Ex-state senator pleads guilty in obstruction case

ALBANY -- A former state senator has pleaded guilty to a second felony charge, admitting in state court that she falsified evidence to obstruct an investigation into a grant she sponsored for a nonprofit organization.

Shirley Huntley, a 74-year-old Queens Democrat, admits drafting a 2011 letter used to create false backdated records of events never held by the Parent Workshop Inc., records submitted in response to a subpoena from Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

Huntley's niece and a former assistant are accused of improperly pocketing $29,950 from the nonprofit.

Prosecutors are recommending five years' probation, noting she faces 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to embezzling nearly $88,000 from a program to help families navigate the city school system.

Huntley took office in 2007 and lost a re-election bid last year.

-- AP