By Alex Robinson
Disgraced former state Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin could soon be a free man.
Federal Judge Richard Sullivan reduced the Flushing Democrat’s sentence last week to six years from 10 after prosecutors sought leniency for his assistance in bringing corruption and bribery charges against a number of public figures, including late Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio of Ozone Park and David Rosen, the former chief executive of the nonprofit MediSys Health Network, the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan said.
In a 2013 letter to Sullivan, prosecutors explained that Seminerio’s conviction relied heavily on McLaughlin’s cooperation because he had vouched for an undercover FBI agent who was posing as a developer and helped ensure Seminerio trusted him.
Seminerio, who died in prison while serving a six-year sentence, set up meetings between the FBI agent and several state legislators in exchange for cash and even brought him out onto the floor of the Assembly as his personal guest, the letter said.
Had McLaughlin not set the stage for their meeting, “it would have been difficult, if not impossible, for the government to have obtained this evidence against Seminerio,” the letter said.
Prosecutors contended McLaughlin’s “efforts to make amends for the harm he caused have continued unabated.”
Prosecutors also gathered evidence with McLaughlin’s help that led to the conviction of former Brooklyn state Sen. Carl Kruger on corruption charges.
In a recorded conversation, Rosen referred to Kruger and Seminerio as “my two guys who know what to say” in Albany, when discussing his nonprofit’s interests, the letter said.
Kruger pleaded guilty to corruption charges and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Rosen was sentenced to three years for bribing state legislators in exchange for lobbying on his nonprofit’s behalf.
McLaughlin, the former head of the city’s municipal labor council, was once one of Queens’ most powerful politicians and frequently mentioned as a possible mayoral candidate.
He was first elected to represent District 25 in the Assembly in 1992 and served seven terms until he was arrested in 2006.
He was indicted on 43 counts of racketeering, which included embezzling millions of dollars from labor groups, his own re-election committee and the Electchester Little League. He pleaded guilty in 2009 to one count of racketeering and one count of making false statements.
McLaughlin has served nearly five years of his sentence at Otisville Federal Correction Institute and could be eligible for release as early as this year.
Reach reporter Alex Robinson by e-mail at arobinson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
