ALBANY — John Haggerty, a GOP operative convicted of stealing $750,000 of former Mayor Bloomberg’s money, will go back to prison following a ruling by the state’s highest court.
The Court of Appeals ruled unanimously Monday that the conviction of Haggerty was proper.
Haggerty’s attorney, Paul Shechtman, argued it was never proven that the money Haggerty was convicted of stealing came directly from Bloomberg — a legal longshot that the court quickly rejected.
“We conclude the defendant’s challenge lacks merit,” the court said.
Haggerty was convicted of stealing $750,000 from a trust fund that belonged to Bloomberg.
The fund transferred $1.2 million to the state Independence Party, which acted as an intermediary to funnel funds to Haggerty for what was supposed to be an election-day ballot-security operation in the 2009 mayoral race.
Haggerty was convicted of stealing $750,000 to buy out his brother’s share of their late father’s house in Forest Hills Gardens.
A series of articles in The Post were the first to expose Haggerty’s actions.
Haggerty been out of prison during the appeal process. In 2011, he was sentenced to 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison.