NEW YORK  - A New York City Council Member was found guilty today by a jury in Manhattan federal court of nine counts of public corruption crimes, including mail fraud and wire fraud. Larry Seabrook, who represents the 12th Council District in the Bronx, was convicted after a five-week trial.

Seabrook has served as a member of the New York City Council (the “Council”) since January 2002. In that capacity, his official duties have included: voting on legislation, representing and advocating for the interests of his constituents, and allocating New York City funds to non-profit organizations. The Council Discretionary Funds Scheme Seabrook fraudulently steered more than $1 million in Council discretionary funds to non-profits he controlled that employed his friends and family. From 2002 through 2009, Seabrook directed or attempted to direct at least $2.5 million of Council discretionary funds to purportedly independent non-profit organizations doing work to benefit the community. In truth and in fact, however, Seabrook controlled these non-profit organizations, negotiating the leasing of their office space, creating their budgets, and making their personnel decisions. In the end, more than $1 million in Council discretionary funds were disbursed to the non-profit organizations that Seabrook controlled.

Seabrook knew these non-profit organizations were not doing enough legitimate work to justify the funds they were receiving from the Council. In order to continue the City’s disbursement of funds to the groups, however, Seabrook and others made misrepresentations to the City and to the Council, specifically by failing to disclose that the non-profit organizations were associated with him, and that the funds allocated to the organizations would benefit his friends and family.

Seabrook faces a maximum term of 180 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 8, 2013.