Republican campaign operative John Haggerty, who was convicted of swiping $750,000 from Mayor Bloomberg’s campaign in 2009 and faces prison time, is working as a volunteer in what is shaping up as one of the city’s most competitive state Senate races.
City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Queens) confirmed yesterday that Haggerty is helping him in the Republican Senate primary against lawyer Juan Reyes.
The winner of that contest in September will run against Sen. Joe Addabbo, a two-term Democrat who is viewed as vulnerable because his district has been revamped.
“John has no formal role,” said Ulrich, a big favorite in the primary.
“He doesn’t accept checks. He doesn’t bundle them. He doesn’t solicit money.
“John’s been a friend of mine for a number of years. He’s paying the price of the crimes he’s been convicted of. I’m not going to throw him under the bus.”
Haggerty had been a member of Bloomberg’s campaign team until he was caught grabbing part of $1.2 million the mayor had channeled to the state Independence Party. Haggerty was sentenced in December to 1 1/3 to four years in prison. He remains free pending an appeal.