Indictments Are Expanded Against City Council Aides

Federal prosecutors are expanding their case against two former City Council aides indicted for embezzling money from a city-funded organization, alleging that they stole even more money from nonprofits under their control.

In a superseding indictment released yesterday, federal prosecutors charged that Asquith Reid and Joycinth Anderson, both former aides to Council Member Kendall Stewart of Brooklyn, funneled tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money to personal bank accounts through two charities that they ran.

The aides had been indicted in April on charges that they stole $145,000 in funds earmarked by the City Council to go to a charity, the Donna Reid Memorial Education Fund.

Mr. Reid and Ms. Anderson allegedly operated two organizations, Community Opportunity and Resource Development and Central Brooklyn Community Services, for which they installed a board president who did not attend board meetings and had no knowledge of the charity operations.

According to the indictment, the Community Opportunity and Resource Development group listed Mr. Reid's home address on funding forms and the two organizations "provided minimal, if any, services to the community."

That group is said to have received about $14,500 in City Council discretionary funding through the city's Department of Youth and Community Development in 2004, while Central Brooklyn Community Services obtained $35,000 in 2006 from the same agency. Mr. Reid allegedly embezzled $10,000 from Community Opportunity and Resource Development in 2004 and $12,000 from Central Brooklyn Community Services in 2006, while Ms. Anderson received $26,000 in checks from Central Brooklyn Community Services in 2005 and 2006.

The two are charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering conspiracy. Mr. Reid is also charged with two counts of witness tampering, as prosecutors allege that he tried to convince witnesses to lie to a grand jury about their involvement in the Donna Reid Fund in January of this year.

Lawyers for Mr. Reid and Ms. Anderson did not return phone messages seeking comment.