UNITED NATIONS - John Ashe, a former United Nations General Assembly President accused by US prosecutors of taking $1.3 million in bribes from Chinese businessmen, has died at age 61, his lawyer says.

The death of Ashe — a former UN ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda who served as General Assembly president from 2013 to 2014 and was arrested in October on federal charges — was confirmed by his lawyer, Jeremy Schneider.

Reports said Ashe died at 4 PM Wednesday of a massive 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,” current UN General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft said in a statement. “I know that his death will come as sad news to the many professional friends and colleagues he made during his time here.”

A federal grand jury indicted Ashe in October in the bribery case. 

At the time, Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for Manhattan, alleged Ashe “sold himself and the global institution he led” by allegedly pocketing more than $1 million in bribes to finance a luxury spending spree.

Ashe used the money to buy Rolex watches, custom suits, a BMW, a family vacation and even a private basketball court, Bharara said.

Ashe was accused of tax fraud in an alleged conspiracy involving five others, including a billionaire Chinese businessman and a former deputy UN ambassador from the Dominican Republic, according to a criminal complaint.

Prosecutors accused him of under-reporting his income by more than $1.2 million.

The Chinese businessman, Ng Lap Seng, paid more than $500,000 in bribes to Ashe, according to the complaint. Ng Lap Seng, a Macau business developer, pleaded not guilty, but three of the other original defendants have now changed their pleas to guilty.