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Rensselaer County Exec. McLaughlin acquitted

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TROY — Rensselaer County Executive Steven F. McLaughlin was acquitted Wednesday afternoon on all charges in a criminal case in which he was accused of stealing $5,000 from his campaign and falsifying records to cover it up. 

He did not have to wait long for the verdict: Jurors began deliberations at about 3:45 p.m. and delivered their decision within an hour.

The former state assemblyman’s attorneys hugged supporters in Rensselaer County Court after the verdict was read, prompting applause in the small courtroom. The two rows of seats for the public were mostly filled during the day-and-a-half-long trial.

McLaughlin emerged from the courtroom and greeted reporters: “Hello everyone; how was your day?”

The Republican, who was elected county executive in 2017, thanked the jury, the judge and his attorneys, Thomas A. Capezza and Benjamin W. Hill. He said his attorneys “saw this case for what it was right from the beginning.”

McLaughlin, who had previously suggested the charges leveled against him by the office of Democrat state Attorney General Letitia James were politically motivated, thanked his family, friends, his girlfriend, her children and his children and “all the … citizens of Rensselaer County who have supported me throughout the years. They know the good work that we’re doing and we’re going to continue to do the good work.”

McLaughlin added: “With that, you all have a good night — we’ll speak later on.”

Capezza declined comment beyond saying, “It’s (McLaughlin’s) day. The jury did what they needed to do and there’s nothing more to say.”

“Obviously we think the jury got it right,” Hill said. “It wasn’t a very complicated case. It came down to, ‘Did he steal? Did he not?’ They decided he didn’t and they got it right.”

McLaughlin, 59, had faced the prospect of being ousted from the county’s top office if convicted.

James issued a statement following the verdict saying that while she is “disappointed in the jury’s finding today, I respect their decision.”

“I am proud of the case we brought before the court and stand by our efforts to hold County Executive McLaughlin accountable,” James added. “New Yorkers deserve to have faith in their public officials and can always count on my office to investigate allegations of corruption and fight for public integrity.”

The two-day trial revolved around the issuance of a $5,000 campaign check to Richard W. Crist on Nov. 21, 2017, which a state prosecutor described as a crime covertly orchestrated by a powerful but financially strapped political boss through his “bagman.”

McLaughlin’s defense said he was simply paying Crist, his political consultant and currently the county’s operations director, for a job well done. 

He was charged with third-degree grand larceny, a felony that could have carried up to seven years in prison had he been convicted, and offering a false instrument for filing in the first-degree. The jury had the option of convicting McLaughlin of second-degree offering a false instrument for filing, a less severe charge.

Prosecutors alleged that McLaughlin used the $5,000 from his campaign fund and induced Crist to pay off a debt of $3,500 that he owed to Jennifer Polaro, who had been his chief of staff in the state Assembly, during an exchange at a State Police barracks in West Sand Lake.

Neither Crist nor Polaro were charged. Polaro pleaded guilty three years ago to a misdemeanor petit larceny charge for stealing money from McLaughlin’s Assembly campaign to use for gambling at Rivers Casino and Resort in 2017. Her case was part of the same investigation that led to the county executive’s indictment and also was prosecuted by the state attorney general’s Public Integrity Unit.

Prosecutors contended McLaughlin covered up his alleged payment to Polaro — whose volatile relationship with McLaughlin nearly derailed his initial run for county office — by listing it as an election consultant expense to Crist in a December 2017 filing with the state Board of Elections. 

It is illegal to use campaign funds for non-campaign purposes, including personal expenses. Assistant Attorneys General Christopher Baynes and Benjamin Mastaitis argued McLaughlin had paid Polaro to settle the personal debt. Polaro testified Tuesday that she had loaned McLaughlin money for a rental property and the final payment for his late mother’s ashes. 

In a 35-minute closing argument, Baynes said McLaughlin’s bank records showed that the defendant was broke on the day he allegedly stole the $5,000 from his campaign. Baynes argued that Polaro was becoming an issue for McLaughlin that needed to be addressed. 

“Want to know why this happened? It was to shut her up, and he didn’t have any money,” Baynes said.

He described McLaughlin as a “puppet master” who directed underlings to do his bidding, including the payment to Polaro.

“I ask you to make the defendant responsible for using his campaign — and, frankly, his employees — as a personal piggy bank,” the prosecutor told jurors.

The defense contended Crist was paid for his work as a consultant to run McLaughlin’s primary and election campaigns for county executive.
In a closing argument of nearly 40 minutes, Hill told jurors that Crist had paid Polaro on his own. He said McLaughlin did not want to pay Polaro, but Crist had every legal right to pay her.

“It’s not a case of a no-show job; it’s not a sham payment,” Hill told jurors. “All of this was done in the open.”

Earlier Wednesday, the final prosecution witness, Sara Pogorzelski, a supervising analyst with the attorney general’s office, testified about her compilation of evidence — including bank records, phone calls and text messages — since late 2017.

Under cross-examination, Hill grilled Pogorzelski about an error she made when testifying before a grand jury about Crist’s payments to Polaro. She said she adjusted the error on Tuesday night.

“And this is an investigation that’s been going on since 2017?” Hill said.

“Correct,” the witness responded.

He asked Pogorzelski if she was aware that McLaughlin had a 401K retirement savings account, life insurance and a state pension — all of which he could have borrowed against. 

Pogorzelski said she was unaware of that information.

Hill also revealed through his questions to Pogorzelski that other officials in the county — including Judges Debra Young and Paul Morgan, as well as former U.S. Rep. John Faso — had paid Crist for his political consulting services.

And he elicited testimony that a news release issued at the time of McLaughlin’s arrest noted that if convicted of a felony, he would have to step down from his post. Baynes objected, and the judge sustained it.


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