Brooklyn federal judge dismisses some charges against state senator

November 5, 2014 By Charisma L. Troiano, Esq. Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Judge Dora Irizarry. Photo by Mario Belluomo

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A Brooklyn federal judge has dismissed some charges against indicted New York state Sen. John Sampson. Judge Dora Irizarry found that a number of the charges against Sampson were untimely and passed the statute of limitations.

Sampson was indicted earlier this year on counts of embezzlement, obstruction of justice and making false statements to the FBI.

As charged in the indictment, prior to serving in the state Senate, Sampson was a practicing attorney with much of his legal work focusing on the sale of foreclosed properties. Beginning in the late 1990s, Sampson served as a court-appointed referee for foreclosure proceedings conducted by the Kings County Supreme Court. As referee, Sampson controlled escrow accounts holding proceeds of foreclosure sales of Brooklyn properties. Between 1998 and 2008, it is alleged that Sampson embezzled approximately $440,000 in surplus funds from the foreclosure sales of four Brooklyn properties. The prior owners of the Brooklyn properties and other parties with a lawful interest had a right to receive the funds embezzled by Sampson.

It has been reported that Sampson indicated that he had illegally diverted the stolen funds to pay expenses arising from his unsuccessful run as Kings County’s district attorney in 2005.

New York places a five-year statute of limitations on embezzlement charges. With the last alleged theft occurring in 2002, the 2013 indictment against Sampson, Irizarry ruled, was time barred.

The ruling was originally made orally from the bench last week with a final decision to be memorialized in writing. Irizarry’s decision was handed down right before the 2014 midterm election. Sampson was up for re-election, but the results were not known as of press time.

The government also alleges that after an associate of Sampson’s was arrested in connection with the alleged embezzlement scheme, Sampson engaged in a multifaceted scheme to obstruct justice, preventing the associate from cooperating with law enforcement authorities and disclosing Sampson’s criminal conduct. Evidence of Sampson’s obstructive conduct includes intercepted phone calls from Sampson’s cellular telephone.

Irizarry’s Friday ruling did not disturb the remaining indictment, and Sampson still faces charges for obstruction, witness tampering and false statements.

Since 1997, Sampson has served in the New York state Senate (the Senate) representing the 19th Senate District in southeastern Brooklyn. From June 2009 to December 2012, Sampson was the leader of the Democratic Conference of the Senate. From January 2011 to December 2012, Sampson was also the Senate Minority Leader. Sampson has also served as the chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.