Prison for Ex-Manhattan Assemblywoman in Sham Marriage Case

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 5:54 PM ET

Gabriela Rosa, former assemblywoman from 

Manhattan, committed marriage fraud.  

Credit Anthony Lanzilote for The New York Times

A former New York State assemblywoman accused of buying an $8,000 sham marriage to gain citizenship was sentenced on Friday to one year in prison by a judge who said pursuit of the American dream was a poor excuse for her actions.

The judge, Denise L. Cote of Federal District Court in Manhattan, ignored requests for leniency so that the former assemblywoman, Gabriela Rosa, 47, a native of the Dominican Republic, could care for her 16-year-old son and her mother.

Ms. Rosa’s lawyer, Genesis A. Peduto, told the judge that her client married to obtain a green card 20 years ago when she was following the American dream and “looking for a better life.”

“Are you suggesting that committing marriage fraud, which in this case meant paying $8,000 to another person and lying to immigration officials for years, is the American dream?” the judge asked.

Gabriela Rosa, who served in the New York Legislature as a Democrat, received a one-year sentence for using a fake marriage to gain citizenship.