State Senator Sampson Convicted on Three of Nine Corruption Charges

After five and a half days of deliberation, a Brooklyn federal jury found state Sen.

Sampson, the Brooklyn state senator and one-time Democratic majority conference leader, was convicted Friday on three federal charges – obstruction of justice and two counts of making false statements.

Still, Sampson faces serious prison time.

If Sampson loses his state Senate seat, a special election would have to be held to replace him.

The verdict was confirmed by a spokeswoman for Acting Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Kelly Currie. “At the end of the day, it was his criminal self-interest that was his undoing,”.

Sampson appeared to breathe a premature sigh of relief after he was cleared of the first charge against him as he put his head down on the table. But his mood changed after he went down on the second charge, which carries a maximum 10-year term.

However, due to evidence obtained from an associate, Edul Ahmad, who had turned on the senator, prosecutors were able move forward on the obstruction charges.

At trial, jurors heard conversations recorded by Ahmad of an encounter with Sampson at a Queens restaurant in 2012. Sampson also suggested that they hire a private investigator to do the “dirty work”.

Following instructions from his FBI handlers, Ahmad pulled out a copy of a check register that showed the $188,500.

On a separate audio recording of the meeting, Sampson told Ahmad to keep quiet about the document if the feds ever asked him about it. Even after the embezzlement accounts were dismissed, crippling the government’s case, Solomon limited the shredding of Ahmad’s reputation, which proved crucial on the obstruction of justice conviction.

The jury forewoman, Kim O’Meally, said they didn’t have much use for the government’s star witness Ahmad.

Sampson’s ouster follows the conviction Wednesday of Senate Deputy Majority Leader Thomas Libous, R-Binghamton, who was found guilty of lying to the FBI and forced to surrender his seat.

“He did obstruct justice in a lot of ways”, she said. “Everything was based on evidence”.

Sampson admitted to embezzling more than $400,000 from the sale of foreclosed properties while serving as a court-appointed referee, but that crime was so long ago, the statute of limitations had expired.

Defense Attorney Nathaniel Akerman called the mixed verdict a partial victory, and told reporters he would pursue all his appeal options to appeal the convictions “until Mr. Sampson is vindicated”. This recalls earlier accusations made by a mole in the US Attorney’s Office-Sampson allegedly begged said mole to give him the names of cooperating witnesses, so that he could “take them out”. Sampson was stoic as the verdict was read, and left in the middle of a throng of supporters without commenting.