Former State Senator Efrain Gonzalez’s last-ditch effort to withdraw the “guilty” plea he entered last spring backfired earlier this month, as a federal judge sentenced him to seven years in prison for fraud involving two nonprofit organizations.
Last May, Gonzalez pleaded guilty to funneling more than $500,000 worth of discretionary state funds, known as member items, through two nonprofit organizations, to pay for personal expenses, including Yankees tickets, rent for an apartment in the Dominican Republic and logos for his cigar company.
In January, Gonzalez said he wanted to withdraw his plea, saying he was pressured into pleading guilty by his lawyer Murray Richman.
Judge William Pauley swiftly denied Gonzalez’s motion to withdraw his plea and prosecutors seized on the opportunity to increase jail time for the former representative of the 33rd Senate District.
Before he withdrew the plea, Gonzalez was facing about three years in prison.
Gonzalez still may appeal the decision, but the sentencing marks the end of an investigation that began in 2004. He was indicted in 2006.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.