The once formidable correction union boss Norman Seabrook, who spent 21 months in federal prison for accepting a bribe, was released, and he’s looking for work.
“I pass the time by seeking employment. Putting out my resume in certain places,” Seabrook said in an interview. “A lot of people will consider me overqualified for what it is that I’m putting in for.”
The longtime leader of the 20,000 member union was known for working political backrooms and for his frontpage showmanship. He influenced staffing decisions and raised awareness of correction officers’ safety and working concerns with public stunts like blocking the bridge to Rikers Island and parading a coffin in front of City Hall.
Seabrook was sentenced in 2019 to four years at the minimum-security Beckley Federal Correctional Institution in West Virginia for accepting a $60,000 bribe in a newly purchased Ferragamo bag in exchange for steering union retirement benefits into a questionable hedge fund. According to the prosecutor’s witnesses, Seabrook was upset that got nothing for investing the union’s money and declared “It’s time Norman Seabrook got paid.”
The fund lost nearly all $20 million that Seabrook invested. Seabrook won early release in March, but still owes $19 million in restitution to the Correction Officers Benevolent Association.
“My resume is impeccable to some people,” he said, before listing his many political connections. “I’m interested in being a consultant.”
Seabrook returned from prison and into the open arms of many of his former COBA members, some 250 of whom organized a $75-a-person fundraiser for him in July. A flier for the event also sought donations through his daughter’s Cash App account. According to attendees, several people sent donations without attending.
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