By Sarina Trangle
The state Court of Appeals upheld the 2011 conviction of Queens GOP consultant John Haggerty for a scheme to funnel nearly $1 million from former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s election campaign toward buying his childhood home in Forest Hills, the decision said.
The court ruled Monday against Haggerty, whose attorneys had argued his trial violated the best evidence rule by not seeking original written documents showing who controlled the Michael R. Bloomberg Revocable Trust that provided the money in question.
In the decision, the appeals court noted that prosecutors proved the mayor owned the $1.1 million stolen by Haggerty through their testimony.
A jury convicted Haggerty of grand larceny and money laundering after prosecutors argued in 2011 that he offered to organize and provide poll security for Bloomberg during his 2009 re-election bid.
Bloomberg transferred $1.1 million to the state Independence Party earmarked for Haggerty’s services.
Haggerty spent $32,000 on poll security and put the rest toward buying his brother’s share of a Forest Hills house the two had inherited.
Reach reporter Sarina Trangle at 718-260-4546 or by e-mail at strangle@cnglocal.com.
