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March 29, 2012
BREAKING: Annabi, Jereis convicted in Yonkers corruption trial
The Journal News
by Erik Shilling and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon
This just in!
Former Yonkers Councilwoman Sandy Annabi and her cousin, former Yonkers Republican chairman Zehy Jereis, have been convicted of all charges in their federal corruption trial that exposed a pattern of bribes and kickbacks to control Annabi’s votes on the city council.
Annabi, 41, and Jereis, 40, were found guilty of conspiracy, bribery and extortion charges in connection with $174,000 that Jereis spent on Annabi over several years.
The jury found that the money allowed Jereis to control Annabi’s vote on the Yonkers City Council, particularly in approving two multi-million development projects in the city - a housing development known as the Longfellow School project and the [Forest City Ratner] Ridge Hill Development.
Related coverage...
The Wall Street Journal, 2 Yonkers politicians convicted of corruption
A former Yonkers councilwoman and the one-time leader of the city's Republican Party were found guilty Thursday of corruption when jurors rejected a claim that it was a case of romance, not vote-buying.
..."The only love these two shared was a love of money," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Perry Carbone.
In addition to the corruption charges, both Annabi and Jereis were convicted of extortion and depriving Yonkers of honest services. Annabi was convicted of making false statements to banks and filing false tax returns, all related to the payments from Jereis.
Posted by eric at March 29, 2012 12:51 PM