8 The Queens Courier • may 9, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com Liu campaign workers face 40 years BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA & MELISSA CHAN editorial@queenscourier.com Two former campaign workers of City Comptroller John Liu were found guilty of illegally funneling funds to his 2013 mayoral campaign. Xing Wu “Oliver” Pan, 47, of New Jersey, was convicted of conspiring and attempting to commit fraud on May 2 in Manhattan federal court, according to the U.S District Attorney. He was Liu’s campaign fundraiser and contribution bundler. Campaign treasurer Jia “Jenny” Hou, 26, of Flushing, was found guilty of attempting to commit fraud, obstructing justice and making false statements. She was acquitted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to court records, Hou failed to produce documents requested in subpoenas, lied about producing complete documents and failed to disclose the identities of several campaign contributors. A jury announced the verdict late last week during the first full day of deliberations and after a three-week trial. According to restrictions laid out by the city’s Campaign Finance Board, campaign donors are only allowed to contribute up to $4,950 to citywide candidates. Prosecutors said Hou and Pan evaded the limit by using straw donors, or individuals who illegally make political contributions in their own names with money they have received from others. Hou was caught offering to reimburse an individual for donations well above the allowed amount during a series of instant messages on July 14. Prosecutors said she also instructed campaign volunteers on how to imitate the handwriting of campaign donors on the contribution forms in order to make it appear official. “As the jury found, Jia Hou and Oliver Pan stuck a knife into the heart of New York City’s campaign finance law by violating the prohibition against illegal campaign contributions, all to corruptly advantage the campaign of a candidate for city-wide office,” said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. Liu said he was “deeply saddened by the verdict.” “I continue to believe in Jenny being a good person and exceptional individual,” he said in a statement. “I look forward to this year’s mayoral election and will continue to ask the voters for their support.” Liu, who officially announced his Democratic mayoral candidacy on March 17, has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with the case. He has since returned nearly $50,000 in contributions, a campaign spokesperson said. Pan and Hou are scheduled to be sentenced on September 20. They both face up to 40 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 each. HUNTLEY HELPED FEDS TAKE DOWN BROOKLYN SENATOR BY TERENCE M. CULLEN tcullen@queenscourier.com Ex-State Senator Shirley Huntley was miked up, according to federal documents. Earlier this year, Huntley pleaded guilty to covering up funds funneled through a nonprofit organization. The newly released federal documents show that last summer— before her arrest—she was asked by federal authorities to wear a wire during meetings with several state legislators. Brooklyn State Senator John Sampson was among those lawmakers. Huntley is now the second elected official known to have cooperated with federal agents to help nab other alleged wrongdoers. Sampson was arrested on Monday, May 6 and charged with two counts of embezzlement, five counts of obstruction of justice and two counts of making false statements to the FBI. The arrest made Sampson the fourth state legislator to be arrested within about a month. Queens State Senator Malcolm Smith was arrested on April 2 and Bronx Assemblymembers Nelson Castro and Eric Stevenson were arrested later in the same week. Castro admitted to acting as a cooperating witness and promptly resigned from the Assembly. State Senator Joseph Addabbo said corruption in Albany was nothing new, but legislation needs to be in place to keep it from growing. “It’s out there,” he said. “If you want to find somebody willing to line your pockets with money for a favor, it’s out there.” Addabbo said the arrest of four state legislators in a month it should spark some form of legislation before session ends in June. Campaign finance reform, something Addabbo has pushed for in the past, is one option, as the senator said many legislators use their election war chests for other purposes. WIRE TAP RECORDED SMITH, PERALTA, WILLS, AMONG OTHERS BY TERENCE M. CULLEN tcullen@queenscourier.com Former State Senator Shirley Huntley secretly recorded three Queens elected officials, among others, for federal authorities last summer, according to court documents. State Senators Jose Peralta and Malcolm Smith and Councilmember Ruben Wills were named in a memorandum unsealed by a federal judge on Wednesday, May 8. The filing also named Brooklyn State Senators Eric Adams, John Sampson and Velmanette Montgomery; Bronx State Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson; Melvin Lowe, a former political consultant and associate of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman; and Curtis Taylor, a former press consultant for Smith. None are necessarily accused of wrong-doing. A spokesperson for Schneiderman said the attorney general had never used Lowe’s services. The mention of Schneiderman’s name in the sentencing statement, the spokesperson said, was “an attempt at retaliation” after the attorney general indicted Huntley last summer. Federal authorities reportedly claim three of the recorded politicians were helpful in building cases. Smith was arrested on April 2 after federal prosecutors State Senator Malcolm Smith State Senator Jose Peralta Councilmember Ruben Wills said he tried to bribe Republican county leaders to let him switch parties and run on the GOP ticket for mayor. Sampson was arrested on Monday, May 6 and accused of embezzling money from the sale of foreclosed homes. According to the court filing, federal officials approached Huntley last summer—before she herself was charged for allegedly covering up money funneled through a nonprofit she helped establish. Schneiderman brought those charges. In February, she pleaded guilty to trying to help cover up the $87,000 embezzlement. She will be sentenced in federal court on Thursday, May 9. According to the memorandum, Huntley told government officials she knew of corruption that involved elected officials. She reportedly spoke with them over a course of six months. Huntley, who lost a primary last September, invited the leaders into her home and recorded conversations on behalf of the FBI, the document said. “The defense is aware that the government is currently investigating public officials based in part upon the information provided by Ms. Huntley and her recorded conversations,” Huntley’s lawyer, Sally Butler, said in the memorandum. “Ms. Huntley has not revealed her proffers or recordings publicly so as to maximize the government’s current efforts.” A spokesperson for Smith said the embattled legislator could not comment on anything related to his arrest last month or new allegations that he met with Huntley. Wills said in a statement he was not subject of an investigation based on involvings with Huntley . An inside source told The Queens Courier more names are expected to be released. Two of the officials named in the filing are seeking higher office this year. Peralta is one of six candidates running for Borough President. Adams was vying to be the first black Brooklyn Borough president. “I am confident that the authorities will find, if they have not already done so, that I have engaged in no wrongdoing whatsoever,” Peralta said in a statement. All elected officials in the probe were Democrats, shaking an already unsettled party in Albany. A Senate Democratic Conference spokesperson issued a statement on behalf of the caucus following the news. “This is an extremely trying time in Albany,” he said. “If any charges are brought, the conference will take appropriate action.” — With additional reporting by Maggie Hayes and Melissa Chan
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