NYC correction officers’ union head arrested on corruption charges

An FBI and NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau investigation has led to two high-profile arrests, including that of Norman Seabrook, president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association.

On Wednesday, Seabrook and Manhattan financier Murray Huberfeld were charged with one count each of honest services wire fraud and one count each of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, ABC7 reported.

Seabrook was alleged to have taken payoffs for steering his union’s pension fund investments to Platinum Investment, the hedge fund where Huberfeld was formerly an executive, the New York Post reported.

As part of the arrangement, court papers indicated that Seabrook was expected to receive between $100,000 and $150,000 for transferring more than $20 million in pension fund wire transfers to Platinum from November 2013 through 2015, the New York Daily News stated.

In one instance in 2014, confidential witnesses claimed to have purchased an expensive Salvatore Ferragamo bag in which they allegedly placed $60,000 in cash for Seabrook, who “was angry that it was not as much money as he was initially promised,” ABC7 added.

Last month, Seabrook was asked about the growing investigation into allegations of corruption surrounding New York City police and elected officials, specifically about the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association being subpoenaed, according to the Daily News.

“It’s not the first union in America to get a subpoena, and I’m sure it won’t be the last,” Seabrook was quoted by the Daily News. “We will gladly provide all the requested documents, and I’m confident that the government will see that there has been no wrongdoing.”