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Former Mount Vernon Commissioner Has Conviction Overturned

MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. – A 2009 corruption conviction against a former Mount Vernon Planning Commissioner was thrown out by a federal judge in White Plains.

Two Mount Vernon convictions were overturned this week.

Two Mount Vernon convictions were overturned this week.

Photo Credit: File

According to the Journal News, lawyers for former commissioner Constance “Gerri” Post and her boyfriend Wayne Charles – who was also convicted in March 2009, have been arguing that the convictions could not stand after the U.S. Supreme Court changed the theory of “theft of honest services” fraud that prosecutors relied on during the case.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas dismissed charges of mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud against both Post and Charles, but a conviction against Charles for making false statements to investigators from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development stood.

The defendants were found guilty by a federal jury in White Plains of concocting a plan to illegally direct municipal contracts and loans to companies that were controlled by Charles.

Following the initial conviction, Post and Charles hired new lawyers that filed paperwork asking Karas to postpone their scheduled sentencing, overturn the convictions and order a new trial based on a trio of similar cases that are pending before the Supreme Court.

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