Mount Vernon Firefighter Pleads Guilty To Fed. Gun Charges, Resigns

MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The brother of a suburban New York mayor has resigned from his firefighter post after court documents were unsealed that showed he pleaded guilty to federal gun charges.

Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas said that his half-brother, Henry-George Thomas, has stepped down from his job as a city firefighter, according to the Journal News.

The mayor said his brother's resignation involved a "medical challenge.''

But the newspaper reports that court documents unsealed on Dec. 30 show that Henry-George Thomas was charged in April with importing four guns and ammunition from outside New York state and then selling them to an FBI informant.

Thomas pleaded guilty in September to charges including unlawful transportation of firearms and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. He is to be sentenced March 24.

Richard Thomas was sworn in for his first term as mayor of Mount Vernon in November 2015. He previously served as a Democratic city councilman.

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