U.S. Drops Corruption Case Against New York’s Former Lieutenant Governor
The New York Times
Brian Benjamin had been accused of funneling state money to a real estate developer in exchange for campaign contributions. A key witness in the case has died.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan told a judge on Friday that they would drop a bribery case against Brian A. Benjamin, New York’s former lieutenant governor, following the death of a key witness.
The decision lifts a cloud that has followed Mr. Benjamin, a Democrat, since April 2022 when the government first accused him of funneling state money to a real estate developer in exchange for campaign contributions. The charges, announced in a splashy news conference, forced Mr. Benjamin to resign and all but ended his political career.
The Supreme Court declined to dismiss the case in December, and it had appeared as if Mr. Benjamin might finally face trial.
But on Friday, prosecutors wrote to the judge overseeing the case, J. Paul Oetken, that they no longer saw a path to proving their allegations after the death of the developer, Gerald Migdol. Mr. Migdol had pleaded guilty to related charges and was cooperating with the government before he died in February.
“Based on a review of the evidence in the case, and in light of the death of cooperating witness and co-defendant Gerald Migdol,” the prosecutors wrote, “the government has determined that it can no longer prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, the charges in the indictment.”
Mr. Benjamin had maintained his innocence, and in a statement, he thanked prosecutors for dismissing the case after what he called a “painful journey.” He said he had represented both his State Senate district and the state “with honor and integrity.”
Peter Forrest was the charismatic lead singer of 24-7 Spyz, which did shows with Jane’s Addiction. Last week, Mr. Forrest, 64, was found beaten to death in the ambulette he drove for a living.
As Donald J. Trump prepares to take the oath of office for a second time, much of the world seems to be bowing down to him and demoralized opponents are rethinking the future.
The new lawmaking sessions open after a campaign year in which Republicans leaned on messaging that tapped into fears about transgender issues.
President-elect Donald J. Trump believes he has been wronged by current and former officials, members of the media and more.
An ill-fated run against a Black opponent nearly ended the career of Andrew Cuomo. As he weighs challenging Mayor Eric Adams, he cannot afford a repeat.
Brian Benjamin had been accused of funneling state money to a real estate developer in exchange for campaign contributions. A key witness in the case has died.
The size of the planned immigration raids is unclear, but they would be the opening step in the president-elect’s goal of overseeing the largest deportation program in history.
But the judges stayed their ruling and for now, hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients will continue to have protection from deportation.
Manuel Chang will spend eight and a half years in prison for taking about $7 million in bribes and kickbacks in a loan scandal that sent the country’s economy into a crisis.
Sheng Thao, who was recalled by voters in the California city in November, said last year that she had done nothing wrong. She pleaded not guilty to the charges on Friday.
The express commuter bus missed a turn on the route that travels between Manhattan and the Bronx. The driver, the sole occupant of the bus, was not injured.
Once again, an incoming Trump White House is likely to clash with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. But the court in San Francisco has changed since 2017.
The action, aimed at inmates who received harsher sentences based on old disparities in drug laws, will be the broadest commutation of individual sentences ever issued by a U.S. president.
As a disastrous fire continues to burn on the city’s west side, some are calling Chief Kristin Crowley to account: Why wasn’t the city better prepared?
The New York mayor, who is under federal indictment, has spoken warmly about President-elect Donald J. Trump in recent weeks and has said he is open to receiving a pardon from him.
Days before Trump returns to office, the legal fight with Democratic state officials over his agenda has begun.
The $114.5 billion spending plan anticipated $2 billion less in asylum seeker costs, but also called for an additional $550 million for nonmigrant shelters.
The former mayor of New York is at risk of forfeiting his sole remaining home, a Palm Beach apartment, and World Series rings to election workers he defamed after the 2020 vote.