Felony Conviction
A January 2009 report by the New York Inspector General's office claimed that during her seven-year tenure as New York State Health Commissioner, Novello routinely abused her authority over health department staff, "turn her staff at the Health Department into her personal chauffeurs, porters and shopping assistants during her seven-year tenure."
The Inspector General's office referred a criminal case against her to Albany County district attorney David Soares. On May 12, 2009, a felony indictment was unsealed charging one count of defrauding the government, three counts of filing a false instrument and sixteen counts of theft of government services. Upon arraignment by Judge Stephen Herrick, represented by attorney E. Stewart Jones, she at first pleaded "Not Guilty" to all allegations, but eventually pleaded guilty to one felony count of filing a false instrument in exchange for a light sentence and dropping the other charges. Her guilty plea was accepted by the court on August 13, 2009.
Read more about this topic: Antonia Novello
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