A state legislator was caught on videotape demanding that a developer build her a $500,000 dream home in exchange for using her influence to steer a city-owned vacant lot into his hands, authorities said Monday. Assemblywoman Diane Gordon was released without bail after being arraigned on bribery, official misconduct and other charges, prosecutors said. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of 5 to 15 years behind bars. The Brooklyn Democrat "dreamed of living in a gated community, but not the one she bargained for when she abused her authority as a public official," Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said at a news conference.
| I'll be. They mentioned 'Democrat' in the first paragraph. Oh right, it's Newsday, not the NYT or WaPo. |
Gordon, 57, denied any wrongdoing. "She never profited one cent from this and she didn't do anything wrong," her attorney, Bernard Udell, said outside court.
Brooklyn prosecutors and DOI devised the sting in 2004 after receiving a tip about a possible scheme involving Gordon and a developer hoping to build on a $2 million lot in Brooklyn designated for low-income housing. "In return, she wanted him to build her dream house," Hearn said. |