A powerful New York prison syndicate boss currently in jail is about to walk free after serving less than half his sentence in a corruption case, after a judge decided this week that his sentence should be reduced. almost five years.
Norman Seabrook was originally sentenced to 58 months in prison after being found guilty of accepting bribes to invest $20 million in union pensions in a hedge fund. The union ended up losing $19 million.
However, federal judge Alvin K. Hellestein said Seabrook’s sentence was unfair because a co-defendant had his sentence reduced to just over a year on appeal.
“There is now an unfair disparity” between defendant sentences, Hellerstein wrote in an opinion Thursday. Hellerstein had originally sentenced both defendants.
Seabrook, 63, has purged about 21 months. He remains in jail because Hellerstein ordered that his sentence not be effective for 10 days in case prosecutors decide to file an appeal.
Prosecutors declined to comment on the matter on Saturday. A message was sent to Seabrook’s attorney.
As head of the New York City Correctional Officers’ Charitable Association for two decades, Seabrook gained political power and had great influence in the running of the city’s Rikers Island prison complex. He earned up to $300,000 annually.
According to the prosecution, Seabrook accepted a bribe of $60,000, delivered in a luxurious Ferragamo handbag, in exchange for getting the syndicate to put money into the hedge fund. Seabrook ruled out wrongdoing at the time, saying the union simply made a bad investment.
