Judge refuses to let former NY state senator withdraw guilty plea to federal fraud charges

Ex-NY state senator can’t withdraw his guilty plea

NEW YORK — A judge has rejected a former New York state senator’s effort to withdraw his guilty plea to federal fraud charges.

The federal judge said Thursday that Efrain Gonzalez Jr.’s attempt to change his plea to charges he used charity groups to finance his lifestyle with $600,000 in stolen money was an effort to undermine the integrity of the judicial process.

Judge William Pauley says the notion the free will of a longtime state senator was overridden by the imminence of trial, coercion by his attorney or pressure from the court is “preposterous.”

The 61-year-old Gonzalez was a high-ranking Bronx Democrat when he was charged in the summer of 2006. He could receive seven to nine years in prison when he’s sentenced next month.