Sally J.M.

Butler
Attorney at Law 42-40 Bell Boulevard, Suite 302 Bayside, New York 11361 Office(718) 279-4500
By ECF M ay 8 , 2 013 H o n o rab le Jack B . W einstein U n ited S tates D istrict Judge E astern D istrict of N ew Y ork 2 2 5 C ad m an P laza E ast B roo k lyn , N ew Y ork 11201 RE: U nited States v. Shirley H untley D ocket N o: 13 cr 54 (JB W )

Email szsb@aol.com

D ear Ju dge W einstein: P ursuant to T his C ourts O rder dated M ay7, 2013, the attached senten cin g m em o ran dum has been publicly filed w ith the C ourt.

R espectfully S ubm itted .

S ally B utler A ttorney for S hirley H untley

cc:

R o b erta H outon, U S PO D aniel S pector, A U S A

Sally J.M. Butler

Attorney at Law 42-40 Bell Boulevard, Suite 302 Bayside, New York 11361 Office(718) 279-4500
By ECF M ay 1 , 2 013 H o n o rab le Jack B . W einstein U n ited S tates D istrict Judge E astern D istrict of N ew Y ork 2 2 5 C ad m an P laza E ast B roo k lyn , N ew Y ork 11201 RE: U nited States v. Shirley H untley D ocket N o: 13 cr 54 (JB W )

Email szsb@aol.com

D ear Ju dge W einstein: T his letter is subm itted for Y our H onors consideration in the sentencin g o f M rs. S h irley H untley. T he purpose of this le tte r is to set forth the defendan ts o b jectio n s to the presentence report and to present to the C ourt factors relev an t in sen ten cing the defendant to a f a ir a n d reasonable sentence that com plies w ith T itle 1 8 U .S .C . 3553(a) . I am in receipt of the prob ation report prepared by U nited States P robatio n O fficer R oberta H oulto n dated A pril 11, 2013, I have review ed and discussed w ith m y client the report. S ubm itted sim ultaneously w ith this letter are letters of support from M rs. H u n tle ys fam ily and friends and a petition of support from m em bers of th e c o m m u n ity. D ue to the sensitiv e nature of the m aterials contained in this letter, th e d efen dant respectfully requests th at T he C ourt perm it this letter to be filed u n der seal.

Page 2 of 10 O ffen se C onduct O n January 30, 2013, S hirley H untley pled guilty by inform ation to m ail frau d in violation of 18 U .S .C . 371. M s. H untley adm itted that she had m ad e false re p re s e n tations on certification form s that w ere m ailed to the N ew Y o rk S tate D epartm ent of E ducation. B y w ay of background, in 1994, M s. H untle y e sta b lished a nonp ro fit o rg anization thats m ission w as to assist parents dealing w ith issues relatin g to N ew Y o rk C ity P u b lic S chool system . M s. H untley had volunteered on th e D istrict 2 8 C om m unity S cho o l B o ard and the P T A . H er philosophy has alw ays b een th at education w as key to success. A p ortion of the funding for the nonprofit org a n iz a tion cam e from gran ts sp o n so red by N ew Y ork legislators. W h ile th e m ajority of the funds w ere sp en t o n th e in tended purpose, som e funds w e re spent on item s outside the stated m ission . A portion of those funds w as spent by M rs. H untley for personal item s. M s. H untley has adm itted to the governm ent that she did on at le a s t tw o o ccasio ns along w ith another individual use the funds to shop for personal item s. T hese sh opping expedition s w e re toiletries and household item s-not extravag an t u n dertakin gs. M s. H untley has also adm itted to the governm e n t th at she paid fo r co m m un ity expenses that w ere not w ithin the m issio n s tatem ent of the not-fo rp ro fit o rg anization. T hese expenditures included, am ong other things, a fun eral fo r a ch ild that died in the com m unity, cap and gow ns for low incom e high sch o o l sen io rs, and contributions to charitable endeavors. A n exact accounting of the inappropriate spending has b e e n h a m pered b y a lack o f records w hich M rs. H untle y a c k n ow ledged she failed to prop erly m ain tain . S he has accepted responsibility and has adm itted to the governm ent th at th e b etw een 2005 and 2008 she d iverted funds from the nonprofit organizatio n in a m ann er inconsistent w ith the stated m ission. B ecause of the failure to prop erly m ain tain the records, b oth parties have agreed that restitution of $87,700 is acceptable. T he H untleys are not w ealthy people and the restitution paym ent w ill b e difficult. A s discussed in p a ra g raphs 12 through 15 of the P robation R eport, M rs. H u n tley has adm itted to the governm ent that during her term as a N ew Y ork S tate

Page 3 of 10 S enator, she did receive a sum of one thousand dollars from a b u sinessm an w an ting to do business at JFK airport. { P o rtio n rem ain s u n der seal } T he governm ent, how ever, has accepted M rs. H untleys representations as tru e. A s a result, the governm ent has been able to ban the businessm an fro m fu rth er association w ith JF K airport. T he activity adm itted to by M rs. H untley is n o t relev ant conduct to the charged offense but w as included in the plea agreem en t to en han ce and assist th e g o v e rnm ent w ith their law enforcem ent efforts. M rs. H u n tleys assistance to th e g overnm ent should be considered as a m itigatin g facto r. T otal O ffense L evel T he parties participated in substantial plea negotiations. T he total offen se le v e l as determ ined by probation is consistent w ith the plea agreem ent. T h e d e f e n d a n t is in agreem ent w ith probations calculation and stands by the p lea ag reem ent. A d u lt C rim inal C onvictions T he defendant is a crim in al h is to ry c a tegory one. D uring the pendency o f th is case, the defendant w as prosecuted by the N ew Y ork S tate A ttorney G en eral fo r assisting another individual w ith drafting a letter that w as inte n d e d a s a resp o nse to a subpoena issued by the N Y S A tto rn e y G eneral. A third individ u al ad op ted portions of that letter and subm itted to th e A ttorney G eneral his letter w h ich co ntained false statem ents. T he defendant adm itted to the governm en t h er ro le in th e drafting to the letter. T he defendants adm ission w a s th e stro n g est ev id ence of any w rong doing. T he defendant pled guilty in S tate C ourt. M itig atin g F actors F am ily H istory S hirley H untley w as born in 1938 in R iverhead, N ew Y ork and is 74 years o ld . S h e m arried her high schoo l sw eethea rt 5 3 ye a rs ago. T he union produced th ree b right a n d h a rd-w orking children. M rs. H untley devoted herself to raisin g th e ch ild ren and volunteering in her com m unity. H er husband, H e rbert, w ork ed fo r th e B oard of E ducation as a guidance counselor and is now retired. S hirley

Page 4 of 10 an d H erbert live in a m odest tw o bedroom hom e in S outh Jam aica, Q ueens. { P o rtio n rem ain s u n der seal }

Page 5 of 10

P hysical C ondition M rs. H untley suffers fro m sciatica. T he root of her spinal nerv e is co m p ressed. S he regularly receives a cortisone injection into her spine to redu ce th e in flam ation surrounding the nerve root. U nfortunately, her last tw o sched u led in jectio ns w ere term inated as her blood pressure w as dangerously high. S h e is p resen tly taking prescription m edications. H er blood pressure has beco m e in c reasin g ly w orrisom e during these stressful m onths. O n A pril 15, 2013 , h e r d o cto r h as increased the dosag e of m edication. She is currently prescrib ed M eto p ro lo l and N isedical. C h aritab le W orks S hirley H untley has spent her entire life volunte ering in her com m u n ity, w o rk in g hard to im prove the schools and the quality of lif e . S h e w as not o n ly co m m itted to raising her ow n children to be productive m em bers of society b u t also th e children in the depressed com m unity of S outh Jam aica, Q ueens. M rs. H u n tley currently volunteers full tim e at the V eterans-In-C om m and and has b een o ffered a perm anent job if her legal situation perm its. A letter attesting to th e em p lo ym ent offer has been subm itted to the C ourt. T he num ber of cha ritable w orks and volunteer jobs M s. H untley h as p articip ated in and presently participates in are so num erous, I have chosen to sim p ly list them for your review :

Page 6 of 10

In itiated a C ub S cout T roop at M errick P ark B aptist C hurch G irl S cout T roop L eader P T A P resident at P S 123, P S 160 and S him er JH S P T A V ice P resident at John B ow ne H S , A ugu s t M artin H S and F ran cis L ew is H S O rganized, funded, and co nducted yearly H allow een parties for children at v arious schools E lected m em ber of C om m unity S chool B oard D istrict 28 (12 years) P resident of C om m unity S chool B oard D istrict 28 N am ed several schools w hile on C om m unity S chool B oard D istrict 2 8 : A u gust M artin H S , T he D uke E llington School, T he T hurgood M arsh all S chool, T he R uby S . C ouche S chool and T he A rthur A she S chool In itiated the aeronautics program at A ugust M artin H S and arranged fo r th e stu dents to study aeronautic s a t M acA rthur A irport w ith the B lack P ilo ts A ssociation W as appointed to the C om m unity E d u cation C ouncil by Q ueens B oro u g h P resident H elen M arshall N am ed and brought T he G atew ay S chool to Q ueens C o m m unity B oard 12 m em ber and E ducation C hair N A A C P m em ber and E ducation C hair In itiated the building of the P S 99 A nnex V o lu n te ered at the R ead A loud P rogram at the S utphin B lvd L ibrary in Jam aica, N Y W orked for over forty years to rebuild P S 48 in Q ueens and w as able to g et

Page 7 of 10 a n ew school built upon becom ing S enator M arched in W ashington w ith R ev. Jesse Jackson F ought for the building o f R oy W ilkins P ark and founded the S o u th e rn Q u eens P ark A ssociation B o ard m em ber w ith the S outhern Q ueens P ark A ssociation P resident of the L ocust M anor C ivic A ssociation. T he L ocust M anor C iv ic A ssociation sponsored C hristm as toy drives, neighborhood C hris tm as caro ling, block parties and T hanksgiving turkey giveaw ays F ounded the L ocust M ano r N eighborhood C ivic A ssociation N eighborh o o d W atch V ice P resident of the 113 P recinct C ouncil M em ber of K iw anis C lub P lanned and im plem ented B azaars at the M errick P ark B aptist C hurch V o lunteered at various ch urch soup kitchens P resently volunteering w ith V eterans-in-C om m and, a program designed to h o use and assist hom eless and displaced veterans S enator Sh irley H untley In 2006, m em bers of the com m unity persuaded S hirley H untle y to ru n fo r th e N ew Y ork State S enate. H er fam ily w as opposed to the idea from the start. T he w o rld of politics w as not consistent w ith S hirle y H untleys dem eanor. H er fam ily w as also concerned that the dem ands of the job w ould im pact her physical w ell b ein g . D espite their concerns, S hirley saw the opportunity as a chance to m ak e a d ifference in her com m unity. S he agreed to run. S hirley H untleys nam e w as w ell know n in the com m unity due to her years of public service. S he w as o v erw h elm ingly elected to office. D u ring her six years in the S tate S e n a te , she concentrated her efforts to im p ro v in g the lives of the less fortunate and continued to s u p port education an d co m m un ity out reach. S he spon sored le g is la tion for children and the m en tally

Page 8 of 10 d isab led . A list of the B ills she sponsored is attached. A ccep tan ce of R esponsibility and A ssistance to the G overnm ent S hirley H untley pled g u ilty to an Inform ation. S he self-surrendered an d accepted responsibility. T he crim e S hirley H untley pled guilty to occurred nearly five years ago. T he crim e w a s u n re lated to her position as State S enator. W h en sh e w as contacted by the governm ent about the m isappropriation of funds, sh e ag reed to m eet w ith them and an sw er their questions. M rs. H untle y m et w ith attorneys for the governm ent and F B I ag en ts reg u larly over a six-m onth period. D uring her in te rv iew s w ith the governm en t, sh e ad v ised them that she had know ledge of w hat she believ e d to be corrup tio n in v o lv in g public officials. S he w as asked by the governm ents attorneys and F B I ag en ts to invite certain individu als into h e r h o m e and record conversation s o n b ehest o f the F ederal B ureau of Investigation. S he w illing did as they h ad re q u ested . D uring the sum m er of 2012, M s. H untley upon the prom pting o f th e U .S . A ttorneys O ffice and the F B I recorded and photographed the follow in g in d iv id u als on m ultiple occasions: S tate Senator John S am pson M elvin L ow e, (form er political consultant and associate of N ew Y ork S tate A ttorney G eneral E ric S chneiderm an) S tate Senator E ric A dam s S tate Senator R uth H assel-T hom pson S tate Senator Jose P eralta S tate Senator M alcolm S m ith C ity C ouncilm an R ubin W ills S tate Senator V elm anette M ontgom ery C u rtis T aylor, (form er press advisor for M alcolm S m ith)

Page 9 of 10

{ P o rtio n rem ain s u n der seal }

T he defense is aw are that the go vernm ent is currently investigating pub lic o fficials based in part upon the inform ation provided by M s . H untley and h er reco rd ed conversations. M s. H untley has not revealed her proffers or recordin g s p u blicly so as to m axim ize the governm ents current efforts. T he full extent to w h ich sh e assisted the governm ent has not yet been m ade available to the defen se.

C onclusion In conclusion, the prosecution of S hirley H untley ended her political career an d d evastated her fam ily. D espite h e r d o w n f a ll, she continues to volunteer in h er co m m unity as she has done for her entire life. S he has agreed to payback th e m o n ey th at w as m isappropriated and/or unaccounted for. In d e te rm in in g a sen ten ce that is sufficient but not greater than necessary, M rs H untley asks th at T h is C o u rt consider her years o f good w orks and selfless service, her fam ily circu m stances, the declining hea lth o f h e r children and her husband, and h er assistan ce to the governm ent.

R espectfully S ubm itted .

S ally B utler A ttorney for S hirley H untley

cc:

R o b erta H outon, U S PO D aniel S pector, A U S A

Page 10 of 10