Friday, January 23, 2009

Former NYS Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno Indicted

You knew this was coming. Republican Joe Bruno was indicted on corruption charges today.
He was once one of the most powerful men in New York state politics. Now he's facing a federal indictment on public corruption charges.

An eight-count indictment by the U.S. Attorney's Office says Joseph Bruno used his position as state Senate majority leader to defraud the people of New York from 1993 through at least 2006.

A spokesman for the 79-year-old Republican from Rensselaer County says Bruno will comment after court proceedings taking place this afternoon in Albany.

Bruno retired from the Legislature in July after more than 30 years of serving his Albany-area district. He stepped aside amid a three-year federal investigation into his business dealings while insisting he did nothing wrong.
Bruno is expected to have a presser to address the charges this afternoon. Don't expect anything on a level seen during the Rod Blagojevich extravaganzas, where he would cite Tennyson or other poets.

The indictment can be read here. The charges include creating a scheme to defraud New Yorkers out of millions of dollars.

It was the ongoing investigation into Bruno that led then Governor Eliot Spitzer to sic the state troopers on Bruno, who responded that Spitzer was breaking the law by doing so; Troopergate.

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