Steven Pigeon, an attorney and political consultant in Western New York, pleaded guilty on Friday to bribing former state Supreme Court Justice John Michalek in exchange for influence over litigation before the court.

The guilty plea means Pigeon will lose his law license. He entered the plea before Erie County Supreme Court Justice Donald Cerio Jr., admitting to third-degree bribery, a class D felony. He could face up to a year in prison. Pigeon previously worked in Buffalo for the Rochester-based firm Underberg & Kessler.

Pigeon's guilty plea comes more than two years after Michalek pleaded guilty to his involvement in the scheme, which consequently led to his resignation from the bench. He had held the post for almost two decades. He was also disbarred.

Pigeon was chair of the Erie County Democratic Committee for nearly a decade, in which he gained significant influence over political circles in the region. He was an early supporter of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's first run for the state's top office in 2002. He worked on President Bill Clinton's presidential campaigns in the decade before that. He was known as a powerhouse among Democrats in Western New York.

That reputation was stymied after his indictment in 2016, and it seemed to go downhill from there. He was indicted on federal charges related to the arrangement with Michalek in 2017. That case, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Roemer of the Western District of New York, is ongoing.

Pigeon was accused by state prosecutors of offering bribes to Michalek from February 2012 to April 2015 for influence over the justice's official actions in court. Pigeon offered to help Michalek get an appointment to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department. Those appointments come from the governor and are approved by the state Senate.

Michalek never got his wish. His guilty plea in 2016 triggered Pigeon's indictment by former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. The case has continued under Attorney General Barbara Underwood, who said the plea on Friday was another step to rooting out public corruption in state government.

“As we detailed, Steve Pigeon orchestrated a brazen, multiyear scheme to bribe a sitting judge—demonstrating flagrant contempt for the rule of law and the interests of New Yorkers. Now, he's being brought to justice,” Underwood said. “We have zero tolerance for public corruption. New Yorkers deserve to be able to trust the integrity of their officials—and my office will continue to do everything in our power to hold accountable those who violate that trust.”

Pigeon was represented in the case by Paul Cambria Jr. of Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria in Buffalo, where Pigeon hails from. Cambria did not return a call for comment on Friday.

Underwood's office said emails and text messages between Pigeon and Michalek proved an agreement to exchange bribes for official action. They were prepared to go to trial in the case, which was scheduled to begin next month.

Besides Pigeon's promise to secure Michalek's appointment to the Appellate Division, he also offered the former judge free tickets to a pair of Buffalo Sabres hockey games, and gave one of the justice's family members a free ticket to a $1,000 political fundraiser.

Michalek, meanwhile, delivered information on multiple lawsuits in which Pigeon had an interest.

On one occasion, Pigeon convinced Michalek to select a specific attorney to serve as a receiver when that individual was not on the court's list of qualified receivers. Michalek filed a document with the Office of Court Administration on which he falsely claimed that he needed the attorney's expertise in handling that receivership, Underwood's office said.

Federal prosecutors alleged last year that during the same time, Pigeon promised to get a member of Michalek's family a job working for President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. He also allegedly offered to help that same family member get a job with the U.S. Department of State. Those were also in exchange for favorable decisions from Michalek and to control the receivership appointment alleged by state prosecutors.

Pigeon's attorneys moved to dismiss some of those charges in late August. Oral arguments on the motion are scheduled for next week.

Cerio allowed Pigeon to remain free on $10,000 bail. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 21.