Delivered Bribes In Election Plot
A federal jury convicted former City Council Member Daniel Halloran on Tuesday, July 29, for his role in a conspiracy to influence the Republican mayoral nomination race in 2009 and accepting bribes for political favors.
Halloran, 42, who served one term in the City Council representing the Bayside-based 19th Council District and made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 2012, was found guilty of conspiracy, wire fraud and TravelAct bribery following a trial at U.S. District Court in White Plains. He faces a maximum of 50 years behind bars when he is sentenced this December, according to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara.
The former lawmaker along with State Sen. Malcolm Smith and several Republican Party operatives were indicted in April 2013 for their roles in the conspiracy, in which Smith, a Democrat who represents the 14th Senatorial District based in Jamaica, attempted to bribe GOP officials to allow him to run for mayor as a Republican.
Smith is awaiting re-trial on the charges after a judge declared a mistrial in his case earlier this year.
“With today’s verdict of guilty reached by an impartial and independent jury, the cleanup of corruption in New York continues in courtrooms,” Bharara said following Halloran’s conviction on Tuesday. “Dan Halloran was the lone defendant in the trial that just ended in his conviction, but he is unfortunately not alone in a crowded field of New York officials who are willing to sell out their offices for self-enrichment.”
Federal law enforcement sources said Halloran participated in a payto play scheme to secure “Wilson-Pakula certificates” from Republican Party leaders in the five boroughs on Smith’s behalf. Reportedly, Smith had aspirations to run for mayor last year, but with his party’s field packed with candidates, he instead sought a spot on the wideopen Republican ballot.
The Wilson-Pakula certificates are required under law in order for a registered member of one party to run under the banner of another.
Between November 2012 and April of last year, according to federal prosecutors, Halloran worked with Smith, a cooperating witness and an undercover FBI agent posing as a real estate developer to bribe Republican Party leaders into signing the certificates on Smith’s behalf. In doing so, the City Council member accepted a $15,500 finder’s fee payment and was anticipating additional payments of up to $75,000.
Had the scheme been successful and Smith elected mayor, prosecutors stated, Halloran expected to be appointed as a deputy mayor.
At about the same time, federal law enforcement agents stated, Halloran took a $15,000 payment from the undercover agent and cooperating witness in order to secure up to $80,000 in City Council discretionary funds for a consulting firm.
As previously reported, during a September 2012 recorded meeting at a Manhattan restaurant, Halloran offered to help the witness secure “whatever he needed,” explaining that “you can’t do anything without the f—ing money” in New York City.
“That’s politics, that’s politics, it’s all about how much,” Halloran stated in the recording. “Not about whether or will, it’s all about how much, and that’s our politicians in New York, they’re all like that, all like that. And they’ll get like that because of the drive that the money does for everything else.”
Federal prosecutors said Halloran wrote two letters on City Council stationery in support of providing funds for the consulting company. Reportedly, Halloran along with the undercover agent and cooperating witness agreed the firm would receive funds but provide none of its services, which were purportedly to advance mental health.
The case derailed Halloran’s political career, which began in earnest with his election to the 19th Council District in 2009. Three years later, he ran for the all-Queens Sixth Congressional District seat, ultimately losing to then- Assemblywoman Grace Meng.
Halloran had been considered a lock for re-election before he was arrested and indicted last April. Following the charges, he declined to run for re-election; voters later elected Paul Vallone to take his place.
Bharara thanked the FBI for its investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas B. Bloom and Justin Anderson of the U.S. Attorney’s Offices White Plains Division and Public Corruption Unit prosecuted the case.
