NEW YORK (Reuters) -New York Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin, the state’s No. 2 official after Governor Kathy Hochul, was charged on Tuesday with bribery and fraud over an alleged scheme to direct state funds toward a real estate developer in exchange for campaign contributions.
Benjamin, 45, handpicked for his post by Hochul last August, pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court to charges in a five-count indictment, after surrendering to authorities earlier on Tuesday.
Prosecutors said Benjamin in 2019 directed a $50,000 state grant to a non-profit controlled by the developer from the Harlem section of Manhattan, which Benjamin represented at the time as a state senator.
The developer then sent Benjamin’s reelection campaign thousands of dollars through several checks in the names of relatives and a limited liability company, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors said the developer also raised money for Benjamin’s unsuccessful 2021 run to become New York City’s comptroller.
“Taxpayer money for campaign contributions. Quid pro quo. This for that. That’s corruption,” said Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan. “Public corruption remains a problem in New York. It is a bipartisan problem. It is an ongoing problem.”
The Harlem real estate developer was not identified by name in the indictment.
Just over two months after Benjamin became lieutenant governor, real estate developer Gerald Migdol was criminally charged with steering illegal campaign contributions to an unnamed candidate for city comptroller.
Benjamin faces charges including bribery, wire fraud and falsification of records. His case and Migdol’s are in the same case file.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona Wang released Benjamin on $250,000 bond, and imposed travel restrictions that leave him unable to travel to Albany, New York’s state capital, without permission from authorities.
Benjamin will next appear in court on April 19.
The charges could complicate Benjamin’s political future as well as Hochul’s reelection bid in November.
Hochul, a Democrat who had been lieutenant governor, replaced Andrew Cuomo as governor last August, when he resigned following an inquiry that found that he had sexually harassed 11 women.
She faces challenges from New York City Comptroller Jumaane Williams and Long Island U.S. Congressman Tom Suozzi for Democratic gubernatorial nomination.
Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Will Dunham and Bill Berkrot
