Former Queens assemblyman sentenced to 13 months in prison

A former Queens assemblyman will spend the next 13 months in a federal prison for submitting false travel vouchers that added up to more than $54,000.

First elected in 1994, William Scarborough resigned his seat in May after he pleaded guilty to 11 federal and 23 state charges of misusing taxpayer and campaign funds.

Prosecutors said Scarborough filed 174 travel vouchers between January 2009 and December 2012, which netted him $54,355.

State legislators are given vouchers paid for by taxpayers to stay overnight in Albany, as well as to travel between the capitol and their respective districts.

State officials also discovered that Scarborough misused $40,000 from his campaign account, which earned him a year of jail time to be served concurrently.

“Public service is a commitment, not a means for self-enrichment,” State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a statement. “Mr. Scarborough betrayed his oath of office.”

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman also said Scarborough’s sentencing “crystalizes the need for comprehensive reform to clean up corruption in our state.”

In the last year, three state senators were convicted in federal investigations. The former heads of both the Senate and the Assembly, Dean Skelos and Sheldon Silver, stepped down after they were indicted with unrelated corruption charges.