Hiram Monserrate
Despite being indicted for allegedly beating and slashing the face of his girlfriend, New York Democrats are quietly backing State Senator Hiram Monseratte.
Monseratte was arrested in December 2008 for the domestic abuse incident, which was partially captured on four security cameras in his apartment building.
Despite being a state-senator-elect at the time of his arrest, fellow Democrats did not ask Monseratte to step down and he became a full Senator. His political colleauges in Albany have quietly set up a legal defense fund to help Monseratte pay his lawyer fees, and Majority Leader Malcolm A. Smith has given his blessing for the effort.
Karla Giraldo
This is not the first time New York Democrats have helped one of their own caught up in scandal. A similar legal defense fund was set up to help Bronx Democrat Efraín González Jr. in 2006 when he was caught stealing more than $400,000 in state money.
After his arrest, it was revealed that Monserrate has a history of mental health problems. In 1999, he claimed to be suffering psychological problems as a New York City Police Department officer, writing: “I suffer with adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder.” After an assessment by the NYPD’s psychological services unit, Monserrate was forced to relinquish his gun. In 2001, trouble continued when Monserrate was arrested after allegedly using his car to run over the leg of a tow-truck operator who was attempting to tow away his car; the charges were later dropped.
State Republicans have called for Monseratte to step down, blasting Democrats for their unwavering support for an alleged woman-beater. “If we’re going to protect people that would abuse women and abuse any body in this fashion, there is something wrong with that,” said Brooklyn Republican Sen. Martin Golden.
Monseratte has “temporarily” stepped down from the state’s Consumer Affairs Committee, but maintains his innocence and refuses to step down from his state Senate seat.
If convicted, Monseratte faces up to seven years in prison.
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He’s innocent. Even his girlfriend says that she fell on the glass by accident.
Nice try, Alley Oop/ETB/Schwartz.
-Admin.
He is a real D-BAG…
He worked for the Police Department but he was never a COP…..