Crime Watch

Convicted majority leader, son seek community service, not prison time

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Dean Skelos, the former State Senate majority leader who was convicted on multiple corruption charges along with his son Adam earlier this year, is seeking community service rather than prison time, saying that his lifetime of good works should be weighed when he is sentenced next month.

Skelos, 68, and his son, 33, are due to be sentenced April 13. The two were convicted of bribery, conspiracy and extortion in one of the most high-profile political scandals in recent years.

According to court papers, the Skeloses asked Judge Kimba Wood for a “multi-year period of community service.” They asked that the judge balance Dean Skelos’s service to the state against what they called “aberrational conduct.” Adam Skelos said he should be granted special consideration because he has two sons with autism who require his care, and his marriage has fallen apart.

The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District declined comment.

Because of the conviction, Skelos automatically — and immediately — lost his seat in the Senate.

Skelos spent 32 years in the Senate, representing Rockville Centre and the surrounding towns, and was sworn into his 16th term in January. But within minutes of his conviction, he was removed from the State Senate list, and his own web page stated, “This Senator is no longer serving in the New York State Senate.”

Skelos and his son, both Rockville Centre residents, were charged with monetizing Skelos’s position in the Senate for Adam’s benefit. Prosecutors said that Skelos procured a number of jobs for his son during the years he was majority leader, and used his influence in Albany as leverage to keep money flowing to Adam.

They were both charged with three counts of extortion under color of official right, two counts of soliciting bribes in connection with a federal program and one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud.

Prosecutors said that shortly after he was named majority leader, Skelos secured a job for Adam at Physicians’ Reciprocal Insurers in Roslyn. However, Adam rarely showed up for work, and was accused of being disruptive when he did. In testimony, his supervisor said that Adam threatened him when he tried to get the younger Skelos to actually do his job.

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