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| Corruption Indictment for Ex-Senate Leader Bruno |
| 2009-01-24 |
| Joseph L. Bruno, the former State Senate majority leader, was indicted on Friday in Albany on charges that he reaped millions of dollars from companies seeking business from the state or from labor unions, capping a long-running investigation into one of New York's most powerful political figures. In an eight-count indictment, federal prosecutors accused Mr. Bruno of collecting more than $3 million over a 13-year period, beginning in 1993, from a handful of companies seeking state contracts and grants, as well as contracts to manage pension fund investments for at least 16 labor unions. In addition to cash payments disguised as consulting fees, he also had undisclosed interests in a racehorse partnership and a computer software firm that had contracts with state agencies, according to the indictment. Prosecutors said Mr. Bruno used his position in the Senate to take "official action on legislative, funding, contract and regulatory issues" benefiting those who were paying him, although they did not cite any specific examples. Mr. Bruno, 79, was charged under an anti-corruption law making it a crime to deprive citizens of honest services from their elected officials. Andrew T. Baxter, the acting United States attorney for the Northern District of New York, said the payments to Mr. Bruno were in essence gifts because Mr. Bruno "did not perform legitimate consulting service commensurate with these substantial consulting fees." He made his comments at a press conference in the federal courthouse, where about an hour earlier Mr. Bruno entered a not-guilty plea and was released without bail. "Mr. Bruno exploited his office by concealing the nature and the source of substantial payments that he received from parties that benefited from his official actions," Mr. Baxter said. Not long before Mr. Baxter spoke, Mr. Bruno appeared before reporters and issued a fiery condemnation of the charges against him. He called the investigation a politicized "three-year fishing expedition" that was "profoundly unfair" and "really stinks, in plain English." "I did nothing wrong. I broke no laws," he said, adding, "I've been a fighter and I don't plan on changing now." "There is a frightening message to all elected officials who are not wealthy and who have to work to make a living," Mr. Bruno continued. "You, too, can become target practice with a statute that can infer, insinuate and imply because they can't find the facts to make a criminal case." The three-year investigation, which became public in December 2006, has spanned a range of subjects, from Mr. Bruno's overlapping business and political ties to a longtime friend, Jared E. Abbruzzese, to his purchases of real estate and thoroughbreds, to his relationship with a Connecticut investment company that was seeking to expand its pension business among New York labor unions. Federal investigators have also scrutinized what work was done by Capital Business Consultants, an enterprise that the senator ran out of his residence, and flights by Mr. Bruno on a private jet that were arranged by Mr. Abbruzzese. During the investigation, federal grand jury subpoenas were issued to business executives, Senate staff members, thoroughbred owners, labor leaders and lobbyists. Throughout the inquiry, Mr. Bruno has maintained his innocence. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 He is indeed an R. And he is one of the triumverate that have been locked in a power battle in Albany for over a decade. It's no coincidence that Spitzer sent the state troopers to snoop illegally on Bruno. |
| Posted by: lotp 2009-01-24 14:12 |
| #3 He's a Republican. Check it out, I did. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-01-24 10:52 |
| #2 They never say what their party if they are dems. If they are repubs it is in the headline. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2009-01-24 09:34 |
| #1 ...in another exciting episode of Name That Party! |
| Posted by: Raj 2009-01-24 08:17 |