Caribbean L 6 ife, OCTOBER 18-24, 2019
Caribbean-born jurist charged
with obstruction of justice
By Nelson A. King
The United States Attorney’s Office
in the Southern District of New York in
Manhattan has charged a Caribbeanborn
jurist with conspiracy to obstruct
justice and obstruction of justice.
Geoffrey S. Berman, United States
Attorney for the Southern District of
New York, said on Friday that the
charges against Justice Sylvia Ash,
who was born in Trinidad and Tobago
to Grenadian and Vincentian parents,
arise from “a scheme to seek to influence
and impede an ongoing federal
investigation into fraud and corruption
at MCU (Municipal Credit Union), a
non-profit, multibillion-dollar financial
institution.”
Ash, 62, a Brooklyn resident, is a
presiding judge of the Kings County
Supreme Court, Commercial Division,
and a former chair of MCU’s Board of
Directors.
Berman also
announced that Joseph
Guagliardo, also known
as “Joseph Gagliardo,”
a former New York City
Police Department Officer
and former member
of MCU’s supervisory
committee, was charged
separately with embezzlement,
fraud and controlled
substance offenses
“arising from abuse of his
position as a member of
the supervisory committee.”
Guagliardo was arrested
in Brooklyn Thursday
afternoon and was presented before US
Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang in Manhattan
federal court.
Berman said Ash was arrested at La
Guardia Airport in New York Friday
morning after arriving from Miami
and appeared before Magistrate Judge
Wang in Manhattan federal court Friday
afternoon.
“The charges announced today
reflect the latest in our ongoing work
to uncover criminal conduct at the
highest levels of MCU, a multibilliondollar,
federally insured credit union,”
said Berman in a statement.
“As alleged, Sylvia Ash, a sitting state
court judge, took repeated steps to
obstruct a federal investigation into significant
financial misconduct at MCU
during Ash’s tenure as chair of the
board of directors,” he added. “Joseph
Guagliardo allegedly abused his position
as an MCU supervisory committee
member to enrich himself and his
family.”
Berman said Ash has served as a
judge in the New York State court
system since at least about 2006, first
as a Kings County Civil Court Judge,
and, commencing in 2011, as a Kings
County Supreme Court Justice.
In or about January 2016, Berman
said Ash was appointed to be the presiding
judge in the Kings County Supreme
Court’s Commercial Division.
He said Ash served on MCU’s Board
from in or about May 2008 until on
or about August 15, 2016, when she
resigned.
Ash also served as a trustee of MCU’s
pension plan, a position from which
she resigned on or about Oct. 31, 2016,
Berman said.
From in or about May 2015 until her
resignation from the Board, he said Ash
served as the chair of the Board.
From at least in or about 2012
through 2016, while serving as an MCU
Board member and while Kam Wong
was chief executive officer, Berman said
Ash “received annually tens of thousands
of dollars in reimbursements
and other benefits from MCU, including
airfare, hotels, food and entertainment
expenses for her
and a guest to attend
conferences domestically
and abroad, as well as
payment for phone and
cable bills, and electronic
devices.”
Wong pleaded guilty
last year to stealing nearly
US$10 million from the
500,000-member MCU.
“Even after her resignation
from the Board,
Wong continued to provide
or cause MCU to provide
Ash with benefits,
such as Apple devices,”
Berman charged.
“In or about January
2018, after Wong had been approached
by federal law enforcement agents
investigating potential financial misconduct
by Wong involving MCU and in
an attempt to protect Wong, Ash agreed
to and did sign a false and misleading
memorandum purporting to explain
and justify millions of dollars in payments
that Wong had received from
MCU, which was then provided by Wong
to law enforcement officers,” he added.
“Subsequently, Ash agreed to and
did continue to seek to influence and
impede the federal investigation in
multiple ways, including by (i) concealing
and deleting relevant text messages
and email messages and wiping her
MCU-issued Apple iPhone in a further
effort to destroy and impair the availability
of evidence that had been sought
by federal grand jury subpoenas, and
(ii) making false and misleading statements
to federal law enforcement officers
in interviews conducted as part of a
federal criminal investigation,” Berman
continued.
He said that on or about May 8, 2018,
Wong was charged and arrested by the
United States Attorney’s Office for the
Southern District of New York, and, on
or about June 12, 2018, Wong was terminated
by MCU.
Justice Sylvia Ash.
Justice Sylvia Ash