Helmsley Rejects State Plea Bargain: Hotel queen...

Helmsley Rejects State Plea Bargain: Hotel queen Leona Helmsley, already sentenced to four years in a federal prison, rejected an offer for a concurrent sentence in her state tax-fraud case, insisting, “I’ve committed no crime. I’m not giving up.” Sitting stiffly at the defense table in state Supreme Court in New York, Helmsley listened silently as her lawyer, Gerald Feffer, turned down a plea bargain offered by the state attorney general’s office. Under the agreement, Helmsley would plead guilty in exchange for a prison term to be served concurrently with the four-year federal sentence handed down on Dec. 12, Alfredo Mendez, assistant attorney general, indicated. Separately, bail was set for Helmsley at $25 million secured by her mansions in Connecticut and Arizona, according to federal prosecutors.