Former state senator pleads guilty

From the NY Times:

Efraín González, a former Democratic state senator from the Bronx, pleaded guilty Friday to charges that he had used hundreds of thousands of dollars from nonprofit groups to pay for personal expenses, including credit card bills, rent on homes, and Yankees tickets.

Mr. González, once one of the longest-serving Democrats in the State Senate, was defeated for re-election last fall in a heated contest with Pedro Espada Jr.

Mr. González and three associates were indicted in 2006 on charges that they had conspired in an elaborate scheme involving hundreds of thousands of dollars of state grants known as “member items” that had been earmarked by Mr. González and ultimately routed to nonprofit groups in the Bronx, including one, the West Bronx Neighborhood Association, that operated out of a room connected to Mr. González’s district office.