Former City Councilman Dan Halloran this week was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Former Queens City Councilman Dan Halloran on Wednesday was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for his role in arranging the bribery of city GOP bosses to allow state Sen. Malcolm Smith, a Democrat, to run as a Republican candidate for mayor in 2013; and accepting a $15,000 cash bribe in exchange for designating up to $80,000 in city funds to a non-profit organization that would allow the money to be embezzled through a no-show job. Halloran, 42, was convicted last August.
“This was a very serious crime,” U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas said in the sentencing. “When a public official gets into cars and takes wads of cash or promises public money in return for cash to the politician, it is so troubling. It causes us all to be cynical about our leaders. It causes us to doubt that our leaders are looking after us. And it’s a very serious matter.”
In addition to the prison term, Halloran, who represented the 19th Council District, including College Point, Whitestone, Malba, Bayside, Douglaston, Little Neck, parts of Flushing, and Auburndale, was also sentenced to two years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit $45,300.
“When elected officials, like Daniel Halloran, not only corrupt themselves but, unseen, corrupt the body politic from within they undermine the public’s confidence in a representative form of government,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said on Wednesday.
Smith and co-conspirator Vince Tabone, the former vice chairman of the Queens GOP, were convicted in January for their roles in the bribery conspiracy. They will be sentenced on July 1.
By Michael V. Cusenza
