Ex-Assemblyman Pleads Guilty to Racketeering
A seven-term Democratic state assemblyman who also is a former president of the nation's largest municipal labor council has pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge.
New York State Assembly
The speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, left, and a former assemblyman, Brian McLaughlin.
Brian McLaughlin admitted accepting tens of thousands of dollars in cash and personal services over a decade. He admitted using union money to pay personal expenses, including car payments and home improvements.
He pleaded guilty yesterday to racketeering and making false statements in U.S. District Court in Manhattan for crimes committed between 1995 and 2005.
As part of his plea, he agreed to be imprisoned between 8 and 10 years when he is sentenced on September 12.
The million-member labor council is an umbrella group of unions that has supported Mayor Bloomberg.
