Ex-city labor leader and Queens assemblyman Brian McLaughlin once touted himself as a potential mayoral candidate. Instead, he'll do his public service in a federal pen. Under a plea deal with prosecutors, McLaughlin, 55, pled guilty to racketeering in Manhattan federal court this afternoon, agreeing to serve a prison sentence of from 97 to 121 months.
In a plea allocution that took him a solid hour to recount, McLaughlin admitted to having ripped off everyone from his fellow union members to his local little league in Queens. Along the way, he also hit up five street lighting contractors for bribes, and stole from his own political club.
McLaughlin refused comment as he exited the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan, brushing aside questions from reporters. Asked if he had anything to say to the one million city union members he once led as president of the city's Central Labor Council, McLaughlin declined comment. "I've been advised by my attorney not to talk about it," he said.
The Voice told the ragged tale of McLaughlin's colossal fall in 2006 in "The Sinner Within."
