Special Committee Recommends Serious Sanctions – Including Expulsion – for Senator Monserrate.
Senator Jim Alesi (R-Perinton), after serving as a member of the Special Committee on Ethics to review Senator Hiram Monserrate’s misconduct, believes the final report submitted by the Special committee imposes severe sanctions on Senator Monserrate.
“After ten weeks of meetings, and after reviewing hundreds of pages of court records, I am confident that the recommendations of the Special Committee, to expel or censure Senator Monserrate, are justified,” said Senator Alesi. “Senator Monserrate’s egregious misconduct and arrest for assaulting his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, warrant the serious sanctions put forth by the Special committee. Perpetrators of domestic violence must be held accountable, and serving as a Senator certainly does not insulate Senator Monserrate from his actions. He, too, must be held accountable.
“Accordingly, Senator Monserrate should do the right thing and resign his seat, saving taxpayers’ time and money,” continued Senator Alesi. “If he does not resign, the Senate must act swiftly and decisively to condemn his actions. If he does not resign, then I can see no alternative but to expel him from the Senate.”
In an unanimous decision, the nine-member, bipartisan Special committee recommended that Senator Monserrate be expelled from the Senate, or be censured with revocation of privileges, for his actions against Ms. Giraldo on December 19, 2008, when Ms. Giraldo sustained facial lacerations and other injuries, and was taken to the hospital for treatment. Hospital employees notified New York City Police of the incident, and Senator Monserrate was convicted of domestic violence on Ms. Giraldo.
On November 9, 2009, the Senate adopted a resolution that “authorized and directed” the Special committee to “investigate the facts and circumstances relating to the conviction against Senator Monserrate.” As a former Chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee, and for his ongoing commitment to community organizations dedicated to assisting victims of domestic violence, Senator Alesi was asked to serve on the Special Committee.
