| Melrose Credit Union CEO
Kaufman Gets 46 Months For Bribes Including
From CBS Radio
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Video, Alamy
photos
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Sept 29 – The CEO of Melrose
Credit Union Alan Kaufman was
arrested at 6 am on July 11,
2019 and presented on bribery
charges before U.S.
District Court
for the
Southern
District of
New York Magistrate
Judge Henry B.
Pitman at 4
pm. Wearing a
red polo shirt, he
pleaded not
guilty.
Inner City
Press was
there and reported
it.
He
agreed to a
bail package
of a $500,00
bond to be
signed by his wife
and his son,
flying in on July 23
and, among
other things,
drug testing
and treatment
if
needed. His
co-defendant Tony
Georgiton must
post a $1
million bond
and turn in
not only his
US but also
his Greek
passport. The
next hearing was
not until
September 4
before SDNY
District Judge
Lewis A. Kaplan.
Inner City
Press wrote:
It's good to
be a banker.
On
January 11,
2021,
Georgiton had
his
sentencing,
and Inner City
Press live
tweeted it, below.
On
March 31,
Kaufman was
convicted
after a jury
trial "for
participating
in a scheme in
which KAUFMAN,
who was then
the Chief
Executive
Officer of
Melrose Credit
Union
(“Melrose
CU”), accepted
rent-free
housing and
financing for
the purchase
of his
personal
residence from
Tony Georgiton
as a reward
for the
approval of
millions of
dollars in
loans to
Georgiton’s
companies at
favorable
terms.
KAUFMAN was
also convicted
for accepting
lavish
vacations,
including to
Paris and
Hawaii, from a
media company
and other
vendors, as a
reward
for Melrose CU
purchasing
increased
advertising
from those
companies.
The jury
convicted
KAUFMAN today
following a
two-week trial
before U.S.
District Judge
Lewis A.
Kaplan.
Now on
September 29,
2021, ALAN
KAUFMAN, who
at the time of
the offense
was the chief
executive
officer of
Melrose Credit
Union
(“Melrose
CU”), was
sentenced
today to 46
months in
prison.
KAUFMAN was
previously
convicted,
following a
three-week
jury trial, of
participating
in a scheme in
which he
accepted from
Tony Georgiton
free housing
and hundreds
of thousands
of dollars in
financing for
the purchase
of his
personal
residence,
after
approving
millions of
dollars in
loans to
Georgiton’s
companies at
favorable
terms.
KAUFMAN was
also convicted
for accepting
lavish
vacations,
including to
Paris and
Hawaii, from
CBS Radio
after
increasing
Melrose CU’s
advertising
purchases at
CBS Radio. We aim
to have more
on this.
Here
was the
@SDNYLIVE
sentencing of
Tony
Georgiton, who
bribed Melrose
Credit Union
CeO Alan
Kaufman for
refinancing of
$60 million in
loans
including the
Melrose
Ballroom in
Astoria,
Queens.
Georgiton's
lawyer: There
was no quo for
the quid. I
take my hat
off to Mr.
Kreiger, he
did the
research and
now there is
no remand for
restitution,
beyond the
amount of the
actual bribe.
Georgiton's
lawyer: They
went to Alma
Bank and got a
loan at a
lower rate...
In jail right
now, the
Bureau of
Prison is just
keeping people
locked in a
cage.
[From his
memo: "When
Tony needed
financial for
his first
[taxi]
medallion, the
broker sent
him to MCU."
Georgiton
himself: "I am
a good man
with a big
heart. I have
worked hard. I
help people,
1000s of
drivers in my
community.
Anyone who
came knocking
on my door, I
help them. I
never gave too
much emphasis
in money. I
was born in
Greece...
Georgiton:
I am going to
be 63. I
cannot hold
any licenses.
I cannot sell
my house. My
partners threw
me out of the
company
[sobbing]. I
don't know how
I can get out
from this. I
breaks my
heart. This is
not what I had
in mind when I
came to the
US.
Assistant
US Attorney:
Probation is
not a
sufficient
punishment. We
have concerns
about the
acceptance of
responsibility.
This was the
head of a
multi million
dollar taxi
medallion
business who
paid bribes to
the CEO of a
billion dollar
credit union
AUSA:
We are asking
for forfeiture
of $286,000.
Defense
lawyer: May I
respond? The
rent-free
aspect, yes,
Mr. Kaufman
did not pay
rent. But he
paid $2000 a
month in
expenses.
Judge
Kaplan: I
understand you
have done good
things your
life. I don't
question any
of it. But
these was not
a mistake, nor
an error of
judgment. It
was a
longstanding
course of
conduct that
was corrupt,
at its heart.
Judge
Kaplan: I
sentence you
to probation
of three
years, a fine
of $95,000 and
forfeit to the
US the sum of
$286,663.65.
Judge
Kaplan: Nine
months of the
3 years of
probation will
be at home,
leaving only
for medical
appointments
[and the
like]. No drug
testing
condition.
Anything else?
Defense:
I want to
thank the
court.
Georgiton: Can
I take my wife
to the doctor?
Judge: Yes.
AUSA
has dropped
off the line,
but he was on
when the
sentence was
announced.
Judge Kaplan:
we are
adjourned.
The
case is US v.
Georgiton,
19-cr-504 (Kaplan)
***
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