Considering himself “above the law,” state Sen. John Sampson embezzled funds and then used his political clout and lawyer skills to try and cover up the crimes, prosecutors said in openings at his Brooklyn federal court trial Wednesday.
“He doubled down and committed new crimes to cover up the old ones,” federal prosecutor Marisa Seifan told jurors. “The defendant used his knowledge of the law, his skills as a lawyer and his position as a New York state senator to break the law.”
Prosecutors contend that Sampson skimmed $188,500 from foreclosure deals he oversaw while acting as a court-appointed referee and then took a loan from a businessman to cover the shortfalls.
The Brooklyn politico then showered the Queens real estate developer, Edul Ahmad, with political favors to compensate him for the cash, prosecutors said.
Citing statute of limitations issues, Judge Dora Irizarry tossed the embezzlement raps against Sampson but he still faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for the alleged cover up.
Ahmad — who once drove a Lamborghini and dined at pricey restaurants with Sampson — was arrested for mortgage fraud in 2011 and flipped on his old pal. The feds claim Sampson lobbied him to keep him mouth shut about the loan at a sitdown that was secretly recorded.
Ahmad told jurors Wednesday that Sampson instructed him to tell the feds that the $188,500 was for legal work after he showed him a potentially damaging financial record of the transaction.
“He looked at the document and said to me this could potentially cause him some problems,” Ahmad recalled.
Sampson also pried information about the case against him from a Brooklyn federal court clerk he was friendly with, prosecutors said.
“Hold him accountable for his deception,” Seifan said. “Hold him accountable for his lies and hold him accountable for breaking the law.”
Sampson’s attorney, Nick Akerman, said that the government entrapped his client and that their case amounted to an “overreach.”
Akerman also noted during his opening statement that offhand remarks Sampson made about getting rid of witnesses amounted to “locker room” bravado that shouldn’t be taken seriously.
The case continues Thursday with Ahmad’s continuing testimony.