After Scarborough Arrest, Schneiderman Says He Is Not Targeting Southeast Queens

After Assemblyman William Scarborough's arrest, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sought to dispel the notion today he is targeting southeast Queens pols.

Assemblyman William Scarborough (second from left) (Photo: Facebook)
Assemblyman William Scarborough (second from left). (Photo: Facebook)

After yet another lawmaker from southeast Queens faced criminal charges from his office, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman denied today he is taking particular aim at the area.

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Mr. Schneiderman, along with State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Northern District U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian, announced the indictment of Assemblyman William Scarborough this afternoon, making Mr. Scarborough the third southeast Queens pol to be arrested following an investigation from Mr. Schneiderman’s office. But Mr. Schneiderman, a Manhattanite, argued he treats all regions equally.

“We’ve brought dozens and dozens of cases and if you ask the people we’ve indicted in Niagara County or in St. Lawrence County or in Elmira or in any other part of the state, I don’t think they’ll tell you that we’re concentrating all our efforts on Queens,” Mr. Schneiderman, a Democrat, told the Observer at a press conference in his Manhattan office.

“We’ve pursued people, town clerks and town supervisors and their cronies all over the State of New York and we will continue to do so,” he added.

Former State Senator Shirley Huntley, a legislator in the predominately black southeast Queens area and a former colleague of Mr. Schneiderman’s in the senate, was arrested in 2012 shortly before her loss in a Democratic primary. She was later found guilty of embezzling from a nonprofit and went to prison, though Ms. Huntley claimed she was unfairly targeted.

Her former staffer, Queens Councilman Ruben Wills, was then arrested this year on fraud and grand larceny charges, pleading not guilty and hinting that race was a factor in his arrest. Mr. Schneiderman, who is up for re-election this year, brought the charges.

The optics of a white Manhattanite indicting black elected officials has set off some grumbling in southeast Queens political circles, even if Mr. Schneiderman has a perfect conviction record there. State Senator James Sanders, Ms. Huntley’s rival in that 2012 race and her successor, raised the possibility last year, with little direct evidence, that prosecutors were unfairly targeting black lawmakers.

Mr. Scarborough was hit this morning with a 23-count state indictment charging him with using more than $40,000 in campaign funds for personal expenses. An 11-count federal indictment accused Mr. Scarborough with improperly claiming per diem expenses in excess $40,000 for travel that didn’t take place. Mr. Scarborough turned himself in this morning and pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

If convicted on all charges, faces up to 37 years in prison.

After Scarborough Arrest, Schneiderman Says He Is Not Targeting Southeast Queens