jimnyc
04-02-2013, 11:09 AM
Gotta love New York!!
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Six New York politicians were arrested for their alleged role in a bribery scandal in which a prominent Democrat paid top Republicans for permission to run on their ticket in the city's upcoming mayoral race, prosecutors said.
Authorities described the scheme - potentially one of the biggest political scandals to hit New York in years - as an attempt to game the city's first wide-open mayoral election in more than a decade. New York will choose a new mayor in November, when Michael Bloomberg's third term comes to an end.
The charges center on State Senator Malcolm Smith, a Democrat from Queens, who prosecutors said made payments to a city councilman to set up meetings with top New York Republicans to assist in getting him on the mayoral ballot.
Smith and the councilman, Daniel Halloran, a Republican from Queens, were among the six politicians arrested on Tuesday morning in connection to the bribery scandal, an official at the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan said.
Charges against the six include bribery, extortion, and wire and mail fraud.
"A show-me-the-money culture seems to pervade every level of New York government," said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. "The complaint describes an unappetizing smorgasbord of graft and greed involving six officials who together built a corridor of corruption stretching from Queens and the Bronx to Rockland County and all the way up to Albany itself."
Authorities arrested four other Republicans: Queens County Republican Party Vice Chairman Vincent Tabone, Bronx County Republican Party Chairman Joseph Savino, Spring Valley Mayor Noramie Jasmin and Spring Valley Deputy Mayor Joseph Desmaret.
Smith's layer, Gerald Shargel, defended his client but said he had not yet fully reviewed the charges. "Malcolm Smith is a dedicated public servant who has served ... his constituents in an exemplary fashion," Shargel said.
http://news.yahoo.com/two-charged-bribe-probe-related-york-mayors-race-124807777.html
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Six New York politicians were arrested for their alleged role in a bribery scandal in which a prominent Democrat paid top Republicans for permission to run on their ticket in the city's upcoming mayoral race, prosecutors said.
Authorities described the scheme - potentially one of the biggest political scandals to hit New York in years - as an attempt to game the city's first wide-open mayoral election in more than a decade. New York will choose a new mayor in November, when Michael Bloomberg's third term comes to an end.
The charges center on State Senator Malcolm Smith, a Democrat from Queens, who prosecutors said made payments to a city councilman to set up meetings with top New York Republicans to assist in getting him on the mayoral ballot.
Smith and the councilman, Daniel Halloran, a Republican from Queens, were among the six politicians arrested on Tuesday morning in connection to the bribery scandal, an official at the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan said.
Charges against the six include bribery, extortion, and wire and mail fraud.
"A show-me-the-money culture seems to pervade every level of New York government," said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. "The complaint describes an unappetizing smorgasbord of graft and greed involving six officials who together built a corridor of corruption stretching from Queens and the Bronx to Rockland County and all the way up to Albany itself."
Authorities arrested four other Republicans: Queens County Republican Party Vice Chairman Vincent Tabone, Bronx County Republican Party Chairman Joseph Savino, Spring Valley Mayor Noramie Jasmin and Spring Valley Deputy Mayor Joseph Desmaret.
Smith's layer, Gerald Shargel, defended his client but said he had not yet fully reviewed the charges. "Malcolm Smith is a dedicated public servant who has served ... his constituents in an exemplary fashion," Shargel said.
http://news.yahoo.com/two-charged-bribe-probe-related-york-mayors-race-124807777.html