The indictment also charged that McLaughlin had "used subordinates as 'personal servants,' to take his dog to the veterinarian, hang Christmas lights, trap rodents in his basement and clean out his barn." He was "also charged with making an aide use his E-ZPass at tollbooths to make it appear that he had returned home from Albany later than he really had, allowing him to bill for daily allowances given to legislators." Moreover, he was "accused of using more than $330,000 from his re-election campaign funds to pay for personal expenses like a rehearsal dinner for his son's wedding, renovation of his $760,000 house in Suffolk County near Long Island Sound, payment of his country club membership fees and the purchase and installation of a plasma television for a female friend." In addition, McLaughlin was "charged with using stolen money for an $80,000 Mercedes-Benz for his wife, marina fees, school tuition for one of his children, rent payments on his Albany residence and rent payments on his Queens residence." McLaughlin was also charged with accepting $450,000 in payments from Argent Electric, owned by former New York City Mayor Abe Beame's son, Bernard "Buddy" Beame, as part of a secret partnership dating back to 1999, when the city decided to switch from regular traffic lights to light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Argent sought the contract to provide the LEDs; McLaughlin, who as head of the CLC represented electrical workers, "could have failed to provide the number of electrical workers needed, or send people who weren't skilled," thereby sabotaging the contract. Beame "paid him to prevent that." In return for efforts by McLaughlin and an associate at the CLC on Argent's behalf, including pressuring contractors to buy LED units from a firm represented by Argent and encouraging contractors and CLC members to buy Argent products, Beame gave McLaughlin and his associate half of Argent's profits. The indictment also accused McLaughlin of using the Street Lighting Association fund "as his personal piggy bank, routinely diverting money earmarked for union members to himself, relatives and close friends." Post-indictment According to federal authorities, most of the money McLaughlin stole reportedly "went to turn McLaughlin's home in tony Nissequogue, Long Island, into a mansion, complete with wine cellar and gazebo." Some of his ill-gotten gains "funded... 'personal relationships' with a number of women." One of these women, Eleanore Levitas, was allegedly paid sizable sums in 2000 "for 'consulting services'