Former Spring Valley Mayor Begins Serving Federal Prison Sentence

BY BARUCH HOROWITZ

The former mayor of Spring Valley is waking up in federal prison this morning after she has surrendered to serve her four-year jail term on charges that she took bribes in a scheme involving a proposed community center in the village.

Noramie Jasmin was mayor of Spring Valley when an FBI operative in Monsey, posing as a developer, promised her $5,000 and a 50 percent stake in a real-estate project in exchange for her vote on the Board of Trustees.

The operative from Monsey was a developer who had pleaded guilty in a fraud case in which he was charged with stealing more than $100 million from Citigroup. He turned into a government informant working for the FBI to win leniency at his sentencing.

Apparently, Jasmin fell for it and demanded money for voting in favor of the $12 million, three-story construction project across the Spring Valley municipal headquarters on Route 45. In addition to the cash, the Ex-mayor also wanted a cut of the revenue generated by the new catering hall project.

Jasmin was convicted in April of mail fraud and extortion, and got four years prison time for misusing her position as mayor in an effort to enrich herself. Her Former Deputy Mayor, Joseph Desmaret, got three years in prison in June. Desmaret was also fooled by the same Monsey developer who was actually working for the FBI when he took a $10,800 bribe involving the same project.

Jasmin was supposed to turn herself in earlier last month, but was granted delays because she had to undergo surgery. Today, she finally surrendered to federal authorities to begin serving her prison term.

Jasmin ran for re-election in 2013 while she was under indictment, but lost the race.

Federal Judge Colleen McMahon said after delivering his verdict that Jasmin violated the trust of her constituents, especially young women seeking a role model. “Imprisonment is absolutely necessary given your enthusiastic participation in this corrupt activity”, said Judge McMahon.

“By abusing her position as mayor for her own personal gain, Noramie Jasmin betrayed the trust the people of Spring Valley put in her. As the conviction and prison sentence today make clear, we do not accept public corruption in New York as the status quo,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

The federal corruption investigation led to the conviction of six politicians including former state Sen. Malcolm Smith, who was found guilty of trying to buy his way onto the New York City mayoral ballot.

Besides Jasmin and Smith, former New York City Councilman Daniel Halloran, former Queens Republican leader Vincent Tabone, former Bronx Republican leader Joseph Savino and former deputy mayor in Spring Valley Joseph Desmaret, were convicted or pleaded guilty in the wide-ranging corruption scandal.

Prosecutors had called Jasmin’s crimes “egregious,” saying that Jasmin not only asked for the bribes but wanted to be paid for naming the shell company, using a family member’s name and Social Security number. She also teached Stern and two other phony FBI competitors on how to act and answer questions before the Board of Trustees.

Originally published by www.monsey.com