ALBANY — He gave himself a raise with phony expenses, and now Assemblyman William Scarborough is resigning and pleading guilty to federal corruption charges.
Scarborough admitted for the first time Tuesday that he bilked taxpayers out of at least $40,000 in travel reimbursements — saying he had financial troubles and was “angry” because legislators haven’t had a pay hike in 16 years.
But he acknowledged: “Many of my colleagues felt the same frustration with the salary situation as I did, but they did not act as I did.”
He specified how he ripped off the public.
“I did, in fact, claim to be in Albany at times when I was not there, or I would claim to have stayed longer than I actually did,” the Queens Democrat said. “As a result, I will be stepping down from the job that I love, and I will face whatever sanctions the court imposes at the proper time.”
He is scheduled to plead guilty as part of a deal with the Albany U.S. attorney to two felony federal corruption charges on May 7, a source told the Daily News.
Scarborough will cop to one count of improperly receiving money from a program that receives federal funds and one count of wire fraud connected to the transmitting of his ill-gotten gains, a source with knowledge of the situation said.
He faces up to 10 years in prison on one count and up to 20 years on the other, but it’s unclear if he will serve any time behind bars.
The plea deal does not call for specific sentence recommendations from prosecutors, the source said.
The federal indictment charged Scarborough with submitting 174 false vouchers for per diem reimbursements between January 2009 and December 2012.
After being charged in October, Scarborough, 68, vehemently denied wrongdoing. He was reelected a month later to the seat he first won in 1994.
In his statement Tuesday, he apologized for misleading those close to him and the public.
“It is not easy to admit that you have engaged in improper behavior and have fallen short of the standards that were expected of you in a responsible position,” he said.
Scarborough agreed to a plea deal after seeing the case against him, a source said.
“The federal investigation was quite remarkable in its breadth and depth and consequence,” the source with knowledge of the deal told The News.
“They took advantage of all the technology available and all the resources the feds have to really lock this down tight,” the source added. “It’s a dangerous world out there if you’re using a cell phone.”
U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian’s spokesman John Duncan confirmed a change of plea hearing set for May 7, but wouldn’t discuss the specific charges to which Scarborough will plead.
With the federal case against him wrapping up, Scarborough still must deal with a 23-count state indictment that charges he illegally used more than $38,000 in campaign funds for his own personal benefit. A source said he is expected to plead guilty in that case as well.
