Albany

Assemblyman William Scarborough is scheduled to plead guilty to felony charges next month to settle a federal indictment accusing him of receiving $40,000 for fraudulent state travel vouchers submitted during a four-year period ending in 2012.

The Queens Democrat, a 20-year Assembly veteran, will quit the Legislature as part of his plea agreement.

Scarborough's attorney filed a change-of-plea notice this week in U.S. District Court in Albany indicating he will enter a guilty plea on May 7 in federal court in Binghamton. A notice was also filed abandoning his legal fight to have cellphone tower data thrown out as evidence on the grounds the information was illegally obtained.

Scarborough also is weighing a plea deal to state criminal charges in Albany County Court.

The scheduled federal guilty plea comes amid several ongoing law enforcement investigations of alleged corruption at the state Capitol.

Also Tuesday, former Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan federal courtroom to charges that he used his political clout for personal gain, including receiving $4 million in alleged kickbacks.

Republican state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, meanwhile, is the focus of an ongoing investigation of his business dealings by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, according to published reports.

Another federal probe is examining dozens of payments from a campaign account to the family of former state Sen. George Maziarz, a Niagara County Republican who left office at the end of last year. The probe has focused on payments made to Maziarz's longtime re-election committee treasurer, as well as tens of thousands of dollars in checks made out to cash and never reported to the state Board of Elections.

In a statement Tuesday, Scarborough apologized for his conduct and blamed "severe financial problems" that he attributed to state legislators not getting a raise in 16 years.

"Whenever the issue of a salary increase was brought up we were told that our job was 'part time,' because we were only in session in Albany for six months out of the year," he said. "I found this particularly offensive because when I was not in Albany, I spent my days, most evenings and most weekends meeting my constituents or attending their events in my district".

Scarborough's scheduled plea in federal court comes as he's also considering an offer to plead guilty to a single felony count in Albany to settle a 23-count state indictment alleging that he used $38,000 from a campaign account for personal expenses.

The 11-count federal indictment alleges he submitted 174 fraudulent travel vouchers between January 2009 and December 2012. The indictment includes four counts of theft concerning a program receiving federal funds, and seven counts of wire fraud.

"There were factors that I used to justify my actions to myself, but I see them clearly as rationalizations," Scarborough said. "During the time frame of the charges, I faced severe financial problems. Money had always been tight, but sharply increased expenses created a financial crisis. I took on a second job at a college, but still found myself unable to keep up with my bills. My pride would not let me admit even to my family that I could not be the provider that they thought I was so I made a terrible choice — to take advantage of a travel system where you simply said you were in Albany and were reimbursed, basically with no questions asked."

He added there is "no excuse for my actions. ... It is not easy to admit that you have engaged in improper behavior and have fallen short of the standards that were expected of you in a responsible position."

U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, whose office is prosecuting Scarborough, declined comment Tuesday.

It's unclear if prosecutors will press for Scarborough to be sentenced to prison.

The FBI built its case against Scarborough using records from his cellphone, legislative swipe cards, an insurance claim, toll records and other motor vehicle activity. In one instance, Scarborough claimed to be in Albany on May 11, 2011 — Mother's Day — when his cellphone and debit card were used in Atlanta, the same day his daughter graduated from nearby Oxford College of Emory University, according to copies of search warrants obtained by the Times Union.

The FBI used three search warrants as well as subpoenas, physical surveillance and law enforcement databases to build a criminal case against Scarborough, including following him from Albany to his Queens residence four days before it was raided in March 2014.

The investigation was part of a broader review by the FBI and state attorney general's office into the per diem and mileage reimbursements of at least two dozen state legislators, according to law enforcement sources. Scarborough's travel payments drew heightened attention because for years he received more reimbursements for travel than most of his colleagues in the 150-member Assembly.

State rules do not require lawmakers to file receipts for lodging or the meals they purchase, and there is no ledger documenting their official business in Albany. Assembly members submit paper vouchers to the Assembly's finance department, which audits the expense claims that are then audited and approved by the state comptroller's office. The comptroller's office has rarely audited the travel expenses of members of the Legislature.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers agreed on a set of reforms to the per diem system in the recently concluded state budget negotiation.

blyons@timesunion.com • 518-454-5547 • @blyonswriter