Housing official under Giuliani sentenced to five years in prison

[brooklynite]

NEW YORK -- A judge sentenced a housing official under former Mayor Rudolph Giuilani to five years in prison on Thursday for embezzlement and possession of child pornography, rejecting his mental illness defense as an "excuse."

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Prosecutors alleged that while heading the HDC under Giuliani from 1998 to 2002, Harding used city credit cards on a plethora of personal expenses: vacations to Las Vegas, Vancouver and Hong Kong, a bachelor party for a friend, spa treatments and pricey meals. Investigators also discovered a child pornography movie and 10 child pornography images on his computer.

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In a statement after the sentencing, city Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said, "Russell Harding stole from the HDC to give himself perks usually afforded a celebrity and not to a government official who is supposed to help finance, construct and rehabilitate affordable housing for low-income citizens."

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--ex-giulianiaide0721jul21,0,6113396.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork