Good morning, your honor, and thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to have something to say to the Court.
First of all, I want to talk about myself as a family man and being here, but I also want to talk about the 30 years of services that I’ve given to a community in which I love and gave dearly and gave opportunities to people to participate in those services that were necessary for our community. And in the process of doing that, there were people that I felt would come and do services to our community and assist in our community, and some of those same people did not do what they were supposed to do.
And I guess I will take the responsibility of that which they did, but I know that the level of criminality that they might have done certainly was not a part of me, but I accept the jury’s charge of what they have actually charged me with.
I come from a strong family background, have a strong belief system and believe in the system and will never ever doubt the system and I’m encouraged. I will continue to do it and continue to have my faith and my family for what I believe in and what I strongly continue to believe in, in terms of giving service to my community, a community that I gave my all to, every inch and every step of the way and that I truly love, the northeast Bronx, and my service for all.
I gave opportunities to a number of people, who are here, by giving them a lift up so that they would be better off in service. I gave it to them, giving the opportunities for education, going back to the same housing development and projects that I came out of and giving these young people an opportunity to go to college and also giving the opportunity for me to teach at a college in an opportunities program and to bring incarcerated individuals into the mainstream of a campus and allowed them that opportunity to better themselves.
I have always given, and I will continue to give whatever the court looks at and deal with it, that I know that I came as a proud man, that I stand up in my beliefs, and I will take on whatever it is that the judge of this court metes out to me.
But I will know that I will continue to fight and do what has to be done for the service of people because that’s all I know in terms of giving service.
Thank you very much, your honor.