NY attorney pleads guilty to stealing from tribe

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – An upstate New York attorney has pleaded guilty to two federal charges for improperly making $202,000 off the Seneca Indian Nation’s purchase of land for a golf course.

Timothy Toohey of Lewiston, Niagara County, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Buffalo Friday to stealing from an Indian tribe and filing a false tax return.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says the disbarred attorney helped broker a $2.1 million land purchase by the Senecas in 2006 while secretly arranging to receive part of the proceeds. Prosecutors say two others also received money, and have not ruled out additional charges.

Toohey faces up to five years on the theft charge and three years on the tax charge when he is sentenced April 14.