Chaim Deutsch Kicked Off City Council After Guilty Plea

NEW YORK CITY — In a rare move, city lawmakers effectively expelled Chaim Deutsch from the City Council and vacated his Brooklyn-based seat.

The law required Council leaders to kick out Deutsch after his recent guilty plea to a federal tax fraud charge, Council Speaker Corey Johnson said in a statement Tuesday.

"Mr. Deutsch confessed to a crime and violated his oath of office," Johnson said. "He is no longer a member of the City Council."

Deutsch, who represented a swath of south Brooklyn including Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay, is evaluating his options, according to a statement from his attorney Henry E. Mazurek.

"Mr. Deutsch did the right thing by admitting his mistakes and accepting responsibility," Mazurek's statement read. "This is more than most who have served in City Council."

Deutsch's "mistakes" involved concealing income from a real estate business on his 2015 personal tax return, according to federal prosecutors. He dodged paying $82,000 in taxes from the falsified return, they said.

He pleaded guilty to tax fraud and faces sentencing in July. Johnson, in a statement, said Deutsch's office has been deemed vacant after his guilty plea, as required by law.