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Corruption Trial for Jail Officers’ Biggest Champion Is Set to Begin

Norman Seabrook, the president of the New York City correction officers’ union, in 2016. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of honest services fraud and conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud.Credit...Bryan R. Smith for The New York Times

For years his power was seemingly unparalleled.

In the fall of 2013, as president of the New York City correction officers’ union, Norman Seabrook shut down the city’s courts by sidelining the buses that transport inmates to court, causing hundreds to miss their appearances — including Dapree Peterson who was scheduled to testify against two correction officers accused of beating him and covering it up.

Mr. Seabrook also used his clout to obtain better pension benefits for the union and he gained a loyal following among members, former correction officers and advocates said. But he also stood in the way of some efforts to reform the jails and punished those who challenged him, critics said.

“He was a larger-than-life figure in a lot of ways and carried a lot of weight at Rikers,” said JoAnne Page, president of the Fortune Society, which helps former inmates transition back into society.

In Federal District Court in Manhattan this week, prosecutors will tell a jury that Mr. Seabrook also used his power to get financial kickbacks, luxurious trips and designer bags and shoes in exchange for directing $20 million of his members’ pension and operating funds into a high-risk hedge fund. Mr. Seabrook has pleaded not guilty to charges of honest services fraud and conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud. He has been out awaiting trial on a $250,000 bond.

The kickback scheme was devised in 2013 in a hotel in the Dominican Republic with an influential New York real estate developer, Jona Rechnitz, federal investigators said. Mr. Rechnitz introduced Mr. Seabrook to Murray Huberfeld, an associate at the hedge fund Platinum Partners, who investigators say agreed to pay Mr. Seabrook for the union’s investment. Mr. Huberfeld faces the same charges as Mr. Seabrook. Mr. Rechnitz has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with investigators. He also was a target in one of the inquiries into Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign fund-raising.

Mr. Seabrook’s fall from the top occurred at a time when a widespread and deep-seated culture of violence and corruption inside the city’s jails had been exposed, including high-profile cases of abuse, like that of Kalief Browder, who never stood trial and was not found guilty of a crime but spent three years at Rikers Island, nearly two of them in solitary confinement. He committed suicide later. The case forced Mr. de Blasio to prioritize fixing the jail system. But in the year since Mr. Seabrook’s arrest, advocates said that there was still “an enormous amount of work to be done,” and that even in his absence the union remained a formidable obstacle in overhauling the jails.

“You have a union that works in a combative situation and they are combative,” Ms. Page said. Rikers Island “is the place where you’re either predator or prey and it colors everybody in there. It doesn’t matter who the head of the union is.”

Mr. Seabrook was at the helm of the 9,000-member union for two decades and held tremendous influence in state and local politics. He often told members that Rikers was “our house.” He pushed back on the administration’s effort to scale back on the use of solitary confinement and against efforts to discipline and investigate officers accused of beating and injuring inmates.

And when Mr. de Blasio hired the reform-minded Joseph Ponte from Maine as the corrections commissioner, Mr. Seabrook called the mayor’s appointment a “bad move,” describing Mr. Ponte as the “hug a thug” type.

Mr. Seabrook “was very outspoken and charismatic,” said William Valentin, a former correction officer who spent five years on the executive board and was removed by Mr. Seabrook in August 2015. “He seemed to have the best interest of the correction officers at heart.”

But Mr. Valentin said he eventually became “an egomaniac.”

Daniel L. Feldman, a professor of public management at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said Mr. Seabrook was “a bright guy” who brought a high level of sophistication to the union that had not previously existed. He modernized communications with members, and the union made campaign contributions. But after several years, Mr. Feldman said, Mr. Seabrook became “extremely arrogant.”

In the beginning, Mr. de Blasio tried to cultivate Mr. Seabrook. He attended one of his charity dinners in the Bronx, and publicly described the union leader as a “friend.” But later the administration bypassed Mr. Seabrook and quietly struck a deal to end solitary confinement for all inmates 21 and younger.

“Regardless of who leads the union, we’re committed to working with the union and our correction officers as we reform our jail system,” said Natalie Grybauskas, a spokeswoman for Mr. de Blasio.

The Department of Correction operates 14 correctional facilities, including 10 jails on Rikers Island and four detention centers. Officers manage an average daily inmate population of 9,500.

The administration has reduced the use of punitive segregation, and provided officers with more training in de-escalation and crisis management. Educational, skills-building and other programs for inmates are also being expanded to five hours from 45 minutes.

But challenges remain. Violent interactions among inmates increased by nearly 16 percent in the fiscal year 2017 compared to the previous fiscal year, according to the mayor’s management report. There were seven more inmate assaults on uniformed officers this fiscal year compared to last, and 40 percent more inmate assaults on civilian staff.

“The problem with Rikers is Rikers,” said Glenn E. Martin, president and founder of JustLeadershipUSA, a nonprofit that aims to cut the nation’s prison population in half. “You have to be equally if not more violent than everybody else. They don’t call it gladiator school for nothing.”

Mr. Martin said that after Mr. Seabrook’s arrest things took a turn for the worse. Although Mr. Seabrook was a “very difficult person” and “bombastic,” Mr. Martin said that he would at least speak with advocates about their concerns, but the current leadership has not been as open to the idea.

The union vice president, Elias Husamudeen, Mr. Seabrook’s second-in-command, replaced him after his arrest. A spokesman for the union did not return calls seeking comment. Mr. Seabrook stepped down from his post after the arrest.

This year, Mr. de Blasio announced a plan to close Rikers Island. In an unrelated matter, months later Mr. Ponte, the correction commissioner, announced he was resigning amid allegations of mismanagement and ethical gaffes.

Over the years, mayors and correction commissioners have come and gone, but Mr. Seabrook stayed, breezing through elections year after year. Even now, some say his presence is still felt.

“Some people are saying he’s still pulling the strings from behind the curtain,” Kenneth Pawlukiewicz, a retired correction officer, said.

Mr. Seabrook faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each charge.

Mr. Seabrook’s lawyer, Paul Shechtman, declined to speak about the trial, but said, “This is and always has been a one-witness case.”

“That witness, Jona Rechnitz, and the truth have never occupied the same room,” he said. “We hope to show a jury that.”

The charges against Mr. Seabrook have pitted some members who are still supportive of him against those who feel betrayed.

“There are some officers to this day who will support Norman Seabrook 100 percent,” Mr. Pawlukiewicz said. “He’s done things for people that they will never forget.”

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 16 of the New York edition with the headline: Corruption Trial to Begin For Former Union Chief Who Fought Jail Reforms. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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