Brian McLaughlin's Booze Excuse

Scandal-scarred ex-city labor leader Brian McLaughlin, the former Queens Assemblyman who has admitted to stealing $2 million from everyone from the local little league to electrical contractors, is finally talking about his misdeeds. The culprit, he tells Newsday’s Dan Janison, was that old devil booze.

“In my case alcohol was a factor in some of what I did," he told Janison during an interview in a Flushing coffee shop.

McLaughlin added: "You're out of touch with the emotional needs of your wife and family, those that matter the most to you, largely without recognizing it. And unable to recognize it, because every day your work schedule and your personal lifestyle kind of take on a habit and a culture of their own.”

Yes, and there was that million-dollar spread on Long Island’s north shore, the mistresses, etc. Totally out of touch.

McLaughlin is due to be sentenced September 12 in federal court in Manhattan. He faces 8-10 years in prison.