DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. — Former U.N. General Assembly President John Ashe of the twin-island Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda died Wednesday in the United States as he was facing criminal charges in a bribery case.
Ashe, 61, died at his home in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., according to Sgt. Vincent Ingani, of the Dobbs Ferry Police Department.
Current U.N. General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft confirmed his death, saying Ashe died of a heart attack.
“Despite the many as yet unproven accusations made against him, Mr. Ashe was for many years a hard-working and popular member of the diplomatic corps in New York and at the United Nations,” Lyk- ketoft said in a statement.
Ashe was a former U.N. ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda who served in the largely ceremonial post of president of the 193-nation assembly from September 2013 to September 2014.
He was accused last year by U.S. federal authorities of turning the position into a “platform for profit” by accepting more than $1 million in bribes.
The alleged conspiracy involves six others, including a billionaire Chinese real estate mogul, two diplomats and a humanitarian organization officer.
Ashe pleaded not guilty to the charges and his lawyer had said he would be vindicated.
Ashe held a doctorate in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He joined the foreign service in 1989.
