Bush pardons Brooklyn developer

One of President George W. Bush’s
19 pardons granted today includes Brooklyn developer Isaac Toussie of Toussie Family Enterprises.
Toussie pleaded guilty in 2001 to using false documents to get
mortgages insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Toussie admitted that he helped homebuyers qualify for HUD loans by
lying about their income. Toussie also admitted to defrauding Suffolk
County. In 2000, the county paid Toussie Family Enterprises $5 million for land on the North
Shore, and Toussie gave the county fake letters that other prospective buyers had bid more than $5 million, while appraisers valued the land at about half that price. Toussie was
sentenced in September 2003 to five months in prison, three
years of supervised release
and was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.