Richard E. Schermerhorn
Member of the New York State Senate
from the 39th district
In office
January 1, 1983 – December 31, 1988
Preceded byJay P. Rolison, Jr.
Succeeded byE. Arthur Gray
Member of the New York State Senate
from the 40th district
In office
January 1, 1973 – December 31, 1982
Preceded byWalter B. Langley
Succeeded byCharles D. Cook
Member of the New York State Senate
from the 37th district
In office
January 1, 1971 – December 31, 1972
Preceded byD. Clinton Dominick III
Succeeded byBernard G. Gordon
Personal details
Born(1927-10-29)October 29, 1927
Albany, New York
DiedJune 21, 1995(1995-06-21) (aged 67)
Newburgh, New York
Political partyRepublican
SpouseConnie Edwards
Children4
EducationRavena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School
Albany Military Academy
Alma materBryant University
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Battles/warsWorld War II

Richard Edward Schermerhorn (October 29, 1927 – June 21, 1995) was an American politician from New York.

Life

He was born on October 29, 1927, in Albany, New York. He was sent to a foster home when he was 3 months old, and later stated that if abortion had been legal at the time, he might never have been born.[1] He attended Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School and Albany Military Academy and graduated M.B.A. from Bryant University.[2]

Career

During World War II he served in the U.S. Army.[2] He engaged in the insurance business, and entered politics as Republican.

In June 1970,[3] he defeated the incumbent State Senator D. Clinton Dominick III in the Republican primary.[4] Dominick had voted for the 1970 abortion law, and Schermerhorn was a conservative anti-abortionist,[5] who opposed abortion in all circumstances.[1] Throughout his career, he was vocal about abortion and adoption.[6]

He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1971 to 1988, sitting in the 179th, 180th, 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th and 187th New York State Legislatures.

Indictment and conviction

On July 29, 1987, federal prosecutors accused Schermerhorn of having taken a bribe in 1984 from Dominick Lofaro, an ex-mafioso-turned-informer.[7] The facts were then re-evaluated, and the bribe became a campaign contributions from Lofaro which had not been listed by Schermerhorn in his election campaign financial statement. Therefore, on September 23, 1988, he was indicted by a federal grand jury for fraud.[8] On November 2, 1988, he was also indicted for tax evasion. and obstruction of justice. In 1985, he had sold his interest in a hotel, and did not report the capital gain in his tax statement.[9] On November 8, 1988, he was defeated for re-election by Democrat E. Arthur Gray.[10]

Schermerhorn went to trial in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. On October 26, 1989, Schermerhorn was acquitted on the fraud charges, but was convicted of tax evasion.[11] On December 15, 1989, he was sentenced by Judge Gerard Goettel to a year and a half in jail, and afterwards two years probation.[12] On July 2, 1991, he was released from Federal Prison Camp, Montgomery, and transferred to the Brooklyn Community Corrections Center.[13]

After serving his prison term, he became a lobbyist in Albany.

Personal life

He married Connie Edwards, and they had four daughters.

He died on June 21, 1995, at his home in Newburgh, New York, of throat cancer;[14] and was buried at the Calvary Cemetery in New Windsor.

References

  1. 1 2 Greenhouse, Linda (June 2, 1977). "ANTI‐ABORTION MOVE IS BACKED IN ALBANY". The New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  2. 1 2 New York Red Book (1983–1984; pg. 138)
  3. ↑ Kovach, Bill (June 19, 1970). "Primaries May Decide Control of Legislature". The New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  4. ↑ Farrell, William E. (January 12, 1971). "BALLOTING AT 18 PASSES IN ALBANY; REFERENDUM DUE". The New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  5. ↑ Two Key Backers of Abortion Reform in the Legislature Are Defeated Upstate in the New York Times on June 24, 1970 (subscription required)
  6. ↑ Schermerhorn, Richard E. (March 28, 1987). "BRING BACK THE ORPHANAGES AS HOMES FOR CHILDREN; Screen Foster Parents". The New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  7. ↑ New York Investigators Say State Senator Took a Bribe in the New York Times on July 30, 1987
  8. ↑ State Legislator Faces 5 Charges In Fraud Inquiry in the New York Times on September 24, 1988
  9. ↑ Newburgh Lawmaker Indicted as Tax Dodger in the New York Times on November 3, 1988
  10. ↑ THE 1988 ELECTIONS in the New York Times on November 9, 1988
  11. ↑ Ex-New York Senator Guilty of Tax Evasion in the New York Times on October 27, 1989
  12. ↑ Ex-Senator Sentenced to Prison in Tax Case in the New York Times on December 16, 1989
  13. ↑ CHRONICLE; RICHARD E. SCHERMERHORN, a former Republican New York State senator from Orange County, has been released... in the New York Times on July 9, 1991
  14. ↑ Richard E. Schermerhorn, 67, A State Senator for Nine Terms in the New York Times on June 23, 1995
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