Mr. Benjamin, who has pleaded not responsible, has reshuffled his authorized crew since his arrest, bringing in Mr. Berke and Dani R. James of Kramer Levin as his new attorneys. Mr. Berke represented Invoice de Blasio in a number of inquiries into the previous mayor’s fund-raising practices and later served as a lead counsel for each impeachments of former President Donald J. Trump.
Prosecutors have mentioned that Mr. Benjamin used his energy, whereas he was a member of the State Senate, to direct $50,000 in state funds to a charity run by a Harlem actual property developer, Gerald Migdol. In return, Mr. Migdol orchestrated hundreds of {dollars} in unlawful marketing campaign contributions to Mr. Benjamin’s failed marketing campaign in 2021 for New York Metropolis comptroller and his State Senate marketing campaign, the authorities mentioned.
What to Know About Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin
Mr. Migdol, who pleaded not responsible final fall to wire fraud and aggravated id theft, has been aiding prosecutors within the investigation, The New York Instances has reported.
“Exploiting one’s official authority by allocating state funds as a part of a bribe to obtain donations to a political marketing campaign, and interesting in exercise to cowl up the bribe, is unlawful,” Michael J. Driscoll, the top of the F.B.I.’s New York workplace, mentioned in an announcement when the fees had been introduced on April 12.
Within the meantime, the ramifications of the case proceed to ripple via New York politics.
Although Mr. Benjamin resigned and suspended his re-election marketing campaign inside hours of his arrest, state election guidelines make it exceedingly troublesome to take away his identify from or change him on the June Democratic major poll.
Two different Democrats will seem alongside him: Diana Reyna, a former New York Metropolis councilwoman, and Ana Maria Archila, an activist backed by the left-leaning Working Households Occasion.
That signifies that if Ms. Hochul prevails in her personal major contest, she might find yourself on a Democratic normal election ticket this fall with a operating mate she didn’t select.
Mr. Benjamin, who’s free on bond, didn’t communicate in court docket or as he left along with his attorneys. The decide, J. Paul Oetken, mentioned that he would possibly set a trial date at a court docket listening to subsequent month.
