Ex-N.Y. Official Cleared of Bribery but Guilty of Maytag Heiress Theft

A former senior official, the first to go on trial in a city corruption scandal, was cleared Wednesday of bribery charges, but was convicted of stealing $4,200 from the heiress to the Maytag fortune.

“Their substantive charges and the hysterical charges against me were totally rejected,” said John McLaughlin, a lawyer and former president of the city’s Health and Hospitals Corp., which oversees New York’s sprawling health system.

In all, 14 city officials and their associates have been indicted in the worst scandal to hit New York City government since the Jimmy Walker era 50 years ago.

Six-Week Trial

A state Supreme Court jury of eight women and four men returned the verdict after a week of deliberations and a tedious and technical six-week trial.

McLaughlin, 40, showed no emotion as the verdict was announced. Though cleared of the major charges against him, he still faces up to 20 years in jail and automatic disbarment. He will be sentenced Sept. 24.

He was found guilty of two counts of second-degree grand larceny for stealing from the trust funds of his private client, Ann Maytag, the heiress to the washing machine fortune, and her son, John Poulos.

Convicted of Double-Billing

The jury convicted him of double-billing the Maytag trust funds for $4,200.

He also was found guilty of second-degree forgery for exaggerating his expenses for an airline ticket and two charges of submitting fraudulent documents about his finances and background to the city in 1983 and 1984.

But McLaughlin was found innocent of 10 other charges.