The Bobster
Senior News Editor since 2004
Corrupt ex-NYC judge Sylvia Ash sentenced to 15 months for obstructing justice
A former Brooklyn judge was sentenced to 15 months in prison Wednesday after being convicted of obstruction of justice charges – a case that a US district judge has seen “in almost 28 years.&…
nypost.com
Corrupt ex-NYC judge Sylvia Ash sentenced to 15 months for obstructing justice
By
Ben Feuerherd and
Maggie Hicks
April 20, 2022 7:14pm
Updated
A corrupt former Brooklyn judge was sentenced to 15 months in prison Wednesday after being convicted of obstruction of justice charges – a case that “struck at the heart of the criminal justice system,” a federal jurist said.
The disgraced Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice, Sylvia Ash, was convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice and other counts at trial last year for attempting to throw off federal investigators who were probing embezzlement at the Municipal Credit Union.
Ash previously served as chair of the Board of Directors of the MCU, a credit union that primarily serves New York City civil servants, such as firefighters, sanitation workers and police officers.
She helped the former CEO of the MCU, Kam Wong, embezzle millions of dollars from the financial institution, in part, by signing a misleading memo that purported to show he was authorized to receive the cash.
US District Judge Lewis Kaplan said it was “as tragic a case as I have seen in almost 28 years” as he handed down the sentence in Manhattan federal court.
Kaplan noted that Ash, who rose from a modest immigrant upbringing, had thrown away her career, her status in the community and her reputation.
Ash heading to her initial arraignment in November 2019.Steven HirschHer downfall was a “just consequence of your own dishonest, corrupt and frankly outrageous conduct,” the judge said.
“It was not aberrational. It was calculated,” Kaplan said of the scheme.
Assistant US Attorney Eli Mark said Ash used her position as a judge in an attempt to get away with her crimes.
“She was a lawyer and a judge and she knew exactly what she was doing. She draped herself in the prestige of her position to get away with her conduct,” Mark said at the sentencing hearing.
Former Judge Sylvia Ash was convicted after aiding former Municipal Credit Union CEO Kam Wong with embezzling millions from the company.Kam WongIn brief remarks, Ash acknowledged that she had lived the American dream – but threw it all away by committing her crimes.
“I was blessed with life beyond my imagination,” she said. “That is all gone now … it’s been destroyed. I have no one to blame but myself.”
US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement that the sentence “sends a clear message that those who attempt to thwart a federal investigation face serious consequences for that corrosive conduct.”
Ash resigned from the bench earlier this month, according to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct.