EMBATTLED New York Senator John Sampson seemingly has the answer the coalesced A Partnership For National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) seeks to ensure victory is theirs at the upcoming May 11 polls. He reportedly told a recent campaign event of theirs in the ‘Big Apple’ that the only way to convince those opposed to change is to put “boots on the ground”.

“In order to do that, you cannot do it in a traditional media. Everybody talks about Social Media and everything else, but it’s about boots on the ground; getting back to the way politics is. And politics is a retail business and all politics is local,” Sampson was quoted as saying by an local Online media entity.
Sampson, of Guyanese parentage, described the May 11, 2015 polls as a “life-and-death elections” for current and future generations.
Needless to say, local politicos are concerned about the threatening undertones of a man who is advising the APNU+AFC leadership, given Guyana’s political history, as well as the fact that Sampson himself is facing criminal charges in a matter where he allegedly made moves to “take out” witnesses.
The undertones of his comments, according to observers, are even more worrisome considering the history of the People’s National Congress (PNC), which is the majority partner of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), and considering that the APNU leaders are the same activists of the widely detailed ‘troubling’ PNC days.

CRIMINAL CHARGES
In May 2013, Sampson’s legal troubles were detailed in a New York Times article, which was headlined ‘Senator in Corruption Case Spoke of Silencing Witnesses, Prosecutors Say’.
The article stated that accusations of wrongdoing have swirled around State Senator John L. Sampson for years. But when he became concerned that his actions were under scrutiny by federal prosecutors, he allegedly took a step that stands out even in the growing annals of wrongdoing by New York lawmakers.
Mr. Sampson, prosecutors said, approached a friend in the office of the United States attorney for the Eastern District for help.
Turn over the names of all of the cooperating witnesses who could make a case against him, Mr. Sampson asked, so he could arrange to “take them out.”
The New York Times has also reported that Sampson is accused of embezzling about US$440,000 in funds pertaining to the sale of foreclosed properties that he kept for himself instead of returning to court officials in Brooklyn. Sampson, the NYT said, was serving as a referee in the sale of the properties.
The report said that Sampson, who represents Brooklyn, becomes the latest lawmaker to be accused of abusing his office for personal gain. The charges facing him include embezzlement, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
The article added that the charges also signal a widening of a probe that has already snared Shirley L. Huntley, a former state senator from Queens who has pleaded guilty to stealing taxpayer money through a nonprofit organisation she was running.
The New York Time said that the charges against Sampson appear to pertain to conversations he had last year with Huntley where he is said to have sought help for a businessman who was offering bribes in return for help to expand his business at Kennedy International Airport. The airport is in Huntley’s district.
The United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Loretta E. Lynch, called the case “one of the most extreme examples of political hubris we have yet seen.”
Mr. Sampson, 47, surrendered to federal agents in the morning and was arraigned in Federal District Court in Brooklyn in the afternoon. He pleaded not guilty to charges that included two counts of embezzlement, five counts of obstruction of justice and two counts of making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
During the hearing, a prosecutor said he had offered Mr. Sampson a plea agreement, which he has until the end of the month to accept. Under the agreement, Mr. Sampson would plead guilty to embezzlement and one other charge and accept a sentence of 37 to 46 months. He faces up to 20 years in prison under the most serious charge if he is found guilty at trial.
Sampson was first elected to the Senate in 1996.