Jurors at the retrial for ex-jail guard union boss Norman Seabrook heard testimony Monday about how nearly $20 million of the union’s money was lost after Seabrook invested the money into a risky hedge fund without board approval.
Seabrook’s replacement as head of the Correction Officer’s Benevolent Association, Elias Husamudeen, testified in Manhattan federal court that the $19 million in union money that Seabrook invested into Platinum Partners — in exchange for $60,000 in alleged kickbacks — was lost after the company went bankrupt.
“I doubt very seriously if we are going to recover any of the $19 million,” Husamudeen said, noting that if he had known about the corrupt relationship that Seabrook had with Platinum — allegedly brokered by crooked Mayor de Blasio donor Jona Rechnitz — he wouldn’t have voted to do business with the fund.