It’s six years in the slammer for Tony.
On Thursday, February 4, a federal judge sentenced disgraced former Queens Assemblymember Anthony Seminerio to six years in prison for defrauding the people of New York of his honest services while he was a member of the State Legislature.
During the sentencing, Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald described how Seminerio “accepted bribes and engaged in extortion as part of a decade-long scheme to use his office – both literally and figuratively – for personal gain and at the expense of the public trust.”
Seminerio, 74, pleaded guilty in June of 2009 to charges that he took nearly $1 million from hospitals, a school and other entities for actions he undertook as a member of the State Assembly. He allegedly used Marc Consultants – the consulting firm he ran for nearly eight years – to collect payments for actions he took as a state legislator.
Buchwald found that Seminerio did not perform “any bona fide consulting services that fall outside the scope of activities an elected official could readily be expected to perform on behalf of his or her constituents.”
In addition to the six-year jail sentence, Buchwald also ordered Seminerio to pay $1 million in forfeiture.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Preet Bharara, praised the investigators and the work of the court.
“When an elected official such as Seminerio violates the public trust, it threatens the public’s confidence in our democracy,” Bharara said in a statement. “Seminerio was elected to serve the people, not himself. Judge Buchwald’s powerful words and sentence reaffirm the commitment to the fair and impartial exercise of governmental power. We will continue to work tirelessly to prosecute those who betray for private gain the people they are elected to represent.”
Read more about the decision in next week’s edition of The Courier.
