Close X
Thursday, December 19, 2024
ADVT 
International

New York Mayor's Bribe Attempt: Indian-American Restaurateur Harendra Singh Pleads Guilty

IANS, 25 Jan, 2018 12:20 PM
    A leading Indian-American restaurateur, Harendra Singh, has pleaded guilty in secret court proceedings to trying to bribe New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, according to court documents, the media reported.
     
     
    Singh had admitted in a "sealed courtroom" before a Federal judge on Long Island in October 2016 to bribery and wire fraud in connection with campaign contributions made to de Blasio, the Times reported citing the court records.
     
     
    This was made public only on Tuesday -- more than a year later -- in connection with the trial of Edward Mangano, the former head of Nassau County on Long Island, the Times said.
     
     
    Singh also pleaded guilty to six other charges in unrelated bribery schemes involving officials on Long Island and businesses he owned there, the New York Times said.
     
     
    The mayor was not charged in the case and was cryptically referred to in the court documents as "Official #2," which the newspaper said "clearly match de Blasio". Prosecutors sometimes do not identify politicians by name in court documents.
     
     
    Singh's trendy Water's Edge restaurant, which was at the centre of the bribery attempt of the mayor, closed in 2015.
     
     
    The restaurant was located on the shore of the East River on city-owned property and he sought the help of the mayor's aides in renewing the lease, which ultimately fell through.
     
     
    The Times said that according to records "Singh was one of the earliest large donors when de Blasio began his mayoral campaign in 2010 and he, his family members and other associates ultimately raised a total of about $33,000 for the mayor".
     
     
    The records also refer to a fund-raiser that Singh hosted at his restaurant in October 2013, the newspaper said.
     
     
    In December 2014, Singh asked an aide to the mayor for help with renewing his restaurant's lease and a senior aide arranged a meeting next July with the head of the city agency involved in the restaurant lease "in an effort to pressure the agency to make its proposed settlement terms more favourable" to Singh, the newspaper said, citing court documents.
     
     
    While New York city and Singh were close to finalising the renewal on terms favourable to him, Singh was arrested as part of a corruption investigation on Long Island.
     
     
    It was not known if Singh received any sentence.
     
     
    The case involving Singh and de Blasio was originally investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal prosecutor's office for the Southern District of New York and did not charge de Blasio but "harshly criticized him and his fund-raising practices" the Times said.
     
     
    The case against Singh was instead filed by the office of the Federal prosecutor for Eastern District of New York.
     
     
    Preet Bharara, who was then the Federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, tried tried in 2013 to prosecute Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade on charges of underpaying her household help. The diplomat was strip searched after her arrest creating a diplomatic incident with India and he had to drop the case when New Delhi retaliated by strictly enforcing existing regulations against American diplomats.
     
     
    Another prominent Indian-American, hotelier Sant Chatwal, pleaded guilty in 2014 to making $180,000 in illegal campaign contributions to Democratic Party leader Hillary Clinton and to two members of Congress. That case was also pursued by the prosecutor for the Eastern New York District. Chatwal did not get any prison time.
     
     
    The court filings did not name the leaders, but several media identified Clinton.
     
     
    Babulal Behra, the 83-year-old father of Indian-American Democratic Congressman Ami Behra, was convicted in 2016 of illegally funding his son's election campaign with $260,000 and sentenced to a year and one day in prison. The Congressman was not charged.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    21-Year-Old Punjabi Youth DHARAMPREET SINGH JASSER From Nawanshahr Shot Dead In US

    21-Year-Old Punjabi Youth DHARAMPREET SINGH JASSER From Nawanshahr Shot Dead In US
    He had moved to the US two years ago and was working there at a grocery store.

    21-Year-Old Punjabi Youth DHARAMPREET SINGH JASSER From Nawanshahr Shot Dead In US

    Indian-American Student Taranjit Parmar Killed In SHOCKING Case Of Road Rage In New York

    Indian-American Student Taranjit Parmar Killed In SHOCKING Case Of Road Rage In New York
    An Indian-American teenager has been killed in a road rage incident when a driver ran his truck over her after a minor collision in the city's suburb of Levittown, according to media reports.

    Indian-American Student Taranjit Parmar Killed In SHOCKING Case Of Road Rage In New York

    US Hate Crimes Rise For Second Year, Hindus And Sikhs Among Those Targeted

    US Hate Crimes Rise For Second Year, Hindus And Sikhs Among Those Targeted
    There were 10 incidents of hate-crimes against Hindus and seven against Sikhs in 201

    US Hate Crimes Rise For Second Year, Hindus And Sikhs Among Those Targeted

    American Sikhs Truck Drivers Urge Trump Administration To Delay ELD Rule

    American Sikhs Truck Drivers Urge Trump Administration To Delay ELD Rule
    An Indian-American delegation representing the truckers' industry, dominated by the Sikh- Americans, has urged the Trump administration to delay by one year the mandatory installation of an expensive logging device in trucks.

    American Sikhs Truck Drivers Urge Trump Administration To Delay ELD Rule

    Indian-Origin Man Shot Dead At Night Club, Sushma Swaraj Assures Family Of Help

    Indian-Origin Man Shot Dead At Night Club, Sushma Swaraj Assures Family Of Help
    External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday said that the government is in touch with the family of Akash Talati, an Indian American who was shot dead in a night club he owned in the US.

    Indian-Origin Man Shot Dead At Night Club, Sushma Swaraj Assures Family Of Help

    Nagpur Man Jailed In UK For Raping Woman Who Went For Mobile Charging In His Shop

    Nagpur Man Jailed In UK For Raping Woman Who Went For Mobile Charging In His Shop
    The man locked up the store, hit the woman with a wooden pole, held her captive overnight and threatened with murder before she was freed the next morning

    Nagpur Man Jailed In UK For Raping Woman Who Went For Mobile Charging In His Shop