William Scarborough (born March 14, 1945) is a Democrat who represented District 29 in the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

, which includes large portions of Queens County, including

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. He chaired the Assembly Committee on Children and Families and served as a member of several other standing committees. Scarborough grew up in

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springfi ...

, and has also lived in

St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...

and Rosedale, graduated Public School 140 June, 1957, Shimer J.H.S. 142, and Andrew Jackson High School. He received an

associate's degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

from

Queensborough Community College Queensborough Community College (QCC) is a community college in Bayside, Queens, New York. One of seven community colleges within the City University of New York (CUNY) system, Queensborough enrolls more than 12,000 students and more than 770 ...

in 1970 and

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in psychology and political science from

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

(

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

) in 1975. He was an account executive with the

New York Telephone Company The New York Telephone Company (NYTel) was organized in 1896, taking over the New York City operations of the American Bell Telephone Company. Predecessor companies The Telephone Company of New York was formed under franchise in 1876. The princi ...

from 1979 to 1983. His initial start in politics included a stint as a member of Community Board 28 (1977–1983). Prior to his election to the Assembly, Scarborough served as District Manager of Community Board 12 (1984–1994), as well as in the capacity of Chairman of Area Policy Board 12 (1983–1994). Scarborough was first elected to the State Assembly in 1994. He ran uncontested in the 2008 and 2010

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

s. During his tenure in the State Assembly, Scarborough was the Chair of the Small Business Committee and a vocal advocate for the City and State to address the flooding occurring in his district. Flooding in Southeast Queens is primarily the result of the restored water table that developed following the closure of the Greater Jamaica Water Companies pumping operations. On October 1, 2014, Scarborough was indicted on eleven federal charges and 23 state charges of using campaign funds for personal benefit. In May 2015 he pleaded guilty and resigned his Assembly seat. In September, 2015, Scarborough was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison for his crime. Since his release from prison, he has found employment with the

Fortune Society The Fortune Society is a New York City-based non-profit organization that provides support to the formerly incarcerated. Some of the services offered include help with finding housing and jobs, adjusting to civilian life, and educational opportuniti ...

, helping the recently released connect with social services.

References

1940s births Living people African-American state legislators in New York (state) People from Rosedale, Queens Queens College, City University of New York alumni Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) politicians convicted of crimes New York (state) politicians convicted of corruption 21st-century American politicians Queensborough Community College alumni People from St. Albans, Queens Andrew Jackson High School (Queens) alumni 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people {{NewYork-NYAssembly-stub