Former Spring Valley Mayor Noramie Jasmin found guilty

WHITE PLAINS – Former Spring Valley Mayor Noramie Jasmin was found guilty of public corruption Monday for selling her vote on a proposed community center and catering hall.

U.S. District Court Justice Colleen McMahon announced her verdict after a five-day bench trial.

McMahon found the 51-year-old politician had taken $5,000 and sold her vote in trade for a 50-percent ownership stake in the project, being pitched by a Monsey developer who was actually working as an undercover FBI operative.

Jasmin faces prison time on the mail fraud and extortion charges. Her sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 7. Her exact sentence will include consideration of the severity of the crime, her lack of a criminal record and her personal profile.

The former mayor declined comment Monday as she left the courthouse wielding an umbrella against a spring downpour. Her husband also declined comment.

Jasmin's lawyer, Benjamin Ostrer, called McMahon's verdict a "disappointment."

"We'll be reviewing our options over the next couple of weeks," he said.

Spring Valley Mayor Demeza Delhomme, who succeeded Jasmin and served on the Board of Trustees with her for years, called the guilty verdict "a sad story" for Jasmin and the working- class village. He became mayor in December 2013, when Jasmin lost a re-election bid while under indictment.

"She's the one who knows what she did," Delhomme said of Jasmin. " This sets an example that it should never happen again."

Former Deputy Mayor Joseph Desmaret also was snared in the federal uncover operation for taking a $10,800 bribe involving the same project. Both he and Jasmin were stung by FBI operative Moses "Mark" Stern, a Monsey developer working off potential prison time for a $126 million ripoff of CitiGroup on a deal to build 11 shopping centers.

Jasmin's trial held centered on audio and video tapes recorded by Stern and undercover FBI agents, who discussed the deal with Jasmin in area hotels and restaurants in New York and New Jersey. Jasmin was videotaped taking money from Stern. The scheme involved constructing a $12 million, three-story building on the 30-foot deep ditch in front of the Spring Valley municipal complex on Route 45.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Feinstein called Jasmin's actions "a brazen act of bribery." Jasmin demanded a secret 50-percent ownership in the facility under her sister's name, demanded Stern provided phony bidders and directed undercover agents how to act before the Board of Trustees to get approval, prosecutors said.

"Like all citizens, the residents of Spring Valley deserved an honest mayor, not one who worked behind closed doors and behind their backs to sell public land and public office for private gain," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said after the verdict.

The Rockland District Attorney's Office and Spring Valley police assisted with the investigation. The District Attorney's Office had initially focused on Stern because of allegations of a mortgage scheme for a run-down house next to his mansion on Remsen Avenue in Monsey. The office then learned about the shopping center scam and brought in federal agents.

Ostrer argued Stern unscrupulously manipulated Jasmin while lying to the FBI in a bid to stay out of prison. He said Jasmin had long advocated a community center for the village's youth before Stern came to her office to sell her on the development scheme.

Stern's undercover work also snared New York City Republican officials, who took his money as part of an effort to give former state Sen. Malcolm Smith, D-Brooklyn, the GOP nod for mayor. As part of the city scam, Smith obtained a $500,000 grant for a road improvements for Stern's supposed project in Spring Valley.

Spring Valley activist Cassandra Edwards questioned how authorities had allowed Stern to continue operating given the allegations against him.

"Unfortunately, with all the negativity that occurs about our village, this is another dark cloud," Edwards said. "It didn't start with Jasmin. She just got caught. We have a dysfunctional leadership that must go. She's an extraordinary women and did a lot of great things. She made bad decisions and must weigh the consequences."

Twitter: @lohudlegal