By Joe Anuta
Southeast Queens was abuzz with speculation Saturday after court documents showed disgraced state Sen. Shirley Huntley wore a wire last summer and recorded meetings with three elected officials federal prosecutors deemed “useful.”
Huntley pleaded guilty in federal court earlier this year to embezzling more than $87,000 in taxpayer money through a charity, Parents Information Network, run by her daughter.
But Brooklyn federal court papers released by prosecutors Friday show that after Huntley was approached about her illegal activity by the feds, she wore a wire between June and August last year and recorded meetings with nine people in total: seven elected officials and two people who were either former political staffers or consultants, court records show.
None of the nine was identified in the documents.
Of the three elected officials whose recorded conversations may lead to criminal charges, one of them is another state senator.
While southeast Queens was running names through the rumor mill as soon as the news broke, according to a political insider, The New York Times reported the lawmaker, referred to only as Senator No. 1 in the court papers, is state Sen. John Sampson (D-Brooklyn).
Sampson has not been charged with a crime.
Prosecutors said documents set to be released later this week will reveal more information about the nature of the recordings, according to the court records.
The revelations were just the latest in a string of arrests and indictments sweeping City Hall and Albany. Just last month, state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Hollis) and City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) were indicted on bribery charges.
“The ‘for sale’ sign has been up for a long time,” said one political insider about certain lawmakers in southeast Queens.
