Shirley Huntley Politician
Shirley L. Huntley (born June 29, 1938) is a former New York State Senator, serving from 2007 to 2012. She represented parts of Queens County, including Jamaica, South Jamaica, Springfield Gardens, Laurelton, South Ozone Park, Kew Gardens, Broad Channel, and Lindenwood. A Democrat, she defeated former Senator Ada Smith in the Democratic Primary. She was the Ranking Minority Member of the Investigations and Government Operations Committee. She serves on the Education Committee, the Higher Education Committee, the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committee, and the Transportation Committee.Huntley presently resides in Jamaica with her husband Herbert Huntley. They operate a maintenance company known as Huntley Enterprises. She was elected to Community School Board 28 in 1993 and served as its president until the dissolution of the School Board in 2004. She was appointed to the Community Education Council for District 28 in June 2004 and was elected as its president in July 2004.On December 2, 2009, Huntley was one of eight Democratic state senators to vote against same-sex marriage legislation, which failed to pass the Senate. In June 2011, nevertheless, Huntley came out in support of gay marriage, and voted for it in the successful 33–29 vote to pass it into law.On March 13, 2011, the New York Post revealed that Huntley was being investigated by the office of the state Attorney-General for allegedly running a taxpayer-funded fraudulent charity. Concurrently, a number of current and former senators, including Carl Kruger and Pedro Espada Jr., are being investigated on charges of corruption during their terms in office.On August 25, 2012, Huntley called an emergency press conference at her home in Jamaica, Queens. She revealed that she expected to be arrested on Monday August 27 in the state’s continuing investigation into the use of pork-barrel grants by legislators. Huntley founded a nonprofit social service and education group that Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating, and she funded it in part with state grants.On August 27, 2012, Huntley turned herself into the Nassau County District Attorney's office in Mineola at 7:45 a.m. along with her attorney and two dozen supporters. Huntley was expected to face a judge later that day at the Mineola courthouse. On January 30, 2013, Huntley appeared in Brooklyn federal court and plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. She embezzled $87,000 from the Parent Information Network, a Queens non-profit organization. A sentencing date had not been set.On May 9, 2013 Huntley was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for looting a taxpayer-funded charity she controlled.
