Former Spring Valley Mayor Noramie Jasmin Convicted Of Taking Bribes
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Noramie Jasmin, the former mayor of Spring Valley, was convicted Monday of accepting cash and other bribes from an FBI operative posing as a crooked developer.
U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon announced the verdict against Jasmin following a bench trial.
Prosecutors said Jasmin accepted $5,000 and a 50 percent stake in a $12 million development project while she was mayor of the Rockland County village. In exchange, she voted to sell public land to the fake developer and agreed to help line up straw bidders to make the deal look legitimate, they said.
The trial featured secretly recorded audio and video tapes of Jasmin negotiating the deal with undercover FBI agents during meetings at hotels and restaurants in New York and New Jersey.
``Like all citizens, the residents of Spring Valley deserved an honest mayor, not one who worked behind closed doors and behind their backs to sell public land and public office for private gain,'' U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement announcing the conviction.
An attorney for Jasmin, Benjamin Ostrer, said he was disappointed by the verdict and would appeal it.
Jasmin, 51, lost a re-election bid in 2013 while under indictment. Her sentencing was set for Aug. 7.
The same investigation resulted in the conviction last month of former Democratic state Sen. Malcolm Smith on charges he tried to bribe his way onto the Republican ballot in the 2013 New York City mayoral race.
(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)