Former Long Beach councilman Michael Fagen freed from jail

Former Long Beach City Councilman Michael Fagen was released from jail after serving 17 days of his 30-day sentence in a larceny case.

Fagen, who faced up to 4 years in prison, was sentenced on June 12 by Justice Meryl Berkowitz in Nassau County Court in Mineola. He served his sentence in the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow until he was released on June 28.

Fagen was only required to serve 20 days of his sentence, but he was released early because he spent one day in police custody and then was scheduled to be released on a Sunday, county correctional center officials said.

The center does not release inmates on weekends, so they let him out two days before on a Friday, officials said.

“He served his time,” Fagen’s attorney, Marc Gann of Mineola, said Wednesday. “He’s hoping for a sense of normalcy. That’s going to be difficult. He has to start his life and his career as a felon. It’s not going to be an easy thing for him to do.”

Fagen, who was convicted after a jury trial in February, also received 3 years of probation for the petty larceny count and 5 years for the 18 felony counts of offering a false instrument for filing. He also was ordered to pay $15,783.75 to the state Department of Labor for unemployment benefits he stole.

Fagen collected the money in 2010, while he earned $19,828 a year as a city councilman. Long Beach removed Fagen from office after he was convicted.