Ex-NY Politician Pleads Guilty In Nonprofit Theft Case

A former New York State Senator pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges that she stole nearly $88,000 from a nonprofit program that uses tax-payer money.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Shirley Huntley (D-Queens) admitted to the court that she wrote $24,500 in checks from the bank account of an education nonprofit she helped start, The Parents Workshop. She said the money was used to buy gifts for her family members, as well as to pay her personal credit card bills.

The embezzling scheme started during her time in the State Senate, which began in 2007 and ended last year when she lost a re-election bid.

U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said in a statement that Huntley "used her knowledge of the system to steal funds intended to help some of her neediest constituents, lining her own pockets at the expense of parents, and ultimately their children."

She faces up to five years in prison, though no sentencing date was set as of this writing.

You can read the full story in The Wall Street Journal.