Former state Senator George Maziarz would've faced five felony election law violations next week in Albany County Court. Instead of a trial, he pleaded guilty in front of Judge Peter Lynch to one misdemeanor count of "filing a false instrument."

Maziarz will pay a $1,000 fine, a $175 surcharge and a $25 crime victim fee but will not face any prison time. As part of the plea, he admitted to using a series of intermediates to use campaign funds for payments to former state Senate staffer Glenn Aronow, who had left state government amid charges of sexual harassment. Maziarz also admitted he knew the information would not be included on public campaign filings.

Maziarz attorney Joseph LaTona said accepting a plea is up to the client but he believes it indicates the Attorney General's Office would've struggled to prove an intent to defraud needed for a felony conviction.

"Ultimately they agreed, as you point out to a case that began as a five felony count indictment, to agree to a single misdemeanor which does not have as one of its elements, an intent to defraud. That's not part of this resolution," he said.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, however, said Maziarz's full admission sends a message to elected officials about abusing the public trust.

"This case stands for a very simple but important principle, which is that you cannot use your campaign account as a slush fund to avoid public scrutiny," said Schneiderman, D-New York. "No one, not even George Maziarz, can use campaign accounts to deceive the public, flout the law, and pay off friends.”

Maziarz was one of two people indicted by the same grand jury year ago, in a broad investigation connected to the Niagara County Republican Committee. His successor in the state Senate, Rob Ortt, was charged with three felonies too, but Lynch dismissed those charges for a lack of evidence in June.