Shirley L. Huntley (born June 29, 1938) is an American politician who is formerly a

New York State Senator The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

, serving from 2007 to 2012. Huntley represented Senate District 10 in Queens County, which included

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South Jamaica South Jamaica (also commonly known as "Southside") is a residential neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located south of downtown Jamaica. Although a proper border has not been established, the neighborhood is a subsectio ...

Springfield Gardens Springfield Gardens is a neighborhood in the southeastern area of the New York City borough of Queens, bounded to the north by St. Albans, to the east by Laurelton and Rosedale, to the south by John F. Kennedy International Airport, and to th ...

, Laurelton,

South Ozone Park South Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is just north of John F. Kennedy International Airport, between Aqueduct Racetrack to the west and the Van Wyck Expressway to the east. A ...

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

Broad Channel Broad Channel is a neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It occupies the southern portion of Rulers Bar Hassock (known colloquially as "Broad Channel Island"), the only inhabited island in Jamaica Bay. T ...

, and Lindenwood. She pleaded guilty to mail fraud in 2013.

Political career

Huntley was elected to Community School Board 28 in 1993 and served as its president until the dissolution of the School Board in 2004. She was appointed to the Community Education Council for District 28 in June 2004 and was elected as its president in July 2004. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, Huntley defeated then-State Senator Ada Smith in a Democratic primary in 2006. She won the general election that year and took office in 2007. On December 2, 2009, Huntley was one of eight Democratic state senators to vote against

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

legislation, which failed to pass the Senate. In June 2011, Huntley came out in support of gay marriage and voted for the Marriage Equality Act.

Prosecutions and guilty pleas

In May 2011, the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' revealed that Huntley was being investigated by the office of the state New York State Attorney General

Eric Schneiderman Eric Tradd Schneiderman (born December 31, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 65th attorney general of New York from 2011 until his resignation in May 2018. Schneiderman, a member of the Democratic Party, spent ten year ...

for allegedly running a taxpayer-funded fraudulent charity. Huntley called an emergency press conference at her home in

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It has a popular large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis, St Albans, and Cambria Heights to the ea ...

on August 25, 2012. She revealed that she expected to be arrested on Monday August 27 in the state’s continuing investigation into the use of

pork-barrel ''Pork barrel'', or simply ''pork'', is a metaphor for allocating government spending to localized projects in the representative's district or for securing direct expenditures primarily serving the sole interests of the representative. The u ...

grants by legislators. Huntley founded a nonprofit social service and education group that was investigated by the Attorney General Schneiderman, and she funded it in part with state grants. Huntley turned herself in to the Nassau County District Attorney's office in Mineola at 7:45 a.m. on August 27, 2012. On January 30, 2013, Huntley appeared in federal court in Brooklyn and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...

for embezzling $87,000 in state grant funding from the Parent Information Network, a

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

non-profit organization. Huntley later pleaded guilty in state court to a charge of falsifying evidence. She was sentenced to a year and a day in prison on the federal charge. In May 2013, ''The New York Times'' reported that Huntley's "secret recordings of some of New York’s most prominent politicians heightened concerns about widespread corruption in Albany".

References

External links

New York State Senate: Shirley L. Huntley
official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huntley, Shirley L. 1938 births Living people Politicians from Queens, New York 21st-century African-American women politicians Women state legislators in New York (state) Democratic Party New York (state) state senators American politicians convicted of fraud Politicians convicted of embezzlement New York (state) politicians convicted of corruption New York (state) politicians convicted of crimes African-American state legislators in New York (state) 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American criminals 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature

Political career

Prosecutions and guilty pleas

See also

References

External links