Former Queens Councilman Pleads Guilty To Hiding Personal Loans

JAMAICA, QUEENS -- Former City Councilman Ruben Wills has pleaded guilty to hiding personal loans on his financial disclosure report, adding to a laundry list of charges that landed him in prison for stealing thousands of taxpayer dollars.

Wills, 48, admitted he knowingly filed a false annual financial disclosure report in 2012 to the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board by concealing personal loans made to him, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said. His guilty plea on Nov. 14 come after the Queens lawmaker was convicted of stealing more than $30,000 in public funds.

A Queens County jury found Wills guilty in July of five felony counts related to pocketing public funds from both the New York State Office of Children and Family Services and the New York City Campaign Finance Board, Schneiderman said. He used those taxpayer dollars to buy food, clothes, gas and a $750 Louis Vuitton handbag, the New York Daily News reported.

Wills was promptly ousted from his seat representing the city council's 28th district – which presides over Rochdale and South Ozone Park – and is serving a prison sentence of up to six years for the felonies. He was also ordered to repay the $30,000 along with a $5,000 fine.

“New Yorkers trust that their elected officials will serve with integrity. Again and again, Ruben Wills violated that trust – stealing taxpayer dollars to line his own pockets and filing false documents to hide his financial dealings,” Schneiderman said.

“No public servant is above the law and we’ll continue to root out and prosecute public corruption across New York.”

Wills pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of offering a false instrument for filing. The class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year in jail.

Lead image via Shutterstock.