By Sadef Ali Kully
Former City Councilman Daniel Halloran will surrender to a federal prison in Kentucky Monday after a federal judge denied his court request to stay out of prison while he appeals his conviction. on corruption charge.
The disgraced northeast Queens lawmaker is facing a 10-year sentence after a lengthy trial in federal court in White Plains. He was found guilty in July 2014.
Halloran had originally asked to stay out of prison while appealing his bribery and fraud conviction for a scheme to bribe Queens GOP Vice Chairman Vincent Tabone and other Republicans to allow former southeast Queens state Sen. Malcolm Smith, a Democrat, to run as a Republican candidate in the 2013 mayoral elections. Halloran was also found guilty of accepting a $15,000 cash bribe in exchange for embezzling $80,000 in public funds for a ghost project, which was part of the game plan, according to court records.
Smith and Tabone were also convicted and each is facing a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. They both were scheduled to be sentenced in July.
After Halloran’s bail pending appeal was denied by the U.S. Court of Appeals, his attorney, Jonathan Edelstein, had requested an extension on his last day as a civilian May 29. In the letter to Federal Judge Kenneth Karas, Edelstein wrote that June 1 would not be enough time for his client to “put his affairs in order” and requested an extension until June 8, according to court records.
Halloran’s affairs were listed as surrendering his lease and DMV license plates, packing up his personal belongings, securing a new home for his dog, filing papers with the state bar association and booking airfare to Kentucky, the letter said.
Karas granted the extension but warned Halloran’s attorney “that there will be no more extensions,” according to court records.
On June 8, Halloran will turn himself in to a federal prison in Kentucky. The Federal Bureau of Prisons has already assigned him his register number, 68384-054, which will be used as his prison identification, according to its website. Halloran, who identifies himself as a pagan, will have his religious needs accommodated in the federal prison.
“It is all collaborated through the chaplain services,” said Edmond Ross, spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Halloran, a former NYPD police officer and attorney, will be appealing his conviction from prison, according to court records.
