Giving Unlawful Gratuities and Receiving Unlawful Gratuities

Distinct crimes from Bribery and Bribe Receiving as well as Rewarding Official Misconduct and Receiving Reward for Official Misconduct, both Giving Unlawful Gratuities and Receiving Unlawful Gratuities are significant and serious criminal offenses in their own right. Outside of the potential of being terminated or fired from your position in a local, state or federal government position, a mere arrest for either New York Penal Law 200.30 or New York Penal Law 200.35 calls into question your integrity in a humiliating manner. While your criminal defense attorney can’t do anything about what others might think of you, your criminal lawyer can certainly be your first line of defense – and best defense – against an investigation or arrest for NY Penal Law 200.30, Giving Unlawful Gratuities, and NY Penal Law 200.35, Receiving Unlawful Gratuities.

Understanding NY Penal Law Sections 200.30 and 200.35

The crimes of Giving Unlawful Gratuities and Receiving Unlawful Gratuities are born from the same elements with the accused being on opposite sides of the criminal act. Where as a person is guilty of PL 200.30, Giving Unlawful Gratuities, if he or she knowingly gives or agrees to give any type of benefit, monetary or otherwise, to a recipient serving the public for no other reason than performing his or her official conduct, an accused is guilty of Receiving Unlawful Gratuities, PL 200.35, if as the receiver or solicitor he or she secures this unentitled compensation. Simply, the public servant on the receiving side of this equation who impermissibly accepts or “profits” from his or her official conduct is guilty of a crime.

Penalties and Punishment: NY Penal Law Sections 200.30 and 200.35

Both Giving Unlawful Gratuities and Receiving Unlawful Gratuities are class “A” misdemeanors. Certainly not rising to the level of felony Bribe Receiving or Bribery, both NY PL 200.30 and NY PL 200.35 still pack a proverbial punch. As your criminal defense attorney will explain, upon conviction for either of these crimes, a judge of a criminal court or justice court in New York City or the Hudson Valley respectively, is authorized to impose a sentence of up to one year in jail. From Rikers Island to the Westchester County Jail, neither of these facilities is a place you want to end up.

• Bribe Receiving Crimes Information Page

Even a penalty less than one year in jail is crippling. Other potential sentences a District Attorney can ask of the court include probation for three years, a combination of both six months or less of jail coupled with probation, community services, fines and other alternatives the court may deem appropriate.

Your Arrest – Your Future: Defending Yourself

While it may be too late, admitting and even apologizing to criminal conduct may be the evidence that the NYPD, Westchester County Police, or a local police department may need to parade you out of town hall and into a courtroom. Never be afraid to exercise your rights and at the first hint that there is investigation into your wrongdoing as a public servant, contact the right criminal defense attorney for your legal predicament. Maybe you can assert a defense involving an illegal search, that you never gave nor received a gratuity at all, or some other legal basis. Whatever your best defense to Giving Unlawful Gratuities or strongest defense to Receiving Unlawful Gratuities may be, unless you retain the criminal defense lawyer or attorneys equipped to protect and defend you, you will find yourself branded with a permanent criminal record.

No criminal defense firm can promise you a result, but when there is no substitute for knowledge, experience and advocacy, there are always the NYC criminal lawyers and former Manhattan prosecutors at Saland Law who are available to represent you in New York City and throughout the Hudson Valley.

Call the New York Unlawful Gratuity criminal defense attorneys and former Manhattan prosecutors at (212) 312-7129 or contact us online today