John L. Sampson
John L. Sampson (b. June 17, 1965) is a former Democratic member of the New York State Senate, representing District 19 from 1996 to July 24, 2015. He was removed from office after he was convicted of one count of obstruction of justice and two charges of making false statements to federal agents.[1] He was sentenced to five years in prison.[2]
He previously served as Democratic conference leader, minority leader and as deputy majority leader.
Biography
Sampson earned his B.A. in political science from Brooklyn College in 1987 and his J.D. from Albany Law School in 1991. His professional experience includes working as an attorney for Alter and Barbaro, Esquires, from 1993 to 2013, as a litigation assistant for Proskauer Rose Goetz & Mendelsohn from 1987 to 1988, working for the Department of Environmental Conservation from 1988 to 1991, and as a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of New York from 1991 to 1993.[3]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
Note: Sampson was not assigned to any standing committees in the 2015 legislative session.
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Sampson served on the following committees:
| New York committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Alcoholism and Drug Abuse |
| • Judiciary |
| • Codes |
| • Finance |
| • Health |
| • Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Sampson served on this committee:
| New York committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Rules |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Sampson served on these committees:
| New York committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Banks |
| • Codes |
| • Crime Victims, Crime and Correction |
| • Ethics |
| • Finance |
| • Health |
| • Insurance |
| • Judiciary |
| • Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs |
Elections
2014
- See also: New York State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the New York State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on September 9, 2014. The general election took place November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was July 10, 2014. Incumbent John L. Sampson defeated Dell Smitherman, Elias J. Weir and Sean K. Henry in the Democratic primary, while Evelin Lausell was unopposed in the Republican primary. Leon B. Miles (D) was removed from the ballot before the primary election. Weir ran on the Conservative Party ticket and Smitherman ran on the Working Families Party ticket. Lausell was not listed on the general election candidate list. Sampson defeated Weir (C) and Smitherman (WF) in the general election.[4][5][6]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  John L. Sampson Incumbent |
75.9% | 29,741 | |
| None | Blank | 11.7% | 4,583 | |
| Conservative | Elias J. Weir | 7.2% | 2,816 | |
| Working Families | Dell Smitherman | 5.1% | 1,993 | |
| None | Scattering | 0.1% | 28 | |
| Total Votes | 39,161 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
John L. Sampson Incumbent |
54.4% | 7,572 |
| Dell Smitherman | 29.6% | 4,123 |
| Sean K. Henry | 12.4% | 1,732 |
| Elias J. Weir | 3.6% | 504 |
| Total Votes | 13,931 | |
2012
- See also: New York State Senate elections, 2012
Sampson ran in the 2012 election for New York State Senate District 19. He ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on September 13, 2012. He also ran on the Working Families Party ticket. Sampson defeated Jane Neal (R) and Elias J. Weir (C) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[7][8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John L. Sampson Incumbent |
90.4% | 78,974 | |
| Republican | Jane Neal | 8.3% | 7,226 | |
| Conservative | Elias J. Weir | 1.4% | 1,196 | |
| Total Votes | 87,396 | |||
2010
- See also: New York State Senate elections, 2010
Sampson was unopposed in the September 14 Democratic Primary. He defeated Rose Laney in the general election.[10][11] He ran as a member of the Democratic, Working Families and Independence parties.
| New York State Senate, General Election Results, District 19 (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| John L. Sampson (D)
|
43,450 | |||
| Rose Laney (R) | 3,071 | |||
2008
- See also: New York State Senate elections, 2008
On November 4, 2008, John L. Sampson won the election for New York State Senate, District 19 with 69,811 votes.[12][13]
Sampson raised $198,435 for his campaign.[14]
| New York State Senate, District 19 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| John L. Sampson (D)
|
69,811 | |||
| Godfrey Jelks (R) | 3,577 | |||
Campaign finance summary
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Scorecards
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Below you can find the scorecards found for the New York State Legislature in 2014.
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- EPL/Environmental Advocates — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
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- The Business Council of New York State, Inc. — Legislators are scored on their votes on legislation concerning businesses, jobs, and the economy.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the New York State Legislature in 2012.
- Conservative Party of New York — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
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- New Yorkers for Better Libraries — Legislators are scored on their voting records concerning library funding.
- The Business Council of New York State, Inc. — Legislators are scored on their votes on legislation concerning businesses, jobs, and the economy.
- Unshackle Upstate — Legislators are scored on their legislative/budget votes and sponsorships.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the New York State Legislature in 2011.
- Conservative Party of New York — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- EPL/Environmental Advocates — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- New Yorkers for Better Libraries — Legislators are scored on their voting records concerning library funding.
- The Business Council of New York State, Inc. — Legislators are scored on their votes on legislation concerning businesses, jobs, and the economy.
- Unshackle Upstate — Legislators are scored on their legislative/budget votes and sponsorships.
Endorsements
2012
In 2012, Sampson’s endorsements included the following:[15]
- 32BJ/SEIU
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Sampson and his wife, Crystal, have one child.
Noteworthy events
Embezzlement Charges
On May 6, 2013, Sampson was arrested and charged with two counts of embezzlement, five counts of obstruction of justice and two counts of making false statements. The charges stemmed from an investigation over the sale of foreclosed properties in Brooklyn, where Sampson was alleged to have stolen over $400,000 while acting as a court-appointed referee. Sampson pleaded not guilty to the embezzlement charges on May 7, and his bail was set at $250,000.[16]
Trial
Sampson's trial began on June 22, 2015. By the time of the trial, the counts of embezzlement had been dropped.[17] Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Seifan called Sampson "a lawyer and a lawmaker who believed he was above the law" and "committed new crimes to cover up the old ones."[18]
The court heard testimony from real estate broker Edul Ahmad, who was arrested for mortgage fraud in 2011 and agreed to secretly tape Sampson for the FBI. Ahmad testified that he loaned $188,500 to Sampson, who had yet to repay escrow funds he allegedly embezzled while serving as a referee in 1998 and 2002; Ahmad was said to have solicited political favors when Sampson did not pay the money back.[19][17] Ahmad testified that in 2011, following his agreement to cooperate with the federal government, he told Sampson that a check register that could possibly expose the loan and the escrow embezzlement was subpoenaed. The two then met in person, with Sampson allegedly telling Ahmad to lie about the document and then taking it with him.[20] A month prior to becoming an informant, Ahmad allegedly received a visit from Sampson, who said that "if he ever found out who the cooperators [in the federal probe] were, he would take them out." Sampson shook his head in court when Ahmad expressed fear for his life at that point. Ahmad claimed that during the same visit, Sampson, who had a mole in the office of then-U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch, went on a tangent regarding the federal prosecutors who "[were] on a witch hunt to prosecute black politicians."
Nathaniel Akerman, Sampson's attorney, contended that his client was a victim of entrapment.[21][17]
On July 24, 2015, Sampson was found guilty on three of the nine charges and was immediately removed from office. He was convicted of one count of obstruction of justice and two charges of making false statements to federal agents. He was acquitted of the six other charges.[1][22][23]
On January 18, 2017, Sampson was sentenced to five years in prison.[2]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "John + Sampson + New York + Senate"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- New York State Senate
- Senate Committees
- New York State Legislature
- New York state legislative districts
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Campaign contributions via OpenSecrets
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 NY Times, "John Sampson, New York State Senator, Is Guilty on Some Federal Charges," July 24, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wall Street Journal, "Former N.Y. State Sen. John Sampson Sentenced to Five Years," accessed January 18, 2016
- ↑ Vote Smart, "John Sampson's Biography," accessed October 31, 2023
- ↑ New York Board of Elections, "Certification for the September 9, 2014, State Primary Election," accessed December 17, 2014
- ↑ New York Board of Elections, "Primary results for September 9, 2014," accessed October 1, 2014
- ↑ New York Board of Elections, "NYS Board of Elections Senate Election Returns November 4, 2014," accessed December 17, 2014
- ↑ State of New York, State Board of Elections, "Candidate List for the September 13, 2012, State Primary Election," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ State of New York, State Board of Elections, "Official September 13, 2012, Primary Results," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ State of New York, State Board of Elections, "Official Senate Election Returns Nov. 6, 2012," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ New York Times, "NY state legislative election results," accessed February 11, 2014
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "Official Primary results from September 14, 2010," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "Official Primary results from September 9, 2008," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "Official Senate Election Returns November 4, 2008," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Report on John's 2008 campaign contributions," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ New York Daily News, "32BJ/SEIU Endorses For State Senate, Assembly," August 1, 2012
- ↑ bloomberg.com, "NY State Senator Latest Lawmaker Charged With Corruption," May 6, 2013
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 New York Daily News, "State Sen. John Sampson goes on trial, faces evidence tampering charges," June 22, 2015
- ↑ Capital New York, "Sampson disputes ‘corruption,’ cooperation as trial begins," June 24, 2015
- ↑ Newsday, "Judge dismisses two embezzlement counts against John Sampson,
- ↑ Newsday, "Former friend testifies Sampson tried to hide loan," June 24, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Ex-Friend of State Senator Tells of a Cover-Up," June 25, 2015
- ↑ FBI, "New York State Senator John Sampson Convicted of Obstruction of Justice and False Statements," July 24, 2015
- ↑ NY Daily News, "State Sen. John Sampson’s lawyers say disgraced Brooklyn pol’s conviction isn’t as bad as Dean Skelos'," accessed June 15, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
New York State Senate District 19 1997–July 24, 2015 |
Succeeded by Roxanne Persaud (D) |
