QUEENS — Former Southeast Queens state Assemblyman William Scarborough, who federal prosecutors said submitted dozens of false travel expenses to net extra money, was sentenced Monday to 13 months in federal prison and two years of supervised release.
The former assemblyman, who was forced to step down in May after pleading guilty to federal corruption charges, was also ordered to pay $54,355 in restitution.
Scarborough, 69, whose district includes portions of Jamaica, St. Albans and Laurelton, submitted 174 false travel vouchers between January 2009 and December 2012, receiving $54,355 in reimbursements that he was not entitled to, according to the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York.
Assembly members can receive payments when they travel to Albany for legislative business, including an allowance for overnight stays as well as reimbursement for mileage.
Scarborough filed vouchers for days that he was not in Albany.
“It is a sad day when an elected official is sentenced to imprisonment, but it is a serious crime when such an official steals the state funds he is sworn to safeguard,” U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian said in a statement.
“Former Assemblyman Scarborough betrayed the people’s trust when he repeatedly lied about when he had been in Albany to line his pockets," Hartunian added.
In May, Scarborough also pleaded guilty in state court to grand larceny, admitting that he took about $40,000 from his Friends of Bill Scarborough campaign account and used it for personal expenses. In that case, he was sentenced Monday to one year in prison.
The two sentences will run concurrently, authorities said.
In a statement posted in April on his Facebook page, the former assemblyman, who held the office since 1995, apologized to his constituents.
He also complained that he did not get a raise in 16 years and that between 2009 and 2012, he faced “severe financial problems.”
According to published reports Scarborough was making $79,500 as an assemblyman.
Scarborough’s attorney did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
