Since being convicted of misdemeanor assault for dragging his girlfriend down a building hallway last October, expelled state Sen. Hiram Monserrate has skipped all three court-mandated domestic-violence counseling sessions and hardly started his obligatory 250 hours of community service. "He was told, 'This is serious,'" a source told the Post. "It was made clear, 'If you miss again, violation is next.'"
The tabloid notes that Monserrate might be forced to appear before his sentencing judge and explain why he hasn't been attending counseling, and why he has only performed six hours of community service. If he is brought to court, Judge William Erlbaum—who convicted him of misdemeanor assault but acquitted him on more serious felony charges—could show "no mercy" and hit Monserrate with up to a year in prison, though that is reportedly unlikely.
Monserrate's attorney, Joseph Tacopina, said "the senator has been compliant with his probation conditions" and that "any notion the Probation Department is seeking to revoke his probation is not accurate." The former City Councilman and police officer has taken legal action with the help of civil rights attorneys in an effort to overturn his expulsion from state Senate and prevent Gov. Paterson from holding a special election next month.
