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Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren has agreed to step down for breaking state electoral law when running for re-election in 2017 and will step down by December 1.
Warren, 44, was preparing for what was to be a month-long trial on Monday on felony charges that she and two aides violated campaign contribution limits, but she pleaded guilty to only one misdemeanor, admitting that she knowingly exceeded the limit of $ 8,557, the Democrat & Chronicle reported.
By admitting the charge, the city’s first black woman elected mayor avoids the likely loss of her law degree and immediate removal from office.
Warren’s co-defendants, campaign treasurer Albert Jones Jr. and Rosiland Brooks-Harris, treasurer of the Warren for a Strong Rochester Political Action Committee, also pleaded guilty to accepting campaign contributions in excess of legal limits, a reported the newspaper.
Warren, who declined to comment to reporters upon leaving court, is expected to be replaced by Deputy Mayor James Smith. Councilor Malik Evans, who beat Warren in a Democratic primary earlier this year, is next due to take office on January 1, the Democrat & Chronicle reported.
Warren thanked the residents of Rochester in a Facebook post Monday night.
“Leave the past behind and wait for a better future,” Warren wrote. “We’ve accomplished a lot together, but at the end of the day, I thank God for being able to choose my family first. “
Warren, Jones and Brooks-Harris faced up to four years in state prison if convicted of a felony, according to WHAM. But a judge sentenced them all to a one-year conditional discharge, meaning they could face additional sentences if they commit additional crimes during that time, the Democrat & Chronicle reported.
Monroe County prosecutors did not recommend parole, leaving the sentencing decision to Judge Thomas Leone. Warren’s lawyers had previously denied evading campaign fundraising rules, blaming the errors on poor accounting and unintentional mistakes.
Prosecutors did not elaborate on the extent of the alleged fraud other than to say that it amounted to “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” The PAC had raised about $ 350,000, reported the Democrat & Chronicle.
Warren’s plea deal on Monday also resolved separate charges of firearms and endangering children. In July, a grand jury indicted her and her ex-husband, Timothy Granison, with criminal possession of a firearm and endangering the well-being of a child and failing to lock or lock. securing guns in housing, the newspaper reported.
The allegations were linked to a search of their home in May which police said led to the seizure of 2 kilograms of cocaine and a rifle and pistol at the home, where their 10-year-old daughter was. found alone. Warren and Granison had both pleaded not guilty to firearms and child endangerment charges, despite not being involved in the alleged drug trafficking ring linked to her ex-husband.
Warren, who previously claimed prosecutors were eyeing her on a “witch hunt,” said her guilty plea on Monday was an effort to serve “her daughter’s best interests,” the Democrat & Chronicle reported.
District Attorney Sandra Doorley said Monday’s resolution was “fair and just” after a careful review of the evidence against Warren, Jones and Brooks-Harris.
“Going forward, the ramifications of the mayor’s conduct extend beyond the criminal justice system,” Doorley said in a statement. “This is an important step in our wider efforts to promote ethical elections in our state. “
Warren had also been criticized for the city’s handling of the suffocation death of Daniel Prude, a black man who died in March 2020 a week after being held by cops against the sidewalk until he stopped breathing.
A grand jury voted in February not to indict the Rochester officers involved, although Officer Mark Vaughn, who was seen in body camera footage pressing Prude’s face against the sidewalk for more than two minutes, did was sentenced to “ministerial charges” in September.
With post wires
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