William Boyland, Jr.

William F. Boyland, Jr.
Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 55th district
In office
2003 – March 6, 2014
Preceded by William F. Boyland
Succeeded by Latrice Walker
Personal details
Political party Democratic

William Frank Boyland Jr. is a former New York State Assemblyman who represented District 55, which comprises Ocean Hill, Brownsville, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights and Bushwick. He was automatically expelled from the Assembly on March 6, 2014, upon his conviction on numerous federal felony charges related to extortion, bribery, and official corruption.[1][2][3]

Chosen to represent his district in a special election held in 2003, he served as a member of several standing committees in the lower legislative body of the New York State Legislature, including the Committee on Aging, the Committee on Cities, the Committee on Economic Development, and the Committee on Job Creation, among others.

Biography

Boyland came from a family of Brooklyn politicians. His father, William F. Boyland, occupied a seat in the New York State Assembly for two decades, while his uncle, Thomas S. Boyland, was a member of the Assembly from 1977 to 1982. His sister, Tracy L. Boyland, was the Chairwoman of the Women's Issues Committee on the New York City Council.

Prior to his election to the Assembly, Boyland served as an intern in the offices of several United States Congressmen, including those of fellow Brooklynites Edolphus Towns and retired Congressman Major Owens.

On March 10, 2011, Boyland was among eight individuals, including Carl Kruger, another New York State Assemblyman, who surrendered to face charges in a federal corruption case accusing the lawmakers of taking bribes over the course of a decade.[4] On November 10, 2011, Boyland was acquitted of those charges.[5] However, before the end of the month, he was arrested again, on separate federal bribery charges, with prosecutors claiming to have secretly recorded him soliciting $250,000 in bribes even while the first set of charges were still unresolved.[6] His chief of staff, Ry-Ann Hermon, was also arrested on related charges,[7] and eventually pleaded guilty.[8]

Boyland was charged with three additional counts of mail fraud on March 18, 2013 for falsely securing tens of thousands of dollars in travel reimbursements,[8][9] and several weeks later another fraud charge was added for steering taxpayer money to a nonprofit agency and using directing that agency to reimburse him for other expenses.[10] On May 14, 2013, Boyland pleaded not guilty.[11] The second trial ended in his conviction on all 21 felony counts he faced, including extortion, bribery, and mail fraud (Eastern District of New York, docket no. 11-CR-850). Upon conviction, Boyland immediately lost his seat in the Assembly. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison, taken into custody at his sentencing, and ordered to pay more than $155,000 in public money he was determined to have misused or stolen.[1][2] As of August 2016, he was serving his sentence at Loretto, a low security federal correction institution in Western Pennsylvania.[12][13]

Of the numerous New York politicians convicted of various forms of official corruption in recent years, Boyland's sentence is the longest to date, topping former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's second-place 12 year sentence.[14]


References

  1. 1 2 Secret, Mosi (March 7, 2014). "Assemblyman Is Convicted in Second Corruption Trial". New York Times. p. A19. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  2. 1 2 Casey, Nicholas (September 18, 2015). "William Boyland Jr., Ex-New York Assemblyman, Gets 14-Year Sentence for Corruption". New York Times. p. A23. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  3. ↑ "New York State Assemblyman William F. Boyland, Jr. Convicted on Bribery, Fraud, Extortion, Conspiracy, and Theft Charges - Boyland Convicted of Four Separate Corrupt Schemes, Which Involved Bribery, Submitting False Travel Vouchers, and Stealing Public Funding for the Elderly". archives.fbi.gov. Federal Bureau of Investigation - New York Field Office. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  4. ↑ Confessore, Nicholas; Barbaro, Michael (March 10, 2011). "Graft Charges Depict Senator's Lavish Lifestyle". New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
  5. ↑ Weiser, Benjamin (November 11, 2011). "Jury Acquits Assemblyman of Conspiring to Take Bribes". New York Times. p. A26. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  6. ↑ Weiser, Benjamin; Secret, Mosi (November 30, 2011). "2nd Bribe Case for Lawmaker Just Acquitted". New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  7. ↑ Secret, Mosi (December 2, 2011). "Assemblyman's Chief of Staff Is Arrested in Bribery Case". New York Times. p. A34. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  8. 1 2 Secret, Mosi (March 19, 2013). "More Charges Against Brooklyn Legislator". New York Times. p. A22. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  9. ↑ "Brooklyn Assemblyman Charged With Bribery Faces New Charges". CBS News New York. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  10. ↑ Secret, Mosi (May 14, 2013). "New Charge for Brooklyn Legislator Is a State Favorite: Pilfering From a Nonprofit Agency". New York Times. p. A20. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  11. ↑ "Brooklyn Assemblyman Pleads Not Guilty To New Fraud Charges". NY1. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  12. ↑ "Inmate Locator". bop.gov. Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  13. ↑ "F.C.I. Loretto". bop.gov. Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  14. ↑ Weiser, Benjamin; Lee, Vivian (May 13, 2016). "Dean Skelos Is Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison in Corruption Case". New York Times. p. A19. Retrieved 17 August 2016.


New York Assembly
Preceded by
William F. Boyland		 New York State Assembly
55th District
2003–2014 		Succeeded by
Latrice Walker
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