NY Lt. Governor Resigns After Bribery, Fraud Charges
New York Lieutenant Gov. Brian Benjamin, who was recently arrested by federal authorities and indicted on charges of alleged bribery, honest services wire fraud, and falsification of records, resigned from his office shortly after his arrest.
Prosecutors allege Benjamin used his influence as a state senator to secure a $50,000 state grant for a real estate developer in exchange for tens of thousands dollars of campaign contributions from 2019 to 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Harlem real estate developer and Benjamin’s alleged partner in crime, Gerald Migdol, was indicted for his role in the scheme last November. Then, Benjamin allegedly tried to cover up the scheme by lying on vetting documents he filled out before becoming lieutenant governor, The Journal reported.
Benjamin collected a $110,000 salary as a state senator and $210,000 as lieutenant governor.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams called the scheme a simple story of corruption, saying, “Taxpayer money for campaign contributions. Quid pro quo. This for that. That’s bribery, plain and simple.”
This is not the first time powerful politicians colluded with state contractors in pay-to-play schemes in New York. Most of those schemes in New York, however, are legal.
In 2020, OpenTheBooks.com CEO Adam Andrzejewski helped The New York Post break a story detailing how then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave kickbacks to hospital systems that contributed to his campaign. Even with Cuomo out of office, it seems the culture of corruption remains.
The Benjamin indictment casts a shadow on the administration of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who promised to “forge a new era of transparency” in a state plagued with corruption. Now, her own political career is in jeopardy as she tries to convince New York voters to elect her to a full term in the June 28 Democratic primary and then in the November general election.
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