Legal professional Common Letitia James stated Diaz violated his oath of workplace.
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Politically-wired Bronx County Clerk Luis Diaz was convicted Wednesday — after a virtually two-year prison probe — for partaking in a mob-tied corruption rip-off, state Legal professional Common Letitia James introduced.
Diaz, 69, a former state assemblyman, pleaded responsible and was sentenced for submitting false data in assist of a prison defendant, Thomas Poli, an alleged affiliate of the Genovese crime household, the lawyer basic stated.
Diaz, who had deep ties to the Bronx Democratic Occasion institution, knowingly defrauded the court docket by claiming that Poli fulfilled a neighborhood service requirement as a part of a prison cost — in alternate for cash.
James — whose devastating investigative report launched final 12 months discovered then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed or mistreated a number of girls and pressured his resignation — stated she's going to struggle corruption in any respect ranges of presidency.
“After we take our oath of workplace as public servants, we make a promise to our constituents to guide with integrity and uphold the legal guidelines of the good state of New York,” James stated.
“Mr. Diaz violated that pledge, together with the sanctity of the identical county court docket system he represents. Let this be a warning: we've zero tolerance for public servants who abuse public belief, and we are going to root out corruption in any and each kind in New York.”
As The Submit first reported, Diaz was suspended from his clerk’s publish in October 2020 amid the AG’s prison probe.
The Submit later realized that Diaz had been moonlighting as a paid guide for Aguila Inc., a homeless service supplier, for six years.
Diaz, who made $210,900 because the county clerk or the court docket’s chief report keeper, was paid between $20,000 and $60,000 a 12 months by Aguila from 2013 to 2019, data present.
Thomas Pol was a contractor for Aguila.
So as to fulfill the circumstances of a plea in a 2019 prison cost, Poli requested that Diaz draft and submit a letter to the court docket stating that Poli carried out volunteer work for Aguila.
Because it seems, Poli didn't carry out any neighborhood service for the group and as an alternative was paid by Aguila for merchandising, storage and furnishings contracts.
In April 2022, Poli was charged with racketeering conspiracy for his position in unlawful playing and associated extortions in reference to the Genovese crime household following a joint investigation by the AG’s Workplace, the Manhattan U.S Legal professional’s Workplace and Brooklyn District Legal professional’s Workplace.
Poli was sentenced in 2019 for a previous, unrelated matter.
Diaz pleaded responsible earlier than Bronx County Supreme Court docket Decide Poust Lopez Wednesday to 1 rely of providing a false Instrument for submitting within the First Diploma, a category E felony.
He's barred from ever holding public workplace or working for nonprofit organizations registered in New York state.
Diaz additionally should full 100 hours of neighborhood service.
As a part of his plea, Diaz acquired a three-year conditional discharge, assuming he doesn’t get rearrested.
The appointment of county clerk is taken into account one of many largest patronage plumbs in politics, made by judges in live performance with Democratic Occasion leaders.
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