Former New York City Councilman Dan Halloran (Credit: NYC Council)Former New York City Councilman Dan Halloran (Credit: NYC Council)
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) —Former New York City Councilman Daniel Halloran was convicted of bribery charges Tuesday, in another public corruption conviction for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
Halloran was also convicted of accepting payoffs from who he thought were developers who wanted him to send city money their way. The men were actually FBI informants.
Halloran admitted taking money but said he earned it for work as a political operative.
Outside court, Halloran maintained his innocence and vowed to appeal.
“It is what it is,” he told WCBS 880’s Jim Smith. “I trust in the jury system, and I trust in our legal system. And that’s why I’m hopeful that at second-circuit level, the law will actually get applied in a way that it was intended.”
As CBS 2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer reported, when Halloran – who had represented the 19th District in Queens – had very little to say when he was charged with taking a bribe in the case.
“Other than not guilty, nothing to say,” Halloran said on April 23, 2013.
But the jury in his two-month corruption trial had a lot to say. They found him guilty of taking $20,000 to serve as a go-between with Republican leaders to get Smith the GOP mayoral nomination, as well as taking nearly $25,000 altogether in cash and illegal campaign contributions to steer $80,000 in City Council money to other bribery scheme players.
Halloran was on the witness stand for six days testifying in his own defense, but the jury deliberated less than two hours, 1010 WINS’ Juliet Papa reported.
“With today’s verdict of guilty reached by an impartial and independent jury, the cleanup of corruption in New York continues in courtrooms,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement. “Dan Halloran was the lone defendant in the trial that just ended in his conviction, but he is unfortunately not alone in a crowded field of New York officials who are willing to sell out their offices for self-enrichment.”
CBS 2’s Kramer asked Halloran in April 2013 about dating his intern – a woman he described as an unpaid volunteer.
“There is no issue here. This is a friend for many, many years whom I’ve known long before I was a councilman and whose family I’ve known,” he said at the time.
Halloran is set to be sentenced on Dec. 12. He faces up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $25,000.
