The Republican political operative John Haggerty was found guilty of second degree grand larceny and money laundering related to the theft of $1.1 million from Mayor Bloomberg's 2009 re-election campaign. Haggerty, who had promised to use the money for ballot security but instead bought a home, faces up to 15 years in prison.
Haggerty, who was indicted last year, had a defense strategy of pointing out that Bloomberg was a very wealthy man and his re-election team didn't really care how the money, which was given to Haggerty acting for the Independence party, was spent as long as Bloomberg would win. His lawyer said, “Nobody cared what was on that budget, and because they did not care, they did not rely on that budget." Still, the jury believed the Manhattan DA's office, who argued that no matter how rich Bloomberg is, he was a victim. Plus, Haggerty only spent $32,000 on ballot security and took the rest.
Many of Bloomberg's closest aides testified in the trial—even Bloomberg himself, who was described as seeming like a "lizard in the sun" when questioned by the defense.
