A councilman in a suburban New York town faces charges accusing him of voting for zoning variances on a property in which he held a financial stake, prosecutors say.
Shumel "Samuel" Tress was arrested Thursday on official misconduct and other charges, Rockland County prosecutors said.
The 71-year-old Ramapo town councilman, who has said he lives in Monsey and in Lakewood, New Jersey, cast a vote last May on the Ramapo Town Zoning Board of Appeals to grant eight zoning variances for a property in Monsey.
Tress had a "significant financial interest" in the company that owned that property and failed to disclose it, he charges allege.
Tress' attorney didn't immediately responded to a message seeking comment.
When Tress campaigned for the town board, local news media disclosed that he had pleaded guilty to a mail fraud charge in 2004 and was sentenced to three years of supervised release.
