After five and a half days of deliberation, a Brooklyn federal jury yesterday found New York State Senator John Sampson, against whom Guyanese mortgage fraudster Ed Ahmad was a key witness, guilty of an obstruction of justice charge and lying to federal agents, a New York Post report said.
The report said that the senator was cleared of six of the nine counts he faced, including the top charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice, which carried a maximum of 20 years in prison.
But he still faces heavy prison time. Prosecutors said federal sentencing guidelines carry roughly 10 years in prison for the obstruction charge he was convicted of, and he must also forfeit his seat in the state senate after being convicted of the felonies.
According to the report, Sampson, who has a Guyanese parent, appeared to breathe a premature sigh of relief after he was cleared of the first charge against him as he put his head down on the table. But his mood changed after he went down on the second charge, which carries a maximum 10-year term.
The case against Sampson is that he skimmed money off of foreclosure deals while serving as a court-appointed monitor. He later took a US$188,500 loan from Ahmad to cover part of the skimmed sum after becoming concerned about discovery.
The New York-based Ahmad, who also has businesses here, was eventually charged separately for mortgage fraud and agreed to cooperate against his close friend through a series of recorded meetings and