Ex-Senate Leader Bruno Is Indicted for Corruption http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/nyregion/24bruno.html?8au&emc=au 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.
Kirsten Luce for The New York Times After his indictment, Joseph L. Bruno held a press conference in Albany on Friday. Indictment (U.S. v. Bruno) Post a Comment on City RoomIn 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. “My take is that they’re looking to see if they think anything was done wrong,” he said in an interview last month. “I’ve never been charged, never even been told that I was a target, by anybody. So I am doing my thing, making what contribution I can to the health and welfare of myself and the business community here.” Mr. Bruno is a Republican from the Albany area and led the State Senate for 14 years. He became the de facto leader of the state’s Republican Party after Gov. George E. Pataki left office. An outgoing and gregarious political insider, he remains a friend of Gov. David A. Paterson and has close relationships with a number of political figures, though he was a bitter rival of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Many consider Mr. Bruno a classic politician from the old school. State money helped enshrine Mr. Bruno’s image and name across his district, from the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium in Troy to a bust at the Albany International Airport to the Joseph L. Bruno Community Park in Hoosick Falls. He took reporters on a three-hour bus tour of such monuments when he retired last year. In a testament to his popularity, he was named the chief executive of CMA Consulting Services, an information technology and software firm based just outside of Albany, after stepping down, despite the overhanging cloud of the federal inquiry --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
