Top Brooklyn Democrat Convicted of Campaign Violations

By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS

Published: September 28, 2005

Clarence Norman Jr., the leader of one of the largest Democratic Party organizations in the nation, was found guilty yesterday of soliciting illegal campaign contributions. It was a stark fall from grace for the son of a prominent Brooklyn minister who grew up to practice law and become a consummate insider in New York's political system.

Mr. Norman, 54, the first black Democratic Party leader in Brooklyn, watched, puffy eyed and expressionless, his hands clasped in front of him, as the jury of three men and nine women in State Supreme Court pronounced the guilty verdict on three felony counts and one misdemeanor count at 4:15 p.m., one day after deliberations began.

Mr. Norman faces up to eight years in prison, according to the prosecution. Sentencing was set for Nov. 29. The lead prosecutor, Michael F. Vecchione, also said the law called for him to be immediately stripped of his Assembly seat and his license to practice law.

The jury forewoman dabbed at her eyes before reading the verdict, and the rest of the jury, which was made up of seven blacks, one Hispanic and four whites, looked downcast as they were polled one by one by the court clerk and confirmed the verdict.

One juror, Sarah Lariviere, 30, said Mr. Norman's testimony that he had made mistakes had not been convincing. "I don't think that worked in his favor, particularly, because there seemed to be a pattern of the same mistake over and over and to call it a mistake doesn't seem like a convincing explanation," she said. Asked if she thought Mr. Norman had lied, as the prosecution contended, she said, "I can't think of a particular scenario where it sounded like he was lying, but there were many things that he seemed not to remember."

Ms. Lariviere said the jury was in agreement almost from the beginning, although the verdict was hard on them emotionally. "I think that a lot of people's personal feelings were sadness," she said. "But we made a real effort to follow the judge's instructions and call sadness sadness or emotions, and then just look at the facts."

The case pitted Mr. Norman, an assemblyman for 23 years and the powerful leader of the Brooklyn Democratic organization since 1990, against a political opponent, Charles J. Hynes, the Brooklyn district attorney for 16 years, who won a highly contested primary election two weeks ago, just as the trial was getting under way.

Mr. Hynes, another Democratic Party insider, had vowed to crack down on political corruption in his borough, while Mr. Norman had denounced the prosecution as a political witch hunt.

Mr. Norman was accused of soliciting contributions totaling $7,423.30 in 2000 and $5,400 in 2002 from Ralph Bombardiere, a lobbyist for 3,500 retail gas stations and repair shops, knowing that the amounts exceeded state limits. There was no allegation that Mr. Norman had pocketed the money, but the prosecution said that it was used to pay expenses for the primary elections, like printing and shopping bags.

But the prosecution contended that Mr. Norman tried to conceal the contributions because he knew they exceeded the $3,100 allowed by state law, and made much of the fact that he was deputy speaker of the Assembly, "a favorite son of Brooklyn," who had, in the prosecutor's words, "sacrificed his integrity" to win an election.

Mr. Norman did not appear to help his case when he took the stand in his own defense and offered a rambling, forgetful version of events. He was found guilty of two felony counts of violating New York State campaign laws by soliciting illegal contributions in his 2000 and 2002 primary campaigns, and one felony and one misdemeanor count of falsifying business records of those contributions.

Outside the courtroom afterward, Mr. Norman was stoic. "We just have to move forward," he said. "We have other cases we have to deal with." He faces three more indictments on corruption charges, also brought by Mr. Hynes, on charges that he misused campaign funds, double-dipped for $5,000 in travel expenses, and strong-armed judicial candidates into hiring consultants for the party.

Mr. Norman's father, the Rev. Clarence Norman Sr., and his mother, Ellen, were sitting in the second row of the courtroom yesterday, surrounded by members of Mr. Norman Sr.'s church, the First Baptist Church of Crown Heights. "Well, you know the verdict is hard as a father," the minister said. "I've been a pastor of a church for 52 years. I'm 78 years old. I have been up and I have been down. My life goes on. The Lord never fails. This too will work out."

Mr. Norman's lawyer, Edward Rappaport, said he was exploring his options and could file a motion to set aside the verdict, perhaps based on the concept that Mr. Norman could not defraud the business records of his own campaign committee.

Mr. Norman is the latest in a line of party chiefs, going back to William Marcy Tweed in the 19th century, to face allegations of official corruption. One of his predecessors in Brooklyn, Meade H. Esposito, was convicted in a 1988 influence peddling scandal. Donald R. Manes, the Queens party boss, killed himself with a kitchen knife in 1986 after being caught up in a contract-rigging scheme. A Bronx Republican leader, former State Senator Guy J. Velella, was sentenced to a year in jail in 2004 for bribery conspiracy.

The case against Mr. Norman began as an investigation into claims that judgeships were for sale in Brooklyn, where the Democratic nomination is tantamount to winning election, and Democratic Party leaders like Mr. Norman were said to be able to dictate the outcome of judicial elections. But in the end, the investigation of Mr. Norman led in a different direction, to his own campaign finances.