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Lt. Gov. Benjamin arrested for corruption

Apr 12, 2022 1:23 pm

Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union that New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin was arrested by federal authorities April 12 on bribery and other offenses related to a scheme to trade a state grant for campaign contributions. Last year a real estate developer known by Benjamin was arrested because of a campaign finance scheme that allegedly used fraud to secure millions of dollars in public matching funds. This year, just after Gov. Kathy Hochul upgraded Benjamin a state senator to Lt. Gov., Benjamin received a subpoena. The Times Union previously reported that a $50,000 grant in the state Senate in 2019 went to an educational nonprofit led by the same real estate figure, Gerald Migdol. A few days ago, Hochul said she was standing by Benjamin, but now that he was arrested, that may change. Read more about this story in the Times Union.