Ex-Upstate Official Gets Prison Time For Lying About Finances

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A former New York state official is going to prison for lying under oath about being unable to pay restitution for fraud after he spent money on a horse farm and his daughter's wedding.

Federal prosecutors in Albany say 56-year-old Joseph Strevell, of Castleton, was sentenced to 30 months in prison on Wednesday.

Strevell, a former deputy secretary of state, pleaded guilty to perjury for lying during a 2014 deposition about his ability to pay court-ordered restitution.

Strevell pleaded guilty in 2007 to defrauding New York while head of the state-funded Institute for Entrepreneurship. He has acknowledged giving himself an unauthorized $95,000 lump-sum raise and using institute funds for personal and family expenses.

He was sued by the federal government for not making restitution of more than $111,000.