FLASH NEWS
McGonigal does not hold back, cries at the end of the session, the judge: Great risk to national security!
2023-12-14 22:35:06 / BOTA
Former top FBI official Charles McGonigal broke down in tears Thursday as he was sentenced to 50 months in federal prison for collaborating with a Russian oligarch to evade US sanctions.
McGonigal, 55, was ordered to surrender by Feb. 26, 2024, to serve three years of supervised release after his time behind bars and was fined $40,000.
McGonigal, who headed the FBI's counterintelligence division in New York from 2016 to 2018, pleaded guilty to the charge in August.
"[McGonigal] was well aware that his actions violated those sanctions," Manhattan federal judge Jennifer Rearden said as she handed down the sentence. "Nevertheless, Mr. McGonigal went ahead," she added, calling him a "grave risk to national security."
Ironically, before he implicated the Russian oligarch, McGonigal helped the bureau investigate former President Donald Trump's alleged ties to Moscow.
The disgraced former senior FBI official faced a single count of conspiracy to launder money and violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which carried a maximum of five years in prison.
"Taking responsibility for my actions and reflecting on my situation, I recognize the pain and disappointment I have brought upon myself, my family," McGonigal said during an emotional deposition. (Crying during the hearing)
He described the consequences for his actions as "painful" and spoke of the damage he had caused himself and his family.
McGonigal pleaded with the judge for leniency, explaining that he had sought counseling and was "embarrassed" who had committed a crime as a former FBI official whom he said he "loved and respected". Assistant United States Attorney Hagan Scotten dismissed McGonigal's actions as a "treason" to the nation, saying the former agent "wasn't looking to open a restaurant or have a second career in IT". "He was looking to turn his credentials into money".
McGonigal, who sat hunched over the defense table with his hands bound during Thursday's hearing, had sought to remove Russian billionaire and business magnate Oleg Deripaska from the US sanctions list around 2021, prosecutors alleged. Defense attorney Seth Ducharme argued that McGonigal's 22 years with the FBI should have some appeal to minimize his sentence. "His work must count for something," argued Ducharme.
Deripaska, who was once considered the richest man in Russia, made a fortune from state assets that were privatized after the collapse of the Soviet Union. After his departure from the FBI in 2019, McGonigal was hired by a law firm fighting Deripaska sanctions. During the guilty plea, McGonigal agreed to collect about $17,500 by helping Deripaska find dirt on a rival oligarch.
That money was transferred from a Russian bank based in Cyprus to a New Jersey firm owned by one of McGonigal's associates before ending up in his bank account. Prosecutors tried to cast McGonigal as motivated by greed, noting that while he worked for Deripaskan, he had about $850,000 in joint income, as well as a Manhattan apartment and Mercedes.
"He was much, much better than most of the citizens he swore to protect at the FBI," Scotten said.
Given his history as a special agent in the office, McGonigal was asked to disclose his contacts with foreign officials but instead concealed them, according to prosecutors. While at the FBI, McGonigal received classified communications indicating that Deripaska would be subject to sanctions, the indictment against him said.
McGonigal initially pleaded not guilty to four counts against him before striking a deal with prosecutors. Separately, McGonigal was indicted by DC prosecutors on suspicion of concealing the receipt of $225,000 from a former member of Albania's intelligence service.
In that case, he was also accused of participating in a secret meeting with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama while at the FBI.
He pleaded guilty to a single count of hiding the material in that case in September, while the sentence will be carried out in February.
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