New York: lieutenant governor blame with bribery campaign funding scheme

U.S. prosecutors announced on Tuesday that New York Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin has been detained and charged with bribery and fraud for allegedly funneling state cash to a group controlled by a real estate developer who was a campaign donor.

According to an indictment unsealed on Tuesday, Brian Benjamin, a Democrat appointed as the state’s No. 2 official by Governor Kathy Hochul last August, directed a $50,000 state grant to the nonprofit while serving as a state senator in 2019.

the developer subsequently transferred thousands of dollars to Benjamin’s campaign for state Senate through various checks written in the names of the developer’s family and a limited liability company, which did not name the developer or the organization he controlled.

The spokesman Manhattan US Attorney’s Office said that Benjamin surrendered to police on Tuesday morning. He is facing five accusations, including bribery, wire fraud, and record falsification.

A request for response from Benjamin’s representative was not immediately returned.

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