Monserrate To Be Arraigned, Colleagues Can Donate Legal Fees

State Senator Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) will be arraigned today on felony assault charges. He is accused of assaulting his girlfriend Karla Giraldo with a broken glass, leaving with her a black eye and a gash that required 20 stitches. And it seems that his colleagues are allowed to chip in for his legal expenses.

Monserrate has claimed it was an accident and Giraldo, after initially telling the hospital that he hit her, also says it was an accident. The first-year State Senator says the incident occurred when he tripped and broke a glass he was bringing to her. However, the police and Queens DA's office felt there was enough evidence (surveillance tape, neighbors in the apartment building) to bring the case to a grand jury. The grand jury indicted him earlier this week.

The NY Times reports that Monserrate's fellow Democrats have been discussing helping him "during a closed-door meeting... this week. Though senators were not directly asked to contribute, Majority Leader Malcolm A. Smith told them he would not stand in their way if they wanted to assist Mr. Monserrate." However, GOP Senators have been calling for his resignation.