UPDATE: New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin resigned Tuesday in the wake of his arrest in a federal corruption investigation, Gov. Kathy Hochul said, creating a political crisis for her seven months after she selected Benjamin as a partner to make a fresh start in an office already rocked by scandal.
“I have accepted Brian Benjamin’s resignation effective immediately. While the legal process plays out, it is clear to both of us that he cannot continue to serve as Lieutenant Governor. New Yorkers deserve absolute confidence in their government, and I will continue working every day to deliver for them,” Hochul said in a statement.
(Headline USA) New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin was arrested on Tuesday on charges of a federal bribery conspiracy related to his prior unsuccessful city comptroller campaign.
Benjamin, a Democrat, is accused of funneling state funding to a Harlem real estate investor in return for thousands of dollars in illegal campaign donations to his 2021 comptroller campaign, prosecutors said.
“From at least in or about 2019, up to and including at least in or about 2021, Brian Benjamin, the defendant, participated in a scheme to obtain campaign contributions from a real estate developer in exchange for Benjamin’s agreement to use and actual use of, his official authority and influence as a New York State senator to obtain a $50,000 grant of state funds,” the indictment alleges.
Prosecutors have charged Benjamin with bribery, honest services wire fraud, and two counts of falsification of records for the alleged scheme.
The real estate investor involved in the plot, Gerald Migdol, was arrested last November and had been cooperating with authorities’ investigation into Benjamin. A grand jury indicted Migdol last year on aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, and other charges, alleging he made donations to Benjamin using other people’s names and then reimbursing them to circumvent campaign finance laws. One of the names he used was his 2-year-old grandchild’s, according to the New York Times.
Benjamin was a state senator running for state comptroller at the time.
New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul initially defended him against accusations of wrongdoing after Migdol was indicted.
“I have utmost confidence in my lieutenant governor,” she said during a recent press conference, according to the Associated Press. “This is an independent investigation related to other people and he’s fully cooperating. He is my running mate.”
Despite the charges, Benjamin is expected to still appear on the Democrat primary ballot in June for the lieutenant governor position.
