NYC NOW - August 17, 2023: Midday News

Episode Date: August 17, 2023

Hundreds of migrants are expected to arrive at the emergency shelter built at Creedmore Psychiatric Facility but neighbors are pushing back and police have arrested at least 13 protestors. Also, Federal prosecutors have charged a former fundraiser for embattled congressman George Santos. And finally, Norman Seabrook, the longtime boss of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, was once a towering figure in New York City labor politics. But in 2019, he was sentenced to four years in prison after accepting a bribe. This March Seabrook was granted early release and WNYC's Charles Lane caught up with him recently and joins our own Carlson to talk about their conversation.

NYC. Welcome to NYC now. Your source for local news in and around New York City. From WNYC. It's Thursday, August 17th. Here's the midday news from Lance Lucky. Hundreds of migrants are expected to arrive at the emergency shelter built at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens, where 1,000 single adult men are expected to stay.

But neighbors there are pushing back, Irma Gorin. and lives nearby. She was among those protesting outside the center last night and says her main concern is safety. This is a residential area. I particularly feel bad for them because the conditions they are now in are probably inhumane, but we also feel for our community. There is also a community here with 100 houses. It's a close community, but the children play outside. Police say they arrested at least 13 people at the protest. The city continues to scramble to find more places to house new arrivals. More than 58,000 migrants are currently staying in city shelters. Federal prosecutors have charged a former fundraiser for Embattled New York Congressman George

Santos. WNYC's Bridget Bergen reports. Samuel Mealy worked on both the 2020 and 2020 campaigns for the Eastern Queens and Long Island Republican. The indictment accuses Meely of creating a fake email address and making calls claiming to be a senior congressional staffer, all while trying to raise money for Santos. According to the indictment, he made a 15% commission on the funds he raised. Meeley pleaded not guilty in a Brooklyn federal courtroom and was released on a $150,000 bond. While Santos has never named in the indictment, prosecutors filed a letter with the court that said this case was related to the federal case filed against the congressman in May. It's 78 degrees, mostly cloudy this afternoon and near 82 with a chance of showers and thunderstorms.

I'm Sean. Carlson for WNYC. Norman Seabrook was once a towering figure in New York City labor politics. The longtime boss of the nearly 20,000 member correction officers Benevolent Association, Seabrook's ability to work political backrooms and garner press coverage made him a mainstay on TV news and tabloids for decades. But in 2019, he was sentenced to four years in prison after accepting a bribe in exchange for steering the union's retirement into a questionable hedge fund.

Seabrook was granted early release in March, and WNIC's Charles Lane recently caught up with him. He joins us now to tell us about what Seabrook is up to. Hey, Charles. Hey. So tell us a bit more about Norman Seabrook. Remind us who he is and why folks might remember his name. Right. So Seabrook was a very powerful union boss for the corrections officers in New York City jails.

He held that position for 21 years, and he had a lot of sway over state and city politics. However, he was caught taking a bribe in 2014. He was given $60,000 cash in a Farragamo bag, which is apparently Seabrook's preferred shoe brand. The bribe was to have him divert some $20 million of the corrections officer's pension fund into a risky hedge fund, and most of that money ended up disappearing. According to co-conspirators, Seabrook was upset at having to manage the union's investments without actually being. able to make a profit himself. So it took two trials, and Seabrook was eventually sentenced to five years in federal prison. He later appealed that, and he eventually won early release after just serving over two years. And according to records, I just checked the court docket recently, and he apparently is still trying to win release for his 10 pairs of Farragamo shoes out of federal custody. Oh, really? Wow. So, okay, he still owes restitution, and it's not a small number. $19 million to the correction officers union. How does he plan on paying that back? Well, he told me he's looking for a job. He's been sending his resume all over the place.

He told me that his resume is, quote, impeccable. And what he wants to get into is politics. Here's more of what he had to say. I'm interested in being a consultant. I'm interested in helping individuals that want to either become elected officials in the city, state, of New York and or elected officials as far as unions are concerned. So it's New York. I hate to ask this question, but again, it's New York. Does Seabrook still have the credibility left to land a job in state or local politics after everything's been through? He still commands an awful lot of respects.

There was recently a $75 a person fundraiser that took place up in the Bronx Forum. and I'm told that about 250 people attended it. There were, you know, several warm speeches and people were very, you know, just gracious to be in his presence. I'm told that current union leadership did not attend, and relations between current leadership and Seabrook are still a little frosty. And, you know, I did hear a couple of people sort of grumble about refusing to go to this fundraiser because they still think that Seabrook is a crook, according to their terms. and before he was he was caught taking this this bribe he had this magic and this ability to wield power one of the people that i talked to he said that seabrook could make it rain and he could summon up the troops whenever he wants and for example seabrook was able to convince about 250 corrections officers to block the bridge going to and from rikers

and you know seabrook would get these bills passed through albany with he had a lot of sway with elected officials both in the city and in the state and you know he just had this this remarkable gift for being able to communicate his ideas to the media, sometimes, you know, parading, you know, coffins in front of City Hall and such. So, like, his ability to summon influence was substantial. Charles, when you talk to Seabrook, did he give you any thoughts on the possible federal takeover of Rikers Island? He didn't have so much thoughts on the actual takeover. He thought that would be more like Monday morning quarterbacking. But true to his character, he was a staunch defender of the corrections union.

And he was complaining about how their poor working conditions and saying that they were tired from having to work so much, so much overtime, that led to things getting, you know, very, very bad in Rikers. He and his supporters also like to tell me that Rikers would not be in the poor condition it is now if he were still in charge of the union. And they point to things like the sickouts or corrections officers losing or leaving their posts in the middle of a shift, that kind of stuff wouldn't happen. I'm told by Seabrook and his supporters, just because he had this fear and influence over the members in the union. Did he indicate to you that he learned anything from his time behind bars while incarcerated? He says so. He talks somewhat vaguely about how, you know, people incarcerated, they should be given the skills to be able to reenter society after. He talked a little bit more concretely about his overall perspective and how it changed from being in prison.

And he gave me one example of corrections officers. Either they can walk into a room and they can choose either to yell at an incarcerated person or they could talk to him. Here's what he said. I know how to speak to people. I know how to respect people. But I didn't realize just how many times a person with authority will try to abuse their authority. Ready to be police, correction, sheriffs. That's double D in my cease Charles Lane.

Charles, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you. Thanks for listening. This is NYC Now from WNYC. Be sure to catch us every weekday, three times a day, for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives. And subscribe wherever you get your podcast. We'll be back this evening.