Efrain Gonzalez Jr.
Efrain Gonzalez Jr. (born 1948) was New York senator and convicted felon.
He was the Chair of the Minority Conference within the Senate, as well as Chairman Emeritus of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, Chair of the New York State Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force. He is President of the National Hispanic Policy Institute. Gonzalez also serves on the Executive Committee of the Parliamentary Confederation of the Americas, (COPA).
Born in Coamo, Puerto Rico, Gonzalez's family moved to the United States shortly thereafter.
Prior to his election to the State Senate Gonzalez had worked as the Union Representative for the Transport Workers Union, and subsequently, the Union Representative for Local 820 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1969 until 1979 which was during his employment at Brinks Armored Car Service.
Senator Efrain Gonzalez was married on July 20, 1969 and has four children with his wife. Senator Gonzalez and his first wife were devoiced March 1987
On August 25, 2006, it was disclosed that Senator Gonzalez had been indicted for mail fraud. He surrendered to federal authorities shortly after his indictment was unsealed, and was subsequently released on $25,000 bail following his arraignment.
According to the indictment, Gonzalez is accused of defrauding the West Bronx Neighborhood Association Inc., a not-for-profit corporation, by using funds donated to the organization in order to pay for over $37,000 in personal expenses. In December 2006, in a new Federal indictment that replaced the August indictment, he was charged with diverting over $400,000 meant for the community not-for-profit to personal expenses, including vacation homes in the Dominican Republic, homes for his 2nd wife, mistress, renovations to his mother-in-law's home, Yankees tickets and college tuition for his daughter. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. He was defeated on September 9, 2008 in the Democratic Party primary by Pedro Espada.
On May 25, 2010, Gonzalez was sentenced to 84 months (7 years) in prison, followed by two years supervised release, following pleading guilty to two conspiracy counts and two wire fraud counts in May 2009. In April, Judge William H. Pauley III denied a request by Mr. Gonzalez to withdraw his plea.[1][2]
References
| New York State Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Israel Ruiz, Jr. |
New York State Senate 32nd District 1989–1992 |
Succeeded by Pedro Espada Jr. |
| Preceded by Joseph L. Galiber |
New York State Senate 31st District 1993–2002 |
Succeeded by Eric Schneiderman |
| Preceded by Ruth Hassell-Thompson |
New York State Senate 33rd District 2003–2008 |
Succeeded by Pedro Espada Jr. |