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Ex-Long Beach Councilman Sentenced to 30 Days in Jail

Michael Fagen
Michael Fagen

A former Long Beach City Councilman was sentenced Thursday to 30 days in Nassau County jail for of filing for unemployment benefits to which he was not entitled.

Michael Fagen had been convicted in January of offering a false instrument for filing and petit larceny.

Judge Meryl Berkowitz also sentenced Fagen, who was removed from office after his conviction, to five years of probation and ordered him to pay restitution to the New York State Department of Labor.

Prosecutors said the 56-year-old ex-lawmaker began receiving $405 per week in Unemployment Insurance Benefits from the state in September 2009, two months before was elected to a four-year term as a city councilman.

The full-time position earned Fagen a yearly salary of $19,828 upon his inauguration in January 2010.

Fagen failed to disclose his employment with the government and as a salesman for a hotel membership benefits company while he received unemployment benefits.