Former Spring Valley Deputy Mayor Pleads Guilty

Joseph Desmaret, former deputy mayor of the Village of Spring Valley, pled guilty Wednesday to federal mail fraud and extortion charges. He faces a maximum of nine years in prison. Federal Judge Kenneth Karas is scheduled make a sentencing decision May 22. Desmaret’s former colleague ex-Mayor Noramie Jasmin is planning to fight the same charges in court

The feds accuse Jasmin and Desmaret of accepting bribes from FBI informant and real estate developer Moses Stern. Jasmin allgedly demanded cash and partial ownership in order to support permits for a fictitious business entity Stern had proposed.

Stern also bribed New York City GOP officials in a scheme to have Senator Malcolm Smith named the Republican mayoral candidate. Among the GOPers arrested was Jay Savino, a Congers resident, close friend of Rockland Republican leaders and a tax attorney on contract with the Town of Clarkstown.