By Jonann Brady
The charges against Williams stemmed from his work at a vice president at Amerifirst Mortgage Corp. between March 1997 and Dec. 1999, before he was elected to the legislature. Based on an FBI investigation, Williams, 54, used inflated income documents to secure $2.2 million in home mortgage loans for 11 clients, including 10 federally-insured loans through the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program. Among the loans was a $180,500 HUD loan for a Baldwin property.
Under the terms of the plea, Williams, 54, will pay $51,000 in restitution and could face six to 12 months in prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 15.
Williams and his attorney, Frederick Brewington, declined to comment on the case last week.
A Democrat from Uniondale, Williams' resignation leaves the legislature in a 9-9 Democrat-Republican split. The First District covers heavily Democratic, minority areas including Uniondale, Roosevelt, and parts of Freeport, Hempstead, East Meadow and Baldwin.
The county has scheduled a special election on Sept. 10, which coincides with the Democratic primary for governor pitting New York State Comptroller H. Carl McCall against Andrew Cuomo.
Republicans have complained that scheduling the primary for Sept. 10 stacks the cards against them by allowing the Democrat to ride the tails of McCall, a prominent African-American politician.
"We plan to pick the best candidate we can and run an aggressive campaign," said Anthony Santino on behalf of the Republican Party. "The reality is it's a very Democratic district...[Holding the election Sept. 10] makes a difficult proposition even more difficult."
The county has maintained that holding the elections simultaneously is meant to save money.
With a second chance to capture the majority, Republicans are looking toward either Darlene Harris, who lost the First District seat to Williams in 1999, or Jorge Martinez, a Freeport insurance executive who lost the race against Williams last year, though Santino said a number of names are in the mix.
Democrats have indicated they will back Kevan Abrahams of Freeport, the majority's budget director, for the seat. While Williams' Democratic colleagues expressed sadness at his departure, they are focused on keeping their one-vote majority going into the budget hearings in October.
"Pat's a good guy and we were all saddened by what was going on in his personal life. He was an effective legislator for the district," said Joseph Scannell (D-Baldwin), who added that Abrahams is an excellent choice to fill Williams' shoes. "We're very excited about [Abrahams]. He's a brilliant guy. Nobody knows the numbers better than him. His knowledge of the inner workings of the budget is invaluable." Constituents in the First District say they are looking for a legislator who will go to bat for them.
"By and large, [Williams] as a legislator was always there for us," said Jacqueline Bell, president of the Baldwin Oaks Civic Association. "We want a legislator who will be responsive to our community."
