A state assemblyman from Brooklyn has been found to be spending hours playing CityVille on Facebook during the sessions that the legislature is conducting official business.
The Capitol reported Wednesday that it had compared Assemblyman William Boyland Jr.'s Facebook activity against records of Assembly sessions, finding him frequently tending to "William's Town" online.
The assemblyman, who was indicted in March on corruption and bribery charges and has pleaded not guilty, ranks last on attendance and bill-sponsoring, missing 20 of 60 session days this year, The Capitol said.
On June 21, according to The Capitol, the Assembly was debating and voting on measures including rent regulations, but Boyland was playing CityVille.
The Assembly was in session from 10:34 a.m. to 8:21 p.m., and Boyland logged onto CityVille at least seven times that day, The Capitol said. At 5:44 p.m., he wrote on his wall that his virtual police force in William's Town needed doughnuts "to apprehend the bandits."
The Capitol said Boyland missed an Assembly session on May 9 but spent most of the day playing CityVille, posting 12 updates that day.
He also missed Assembly sessions on March 23 and 24, but spent the night of March 23 playing CityVille, updating seven times between midnight and 8 a.m. The Capitol said he often played the game in the earning-morning hours after midnight.
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Boyland mostly spends his time on CityVille tending to all aspects of his virtual city, including landscaping, catching criminals and receiving endorsements as they town's mayor.
His office did not comment.
Ron Canestrari, the Assembly's majority leader, told The Capitol that it's not against rules to play games during session.
"It's done; it's hard to stop them; I hate it. But as long as someone's not loud or disrupting things -- people do use them -- go to the rear of the chamber, the front of the chamber; they walk out," Canestrari said.
