Report: Assembly Speaker Profited from Mother's Embezzlement

In 1998, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie was not yet a member of the Assembly but he was a rising star in the Bronx Democratic Party, when his mother, Helene, was convicted of stealing almost $197,000 from the local non-profit where she worked, the Southeast Bronx Neighborhood Center.

Under a plea deal, reported Monday in the New York Times, she agreed to sell the family apartment to pay back her workplace, and a judge rejected her son's argument he should be allowed to keep it.

Helene Heastie died soon after. Her son kept the apartment, and later sold it for a $200,000 profit.

Heastie released a statement saying he had followed legal advice given by his mother’s attorney and "acted ethically and responsibly."

"Unfortunately this story makes it seem that I benefited when I paid $10,000 in restitution on behalf of my mother and more than $235,000 in mortgage payments over the life of the loan," he said.