New York's lieutenant governor indicted in federal bribery case

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin was indicted in a federal bribery conspiracy case involving allegedly fraudulent donations to a campaign he ran for New York City comptroller, court documents released Tuesday show.

Bejamin was scheduled to appear for arraignment later Tuesday in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona Wang, according to the U.S. Southern District Court in Manhattan. He was arrested Tuesday morning, The New York Times reported.

The case against Benjamin could upend his election bid and that of Gov. Kathy Hochul. Both are seeking full four-year terms after stepping into their roles last year following the resignation of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The Democrats run separately in the June primaries, but would run as a team in November if they make it to the general election.

Benjamin is accused of conspiring to direct state funds to a Harlem real estate investor in order to get the developer to ship illegal campaign contributions to Benjamin’s unsuccessful 2021 campaign. The Times reported the indictment is the result of a federal investigation that has gone on for more than a year.

The developer, Gerald Migdol, was indicted in November on charges of making straw donations to Benjamin’s city comptroller campaign, and the Daily News earlier this month said Benjamin had been subpoenaed by Manhattan prosecutors in relation to Migdol before his selection as lieutenant governor.

Last week, Benjamin told POLITICO that he was cooperating with authorities, but had not specifically told Hochul, who selected him as her second in command last August, of the situation.

“After Mr. Migdol was charged, it was expected the prosecutors would investigate further,” Benjamin said. “That’s what diligent prosecutors do. I’m fully supportive of their efforts. I’ve provided all information that they have requested, and I will continue to do so if they have any further requests. Out of respect for that investigation, I’m not going to be commenting further. I want to give the investigators a chance to finish their work.”

There was no immediate comment from Benjamin or Hochul's office to his arrest. There are few options to remove him from the election ballot at this point, since petitions have already been submitted.

But last week, Hochul stood by her embattled lieutenant governor, vowing that he would be her running mate.

"I have utmost confidence in my lieutenant governor," she told reporters. "This is an independent investigation related to other people, and he's fully cooperating."