-turned-FBI-informant Brian McLaughlin trying to prove that Seminerio put his office up for bid.
Inside a crowded courtroom, on Tuesday, October 20, Seminerio sat expressionless for most of the morning testimony, which included three witnesses that the U.S. Attorney’s Office called in an attempt to lay the groundwork for the beginnings of Marc Consultants – the consulting firm Seminerio ran for nearly eight years in return for actions he took as a state legislator.
Seminerio pleaded guilty in June of 2009 to charges that he took nearly $1 million from hospitals and related entities for actions he undertook as a member of the State Assembly. Seminerio was facing up to 20 years in prison on the single fraud charge, and during the plea announcement the U.S. Attorney’s Office recommended a sentence of 11 to 14 years. The defense is looking to see that time reduced. Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald will decide the sentencing.
On Tuesday, the first witness, Arlene Pedone, testified that she paid Seminerio $25,000 one year and $50,000 the next year to be a consultant to Neighborhood Marketing Services (NMS), a company she formed in 1996. Pedone said that after the second year Seminerio thought she was making too much money and demanded a 50 percent stake in the company.
“He said, ‘if I can make money for other people, I can make money for myself,’’ Pedone said, recalling a conversation she had with Seminerio.
Steven J. Bory, who was testifying with a non-prosecution’s agreement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said that during an August 1997 lunch while he was the President of Neighborhood Health Providers – an organization made up of local hospitals – he had lunch with Jamaica Hospital CEO David Rosen and Seminerio where Seminerio talked about the idea for Marc Consultants.
Before the U.S. Attorney’s Office called any witnesses, Seminerio, who is still receiving a pension for the more than 30 years that he served as a State Assemblymember representing parts of western and southern Queens, Harrington played a recording where Seminerio was talking to McLaughlin about the payments
“I was doing favors for these sons-of-bitches there, you know, they were – they were making thousands. ‘Screw you, from now on, you know, I’m a consultant.’”
During another recorded conversation, Seminerio was heard saying how when he leaves the Assembly he will keep his percentage clients that are beholden to him, but he would lose about 60 percent of his business. Sentencing could come sometime later this week.
