Former Senate Staffer Sentenced for “No Show” Job

Monday, 28 September 2009 13:10

Miguel Castanos, a one-time staff member for former New York State Senator Efrain Gonzalez, Jr., has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for defrauding a nonprofit organization out of nearly $34,500 as a “no show” employee. Castanos had been on the payroll of the Community Association of Progressive Dominicans.

Castanos is one of four defendants convicted in the case. Castanos had pleaded guildty to wire fraud in April 2009 and is the third defendant to be sentenced.

Efrain Gonzalez, Jr. pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud and Mail Fraud in May 2009 and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 13, 2009.

Neil Berger, the former Executive Director of Pathways for Youth, Inc., was sentenced in June 2009 to two years’ probation and six months of home detention for federal program fraud.

Lucia Sanchez, the former officer of West Bronx Neighborhood Association, was sentenced earlier this month to two years’ probation and three months of home detention for willfully causing the misapplication of federal program funds.

“No-show jobs and not-for-profits don’t mix,” said Rose Gill Hearn, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation. “Today’s sentencing shows that insiders who pillage publicly-funded, tax-exempt organizations will face criminal sanctions, including prison. DOI and its law enforcement partners are committed to protecting these publicly funded entities and ensuring that individuals who engage in this kind of corruption are brought to justice.”

Commissioner Gill Hearn thanked Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Ronald J. Verrochio, Inspector in Charge of the New York Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service, and their staffs, for their work on this matter.�

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