Guldi pal pleads guilty to mortgage fraud

The publisher of the SoHo Journal admitted Wednesday to taking part in the massive mortgage fraud scheme that landed former Suffolk Legis. George Guldi in prison.

Donald MacPherson, 68, of Manhattan, pleaded guilty to 45 counts of grand larceny, insurance fraud and other crimes. He admitted stealing tens of millions from lenders between 2002 and 2007.

In return for his plea, Suffolk County Court Judge James F.X. Doyle promised to sentence him to no more than 4 to 12 years in prison. Assistant District Attorney Thalia Stavrides said her office would not have offered a deal that light.

MacPherson's plea leaves his wife, Carrie Coakley, 41, as the only remaining defendant who has not pleaded guilty or been convicted. Coakley, a dominatrix, is accused of recruiting straw buyers for the scheme at The Dungeon, the Manhattan club where she was in charge.

It took almost an hour and a half for MacPherson to answer questions by Stavrides about the various ways he swindled banks in properties in Southampton.

He said he paid straw buyers a fee of $10,000, telling them that he would make the mortgage payments on the house. But he didn't, instead keeping the mortgage proceeds and allowing the house to go into foreclosure.

MacPherson also said he inflated his income and that of his straw buyers and he falsely reported that some of the buyers were employed in high-level jobs in companies he owned.

SEE PHOTOSGeorge Guldi

With the help of Guldi, a Westhampton Beach real estate attorney, and others, MacPherson falsified title reports and forged powers of attorney, he said.

Guldi, 58, is serving 4 to 12 years for insurance fraud and mortgage fraud.