Norman Seabrook

Last updated

Norman Seabrook
Born (1960-02-23) February 23, 1960 (age 64)
Alma mater Empire State College
OccupationCorrections officer
Employer New York City Department of Correction (former)
OrganizationCorrection Officers Benevolent Association
Known forLeadership; Corruption
TitlePresident
Term1995–2016
PredecessorStanley Israel
SuccessorElias Husamudeen
Criminal statusConvicted
Criminal charge
  • 1.) honest services fraud
  • 2.) conspiracy
Penalty58 months incarceration
Capture status
Incarcerated
Imprisoned atFCI Beckley
Notes
Federal Inmate # 77754-054

Norman Seabrook is an American former law enforcement officer and union leader who was the president of the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association from 1995 to 2016. [1]

Contents

Career

Seabrook became a corrections officer in 1985. [2] He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Empire State College. [3] As leader of COBA, which represents more than 9,000 officers within the New York City Department of Correction, Seabrook was known for his strong defense for union members, and was said by The New York Times to be a "roadblock to reform". [4] Seabrook was described by the New York Times as being a "powerbroker" in New York City. [1]

Seabrook was instrumental in pushing through the "Feces Bill" which made it a felony to throw feces at a corrections officer. [5] Seabrook fought for deals, sometimes in unison with other city unions, including the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York and the Uniformed Firefighters Association. [6] Seabrook lobbied for corrections officers to gain parity with the NYPD and the FDNY in pay and benefits. [1] In 2001, Seabrook was appointed by New York Governor George Pataki to the three-person, bipartisan "Task Force to Reform New York State and New York City Elections". [2]

Seabrook hosted his own radio show called, Real Talk, Real Time on WWRL 1600 AM in New York City market. This show aired weekly on Fridays.

Criminal issues

Seabrook was charged with taking a $60,000 bribe in connection with a $20 million investment of union members' money. [7] Seabrook was said to have been "presented with a Ferragamo bag by Jona Rechnitz." [8] $19 million of that investment was lost, but through lengthy deals $4.5 million has been restituted. [8] Seabrook was indicated by a federal grand jury on July 7, 2016, along with co-defendant Murray Huberfeld. Huberfield was the founder of Platinum Partners, a hedge fund to which COBA funds would be directed by Seabrook. In return for the COBA investments, Seabrook received kickbacks of between $100,000 and $150,000, depending on the amount invested by COBA. [9] The first trial ended in a hung jury. [1] In the second trial, Seabrook was convicted of corruption and was sentenced to 58 months in prison. [10]

As a result of the legal issues, his bank attempted to foreclose on his home. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Correctional Association</span> Private non-profit trade association

The American Correctional Association is a private, non-profit, non-governmental trade association and accrediting body for the corrections industry, the oldest and largest such association in the world. The organization was founded in 1870 and has a significant place in the history of prison reform in the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Fire Department</span> Fire department in New York City

The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for fire suppression and fire prevention, and is a major provider of EMS services in New York City. Beyond fire suppression and EMS, the FDNY is responsible for a broad range of services, including technical rescue, CBRN defense, and structural collapse response and analysis. The FDNY is equipped with a wide variety of general-purpose and specialized Vehicles,Tools and Equipment to serve its varied missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Kelly (Florida politician)</span> American politician

Richard Kelly was an American politician from Florida. He was a Republican. He was convicted of taking bribes in the 1980 Abscam scandal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dooney & Bourke</span> American fashion company

Dooney & Bourke is an American leather goods brand founded in 1975 by designer Peter Dooney and entrepreneur Frederic Bourke in Norwalk, Connecticut. Originally a men's supplier of belts, suspenders, and ties, the company now specializes in handbags and small accessories. Peter Dooney has maintained his role as designer at the company throughout the brand's history. Dooney's competitors include Coach and Kate Spade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Department of Correction</span> New York City government agency

The New York City Department of Correction (NYCDOC) is the branch of the municipal government of New York City responsible for the custody, control, and care of New York City's imprisoned population, housing the majority of them on Rikers Island. It employs 8,949 uniformed officers and 2,027 civilian staff, has 543 vehicles, and processes over 100,000 new inmates every year, retaining a population of inmates of between 3,000 and 6,000. Its nickname is New York's Boldest. Its regulations are compiled in title 39 of the New York City Rules.

Thomas Von Essen was appointed the 30th FDNY Commissioner of the City of New York by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani on April 15, 1996, and served in that position until the end of the Giuliani Administration on December 31, 2001, nearly four months after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision</span> Department of the New York State government

The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (NYSDOCCS) is the department of the New York State government that administers the state prison and parole system, including 44 prisons funded by the state government.

William Frank Boyland Jr. is an American convicted felon and former politician from the state of New York. A Democrat, Boyland represented District 55 (Brooklyn) in the New York State Assembly and was first elected in a 2003 special election. He forfeited his Assembly seat on March 6, 2014 due to his conviction on federal felony charges related to extortion, bribery, and official corruption, and he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Cassidy</span>

Stephen Cassidy was the longest serving President of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York (UFA) in its 100-year history. He was first elected to the position in August 2002 and is the only UFA President in the union's history to be elected directly out of a firehouse. In 2016, Cassidy resigned his position as UFA President to serve as the executive director of the New York City Fire Pension Fund. In 2018, following his arrest for driving while intoxicated, New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro removed Cassidy from his position as executive director of the New York City Fire Pension Fund.

Rudy Giuliani: Urban Legend is a video produced by the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF). On July 11, 2007, the IAFF released the 13-minute video in DVD format to fire departments across the U.S. The DVD outlines its complaints against Rudy Giuliani. It is critical of the 2008 Republican Party presidential candidate and former New York City mayor. As the video has been issued on a website, and not just DVD, it is classifiable as a viral video.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sculptor Capital Management</span> American investment management firm

Sculptor Capital Management is an American global diversified alternative asset management firm. They are one of the largest institutional alternative asset managers in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Mississippi Correctional Facility</span>

East Mississippi Correctional Facility is a men's prison located in unincorporated Lauderdale County, Mississippi, near Meridian. It is about 90 miles east of the capital, Jackson. Opened in 1999, the special needs prison is intended to provide a high level of care for up to 1500 prisoners with serious mental illness, at all custody levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Correctional Institution, Three Rivers</span> Medium-security United States prison in Texas

The Federal Correctional Institution, Three Rivers is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in unincorporated Live Oak County, Texas. It is operated by Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also has an adjacent satellite prison camp which houses minimum-security male offenders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Correctional Complex, Yazoo City</span> Low-security United States prison in Mississippi

The Federal Correctional Complex, Yazoo City is a United States federal prison complex for male offenders in unincorporated Yazoo County, Mississippi. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice and is located 36 miles (58 km) north of Jackson, Mississippi. It consists of:

Christopher B. Epps is a federal inmate and a former commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) and career employee in the state criminal justice system though he started his career as a teacher. Appointed as Commissioner in 2002 and serving until 2014, he served under three governors and was the agency's longest-serving commissioner in its history. Epps came up within the department as a 32-year career employee.

The Fat Leonard scandal is an ongoing investigation and prosecution of corruption within the United States Navy during the 2000s and 2010s. It has involved ship support contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), a Thai subsidiary of the Glenn Marine Group. The Washington Post called the scandal "perhaps the worst national-security breach of its kind to hit the Navy since the end of the Cold War." The company's chief executive, president, and chairman, Malaysian national Leonard Glenn Francis, bribed a large number of uniformed officers of the United States Seventh Fleet with at least a half million dollars in cash, plus travel expenses, luxury items, parties and prostitutes, in return for classified material. The classified information included the movements of U.S. ships and submarines, confidential contracting information, and details about active law enforcement investigations into Glenn Defense Marine Asia.

Operation Mississippi Hustle was a federal investigation initiated in 2014 by the United States Attorney and prosecuted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. It examined the relationship between officials of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and various for-profit prison contractors and subcontractors, who have provided services to the five private prisons in the state. One, Walnut Grove, closed in September 2016 but has since reopened.

Mark (Meir) Nordlicht is the founder and former chief investment officer of Platinum Partners, a U.S. based hedge fund, which came to be known for its unusual investment strategies becoming the subject of a series of controversial criminal and legal actions. According to an indictment, Nordlicht, in addition to the fund's co-CIO and CFO, were accused of running a "ponzi like scheme". A jury acquitted all defendants on the core charges relating to the Ponzi scheme operation, but found two of the lead executives guilty on the lesser charges relating to a bond-rigging scheme. In an unusual move, Judge Brian Cogan, presiding in the case of United States vs. Nordlicht, et al., reversed the jurors' guilty verdicts and acquitted the firm's co-CIO of the lesser charges in a full acquittal, but ordered a new trial to be set for Nordlicht. An appellate court later upheld the convictions.

Cecil McCrory is a former Mississippi state legislator, justice court judge, Rankin County school board president and businessman. His indictment was made public in November 2014 for corruption related to his dealings with prison industry contractors. It was later revealed that he had become an informant in the investigation, along with his partner in crime, ex-Commissioner of Corrections in Mississippi, Chris Epps. Epps was sentenced to 235 months and McCrory to 102 months in federal prison. Both men were fined and ordered to pay restitution. McCrory is being held at the Federal Correctional Institution, Talladega, Alabama, with a scheduled release date of April 24, 2025.

The Correction Officers' Benevolent Association (COBA) is the second largest trade union for law enforcement in New York. COBA is also the largest municipal jail union in the United States. It represents corrections staff within the New York City Department of Correction run by the New York City Department of Correction. It has a membership of 9000.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Weiser, Benjamin; Greenberg, Zoe (February 8, 2019). "Norman Seabrook Was Once a Union PowerBroker in New York. Now He Is Going to Prison. (Published 2019)". New York Times .
  2. 1 2 "Biography of Norman Seabrook". University of North Texas. May 24, 2002. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  3. Klein, Jeffrey D. (March 2, 2011). "Klein Honors Everyday Heroes At His Annual Black History Month Celebration Breakfast". Newsroom: Former New York State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein. Albany, NY: New York State Senate. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  4. Schwirtz, Michael; Winerip, Michael (December 15, 2014). "At Rikers Island, Union Chief's Clout Is a Roadblock to Reform". New York Times.
  5. "After SDNY Sentencing Norman Seabrook Tells Inner City Press YouTube Is Doctored But Here It Is". www.innercitypress.com. February 8, 2019.
  6. UFANYC. "Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York - UFA News". FDNY Union Website. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  7. Brown, Stephen Rex. "Former jails union boss Norman Seabrook loses appeal in bribery case". New York Daily News .
  8. 1 2 STEIER, RICHARD. "Deny Seabrook Appeal Of Bribery Conviction; 58-Month Term Near". The Chief.
  9. "Indictment" . Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  10. "Norman Seabrook, President Of Correction Officers Benevolent Association, Sentenced To 58 Months In Prison For Accepting Bribes In Exchange For Investing Union Money In New York-Based Hedge Fund". www.justice.gov. February 8, 2019.
  11. "Deutsche Bank aims to foreclose on the home of former jail union leader". Crain's New York Business. August 25, 2020.