Bill de Blasio. Image by Getty Images

A prominent Orthodox political donor and the former union leader for New York City’s prison guards pleaded not guilty on Friday to engaging in a bribery scheme in a case linked to a widening federal municipal-corruption investigation.

inancier Murray Huberfeld, a longtime associate of hedge fund manager Platinum Partners, and Norman Seabrook, the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association’s ex-president, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and honest services wire fraud charges in Manhattan federal court.

“Absolutely not guilty sir,” Seabrook told U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The arraignment came a month after the men were arrested as part of a sprawling investigation that has resulted in several police officers being charged or disciplined and put the fundraising of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio under scrutiny.

Prosecutors said Seabrook, 56, accepted a $60,000 bribe in 2014 orchestrated by Huberfeld, 55, with the promise of more money in exchange for investing $20 million of union money with Platinum Partners.

The two men were introduced to each other by Jona Rechnitz, a real estate investor who secretly pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with investigators, a person familiar with the matter previously told Reuters.

Rechnitz has been central to the investigation along with another businessman, Jeremy Reichberg, who was charged in June in another bribery case involving two police officers.

Both served on de Blasio’s inaugural committee after his 2013 election and either raised money for his campaign or for a nonprofit set up to advance his agenda. De Blasio has said he and his administration have acted legally.

Two weeks after Huberfeld’s arrest, Platinum Partners’ Manhattan headquarters were raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, amid separate probes by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission..

The firm is now in the process of liquidating its two main hedge funds.

Platinum, led by Mark Nordlicht, has produced exceptional profits for investors since it launched in 2003, but its strategy of lending to troubled companies carries risks that have scared away many large investors.

Prosecutors have described Huberfeld as a founder of Platinum and current investor in its funds, adding that he played a significant role at the firm that was not publicly acknowledged due to prior legal troubles. He has faced prior criminal and SEC actions.—Reuters

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount