cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/9979209

BUFFALO — G. Steven Pigeon, at one time one of the most powerful Democratic political power brokers in New York state, looked thin and gaunt, his suit coat sagging on his shoulders, as he stood before State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller on Friday morning.

Pigeon wore a blank expression as Boller addressed him, not as a political kingmaker, but as a convicted sex offender.

Just days before Christmas, Pigeon would face his sentence for his November guilty plea to one count of first-degree sexual abuse, a class D violent felony. The charge stemmed from an incident involving a 9-year-old girl, six years ago.

The victim, Erie County prosecutors said, was someone that Pigeon knew. Prosecutors said Pigeon had taken the young girl out for a Christmas celebration.