Huntley Funneled Cash Through Nonprofit
Former State Sen. Shirley Huntley faces a five-year term in a federal prison after admitting last Wednesday, Jan. 30, to charges that she used a non-profit group to embezzle thousands of dollars in state funds for her own personal use.
The 74-year-old former lawmaker pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn to a charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud before Judge Jack B. Weinstein. She faces a maximum of five years behind bars and a fine of $250,000 as well as additional restitution, according to U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta E. Lynch.
Through her plea, Huntley admitted to funneling $87,000 in state funds through a non-profit organization called Parents Information Network
(PIN) for her own personal use-and the benefit of family and associates-between October 2005 and October 2008.
The former senator-who lost her 10th Senate District seat in a Democratic primary last September to her eventual successor, State Sen. James Sanders-must now pay back the embezzled funds as well as an additional $1,000 for an unrelated bribery scheme related to cargo handling at John F. Kennedy International Air- port, Lynch stated.
“Huntley’s experience and influence were supposed to be used for the benefit of her constituents,” Lynch said. “Instead, Huntley used her knowledge of the system to steal funds intended to help some of her neediest constituents, lining her own pockets at the expense of parents in need and, ultimately, their children.”
“Because of the trust placed in them, elected officials should hold themselves to a higher ethical standard than the public at large,” added FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos. “The law set the bar lower, but still Huntley failed to clear it. In a sense, her victims are everyone whose confidence in government is undermined by such actions.”
As previously reported, the scheme involving Huntley was uncovered through an investigation by the Joint Task Force of Public Integrity operated by the Offices of State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Federal charges were eventually levied against Huntley based on the probe.
Investigators determined that Huntley submitted false documents to the state in requesting an allocation of funds to PIN to be purportedly used for charitable purposes.
Federal law enforcement sources said that Huntley had complete control over the charity’s finances wrote checks to herself and a family member totalling over $21,000 from PIN’s bank account. Reportedly, the former state senator also withdrew $34,000 from the charity through ATM withdrawals and even used $500 of its funds to pay a credit card bill.
The probe also revealed that Huntley wrote checks totalling $24,500 for “straw recipients” who claimed to be receiving funds from PIN. Ultimately, however, the straw recipients turned the money they received back over to Huntley for her own use.
Lynch thanked the State Attorney General’s office and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for their assistance in the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Spector, Paul Tuchmann and Alexander Solomon prosecuted the case.
