State sen. pleads to corruption charge

IT'S OFFICIAL: "The f---ing senator" is f---ing guilty.

State Sen. LeAnna Washington, who once referred to herself by that infamous title, pleaded guilty yesterday in Montgomery County Court to a conflict of interest charge, Senior Deputy Attorney General Susan Lynn DiGiacomo confirmed yesterday.

Prosecutors dropped a theft-of-services charge lobbied against Washington.

As part of her plea, Washington will avoid jail time and keep her pension, and agreed to cooperate with the investigation into her misappropriation of state funds, said DiGiacomo.

Washington, 69, faces three months of house arrest and must make a $200,000 restitution payment, according to court documents.

The investigation into Washington began when her former chief of staff, Sean McCray, approached her about using state funds to pay for her birthday party fundraisers, which included bubble machines and ice sculptures, according to prosecutors and testimony from Washington's preliminary hearing.

The response McCray allegedly received from Washington was "I am the f---ing senator, I do what the f--- I want, how I want, and ain't nobody going to change me," according to his grand-jury testimony.

The investigating grand jury in the case said that Washington spent between $30,000 to $100,000 in taxpayer funds from 2005 to 2013 to plan her parties, some of which took place in the Belmont Mansion.

Washington, a Democrat from Cheltenham who represents parts of Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, served in the state House from 1993 to 2005, when she joined the state Senate.

Despite the charges against her, Washington ran for re-election in the Democratic primary this year but lost to Art Haywood, a commissioner from Cheltenham Township.

Her attorney told reporters yesterday that Washington will announce her resignation today.