NEW YORK CITY — Larry Seabrook, the Bronx City Councilman accused of funneling taxpayer funds to himself, his girlfriend and family members, was found guilty on Thursday of nine out of 12 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy charges by a federal jury in Manhattan.
Prosecutors said Seabrook funnelled hundreds of thousands of dollars in discretionary funds to friends and family, including more than $300,000 to nonprofit groups owned by his mistress at the time, Gloria Jones-Grant, a woman prosecutors called "incompetent," according to reports.
Prosecutors also accused Seabrook of mocking up a fake receipts for reimbursment, including one that upped the price of a bagel and a Snapple to $177, reports said.
"This conviction ends Larry Seabrook's power to channel the flow of taxpayer funds to himself, his family and his cronies," Rose Gill Hearn, commissioner for the City Department of Investigation, said in a statement. "His career as an elected official is over, and his life as a convicted felon begins."
Council Speaker Christine Quinn called the crimes "a galling abuse of the trust and confidence placed in public officials."
By Thursday afternoon, Seabrook’s official council homepage had already been wiped clean – his face and bio replaced with the word, “Vacant.”
This is the second time a jury was asked to rule on the charges brought against Seabrook, nicknamed "Cash and Carry" Larry. Late last year, a jury deadlocked after days of deliberations, causing a mistrial.
The retrial lasted about a month, and a jury deliberated more than three days before handing down the guilty verdict.
Seabrook, whose district was in the North Bronx, faces up to 20 years on each of the nine counts.
