A federal judge has green-lighted the government to seize $22,000 in state pension funds from disgraced ex-Assemblyman Eric Stevenson — money he's yet to pay taxpayers back following his bribery conviction.
The Bronx Democrat — who was convicted in January of helping four Bronx developers fast-track adult day-care-center projects by proposing legislation to block their competition — was ordered in May to immediately forfeit $22,000 he pocketed in bribes as part of the scheme when sentenced to three years behind bars.
Chief Manhattan federal Judge Loretta Preska in a ruling last week backed US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara's request to garnish Stevenson's pension and settle a $22,000 judgement that is seven months delinquent and "remains fully unpaid."
Although pols have historically been able to keep their pensions after being convicted of felonies, Bharara in 2013 began a campaign to go after the pensions of disgraced politicians who failed to forfeit their ill-gotten gains after they were convicted.
Ex-Councilman Miguel Martinez (D-Manhattan) in August became the first to buckle to the lawman. He agreed to forfeit $106,000 in pension benefits to pay off a forfeiture order related to his 2009 conviction on corruption charges.
Stevenson, who throughout his trial claimed he was struggling financially, is fighting to keep his pension. He filed legal papers Thursday saying he's appealing Preska's forfeiture order and has previously claimed federal courts don't have oversight over state pensions.
Other convicted pols in danger of having pensions garnished under Bharara's campaign include ex-Councilman Larry Seabrook (D-Bronx) and former state Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens).
Prosecutors said Stevenson made two down payments totaling $2,900 on a 2003 Jaguar within four days after he allegedly pocketed a $10,000 cash bribe on Sept. 7, 2012.
After one hearing, Stevenson rode off from Manhattan federal court in a shiny black Mercedes-Benz sedan — after telling a judge he didn't have enough money to defend himself against bribery charges.
To convict Stevenson, the feds used damning audio tapes and the word of Sigfredo Gonzalez, a former political operative with a long rap sheet, who agreed to wear a wire to avoid significant jail time.
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