A New York assemblyman who is the head of the biggest municipal council in the country has been indicted on federal racketeering charges. Brian McLaughlin, considered an icon of the city’s labor movement as the president of the New York City Central Labor Council, is accused of embezzlement, receiving bribes, fraud and money laundering, according to The New York Times. Federal investigators say McLaughlin, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, took $2.2 million from taxpayers, labor unions and contractors, using the money for personal reasons such as home renovations and an $80,000 Mercedes-Benz for his wife.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/18/nyregion/18labor.html?ref=nyregion