http://www.syracuse.com/state/index.ssf/...nion_fraud.htmlexcerpt of article
NEW YORK (AP) — The longtime head of the nation's largest municipal jail guard union was paid tens of thousands of dollars in cash, delivered in a luxury handbag, in exchange for steering $20 million in union money in 2014 to a hedge fund, according to a criminal complaint.
Norman Seabrook, the brash and defiant president of the 9,000-member New York City Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, and hedge fund founder Murray Huberfeld, were arrested by FBI agents on conspiracy and fraud charges Wednesday morning, officials said.
The arrests are the latest development in a series of overlapping public corruption investigations coordinated by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, with other targets including high-ranking New York Police Department officials and political fundraising activities of several people with ties to New York City's mayor.
Huberfeld is accused of participating in a scheme to hand out hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks to Seabrook in exchange for investments in his fund, Platinum Partners, L.P., according to the complaint. It says the scheme was facilitated by someone who has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with federal investigators.
