Thread: Puerto Rican Ex-Surgeon General Pleads Guilty in NY

A wise Latina woman....

Ex-Surgeon General Novello pleads guilty in NY

By MICHAEL VIRTANEN
Associated Press Writer

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Former Surgeon General Antonia Novello pleaded guilty Friday to a felony in a deal with prosecutors to avoid prison time for forcing state employees to handle personal chores when she was New York's health commissioner.

The plea deal calls for 250 hours of community service at an Albany health clinic, $22,500 in restitution and a $5,000 fine. Novello faced up to 12 years in prison if convicted on all charges. She was accused of costing taxpayers $48,000 by misusing the workers.

She pleaded guilty to filing a false document involving a worker's duties.

Investigators said Novello, originally from Puerto Rico, used state workers to chauffeur her on shopping trips and rearrange heavy furniture at her apartment while she was New York's top health official. She now lives in Florida.

In court Friday, Albany County Judge Stephen Herrick asked Novello if she had intended to defraud the state.

After a pause, she said, "Yes, your honor."

Novello declined any other comment.

After the plea, her attorney E. Stewart Jones said the case never should have been a criminal matter and Novello wanted to get it settled.

She is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 14. As a condition of the deal, Novello could face 1 1/3 to four years in prison if she commits another felony within three years.

Novello was paid $256,000 a year as Republican Gov. George Pataki's health commissioner from 1999 to 2006. She was surgeon general under President George H.W. Bush from 1990 to 1993. As part of the plea deal, she will keep her physician's license.

The charges were filed after an investigation into Novello's tenure by Inspector General Joseph Fisch, who was appointed by Democratic Gov. David Paterson. The probe began in July 2007 under former Inspector General Kristine Hamann, an appointee of then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat.

Albany County District Attorney David Soares, also a Democrat, has said he will ask lawmakers to consider creating a new, tougher statute for state employees who misappropriate resources. He said last month that under a current law, a state employee who physically steals an item - paper clips or a computer, for example - could face more severe charges than Novello.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/ ... SECTION=US

Investigators said Novello, originally from Puerto Rico, used state workers to chauffeur her on shopping trips and rearrange heavy furniture at her apartment while she was New York's top health official. She now lives in Florida.

In court Friday, Albany County Judge Stephen Herrick asked Novello if she had intended to defraud the state.

Is this common practice in Puerto Rico? Interesting