Van Holmes, head of a nonprofit linked to disgraced ex-state Sen. Shirley Huntley (pictured), has been accused of bilking the organization. (Paul Martinka)
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The head of a Queens nonprofit tied to ex-state Sen. Shirley Huntley surrendered to police today on charges he stole $88,000 in taxpayer money to fund personal expenses like dining out and new clothes, The Post has learned.
Van Holmes, president of the Young Leaders Institute in Laurelton, was arrested as he walked up Austin Street towards the 112th Precinct in Queens at 5:50 a.m. Van Holmes, wearing a suit jacket with no tie and khaki pants, made no comment as he was cuffed and led inside.
Charges by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman are expected to include grand larceny, forgery and falsifying business records. He faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty, sources said.
Holmes allegedly stole money directly from his nonprofit — funds that were allocated by Huntley and City Council members
Huntley is headed to prison this month for stealing from other sham charities.
With the cash he allegedly stole, Holmes dined out at the Sangria Tapas Bar & Restaurant in southeast Queens — a popular spot for politicians — bought clothes and theater tickets and got work done on his car, sources said.
He withdrew about $50,000 of the $88,000 in cash.
A probe of nonprofits related to Huntley also involves three current members of the City Council — Queens Democrats Ruben Wills, Leroy Comrie and Mark Weprin — who are now under investigation after giving $30,000 in taxpayer-backed “member items” to Holmes’ nonprofit in 2011 and 2012, sources said.
Weprin and Comrie gave the group $8,500 in 2013.
Also under investigation is former Councilman James Sanders (D-Queens), now a state senator, who allocated funds to the group when he was in the council.
State lawmakers funneled $80,000 to the nonprofit between 2007 and 2010.
Schneiderman and state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli have been looking into Holmes as part of a larger probe into charities that Huntley funded with taxpayer money when she was in Albany.
She faces one year and a day in prison, beginning this month, for stealing $87,000 from the Parents Information Network, a sham nonprofit she founded and steered money to only to spend it on her own lavish lifestyle.
Schneiderman also nabbed her for embezzling another $30,000 from a different charity she funded while in the Legislature.
It is unclear if Huntley turned Holmes in, or if she recorded conversations with him on a wire she wore last summer.
She recorded seven elected officials, a staff member and a consultant during her time as state senator.
— Additional reporting by Lauren Babcock.