Ethics Committee Considers Expelling Monserrate
New York, NY —
A special New York Senate committee has one of its last meetings today to consider whether Senator Hiram Monserrate should be expelled for his misdemeanor conviction in October. WNYC's Ailsa Chang reports.
REPORTER: Monserrate was found guilty of recklessly injuring his girlfriend Karla Giraldo by dragging her through his apartment building after cutting her face with glass.
The prosecutors wanted 60 days in jail, but he was sentenced to three years' probation and 250 hours of community service and counseling. Senator Eric Schneiderman, who chairs the special senate committee, says Monserrate's sentence won't be relevant to the committee's findings.
SCHNEIDERMAN: We're just looking into the facts surrounding his conviction, and then making a report to our colleagues in the senate. What the court did doesn't affect our inquiry or our report.
REPORTER: Schneiderman says the committee is currently reviewing Giraldo's grand jury testimony, which contradicted parts of her testimony at trial. The committee expects to issue recommendations by the end of the year. For WNYC, I'm Ailsa Chang.
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