Long Island politician pleads guilty to misusing campaign funds

[DoYouEverWonder]

March 10, 2006

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. -- Once considered one of Long Island's most powerful Republicans, Peter McGowan now faces time in prison after pleading guilty to four corruption charges and admitting he stole tens of thousands of dollars from his campaign and spent the money on vacations, massages and restaurant tabs in the Hamptons.

"He was stealing money from his campaign funds, and quite frankly using the money to sustain a lavish lifestyle," Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said Thursday. "It was almost like a year-long Mardi Gras party."

Earlier in the day, McGowan, 69, submitted his resignation as Islip town supervisor.

McGowan declined to speak with reporters, but his attorney said none of the money was stolen from taxpayers.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--supervisor-scanda0310mar10,0,2280122.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork

Another corrupt one bites the dust.

[ClayZ]

1. It is raining rats and hogs!

:kick:

[sutz12]

2. LOL

[Wilms]

3. Good for Lawng Island!

They've been leaning Dem lately. This can't hurt.

[Judi Lynn]

4. What a Republican!

Mar 9, 2006 11:09 am US/Eastern

Islip Town Supervisor McGowan Resigns

AP) RIVERHEAD Islip Town Supervisor Peter McGowan resigned this morning. Islip town spokesperson Patricia Kaloski said McGowan sent a one-sentence letter to Town Attorney Peter Cohalan tendering his resignation as of 9 a.m. today.

McGowan has been ordered by the Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota to appear at criminal court in Riverhead at 2 p.m. today.

Spota's office declined to give the reason for the order, and the 69-year-old McGowan declined to comment to Newsday.

Newsday reported in June that McGowan used his campaign fund to pay $64,000 in expenses, including restaurant tabs and a lease on a Mercedes Benz -- even though he was not running for office.
(snip)

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_068063431.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From a different Newsday article:

The crash of a town's titan
Islip supervisor resigns, faces prison after admitting kickbacks, misuse of campaign money

BY SANDRA PEDDIE
STAFF WRITER

March 10, 2006

In a stunning fall from power, Islip Supervisor Pete McGowan -- once one of the most formidable politicians on Long Island -- ended his political career yesterday as he stood before a hushed courtroom and admitted taking kickbacks and using campaign funds to pay for such personal expenses as a trip to Ireland, gas for his boat, and more than $5,000 for spa treatments and facials.

In a court appearance before acting State Supreme Court Justice Michael Mullen in Riverhead, McGowan, 69, went from being the dominant Republican in Suffolk County to a convicted felon facing prison. Hours before his appearance, McGowan resigned from the supervisor's job he had held since 1993. He stood erect and spoke in a strong, confident voice, as he pleaded guilty to accepting $52,000 in bribes in the form of kickbacks from a campaign vendor and using campaign funds to pay more than $30,000 of his personal credit card bills.

Three of the charges -- grand larceny, commercial bribe receiving and offering a false instrument for filing -- are felonies.

The fourth charge, tampering with a witness, is a misdemeanor. It stems from an incident in December in which McGowan tried to intimidate the unidentified campaign vendor, who was secretly cooperating with the Suffolk County district attorney. McGowan admitted in court that he went to the vendor's home and told him to lie to investigators. The vendor was not named in court papers.

For a man of McGowan's stature, who rose from humble beginnings as the son of an Irish immigrant mother, his guilty pleas were more than just a personal disgrace. They also served as another blow to a once-dominant Republican Party in Islip and Suffolk County. A reminder of McGowan's political power is the concourse that bears his name at Long Island MacArthur Airport.
(snip/...)

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lipete0310,0,2369818.story?coll=ny-linews-headlines



photos:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-pete-mcgowan-pg,0,667309.photogallery?coll=ny-homepage-bigpix2005&index=1

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. Never trust a man

who likes to get facials.

[JNelson6563]

7. I hope this is jumped on

They also served as another blow to a once-dominant Republican Party in Islip and Suffolk County.

Now is the time for the local Dem parties to get very busy. I hope they are out working aggressively to build their parties.

Julie

[left is right]

5. Whenever I read about such corruption, I am forced to ponder

Do they become republicans because they have corrupt and thieving hearts or do they obtain their corrupt and thieving hearts because they became republicans?

[Sydnie]

8. Aren't the people that contributed to his campaigns "taxpayers"?

Amazing!