J. Garcia, the United States Attorney for Manhattan, described the extent of McLaughlin's alleged financial misdeeds as "stunning in its breadth and scope," and said, "This case lends a new meaning to the term 'hand in the till'... "What we have here is really a story of greed." The New York Times reported that McLaughlin had legally made "$263,600 in combined salaries and expenses as an assemblyman and labor council president." The Times further described the charges as "ranging from the Dickensian (stealing $95,000 from Little League baseball teams to pay his rent) to the brazen (creating two no-show jobs on his legislative payroll and keeping part of one salary)." Labor experts expressed shock when hearing of the charges brought to McLaughlin. Labor historian Joshua Freeman, of the City University of New York, said, "If these charges prove true, it's certainly a blot on the union movement." According to the charges, McLaughlin had stolen "more than $2.2 million from the state, his union, his political club, his campaign and a Little League." The Little League team in question, from which McLaughlin had allegedly skimmed $95,000, was run by the Electchester Athletic Association. He had reportedly "solicited donations for the team, which he founded, then took the money after it was deposited in one of the organization's bank accounts." According to the indictment, McLaughlin became furious "when he learned a team official tried to use $2,800 to pay for legitimate softball expenses," saying: "All that f-----g money he's f-----g spending on other stuff, that ain't his money... That's mine." The indictment also alleged that McLaughlin got the United Way charity to fund a Commission on the Dignity of Immigrants program. It was reported that McLaughlin "put a relative in charge who funneled his $94,000 salary back to him." The indictment charged that McLaughlin "took more than $140,000 from the street lights division of Local 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, for which he served as business representative," plus "$185,000 from the Central Labor Council, more than $35,000 from the State Assembly, and more than $330,000 from his own re-election committee." Moreover, it charged that "he illegally received more than $1.4 million from street-lighting contractors and other companies and that the lighting contractors gave him three cars — one of which he gave to his son and another to a second woman with whom he had a close personal relationship."