New York Senator, IDC member, arrested today in bribery plot, NY Post reports
New York state Sens. Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, left, and John Sampson, D-Brooklyn, appear at a news conference at the Capitol in Albany in 2009. Today, Smith was arrested in a bribery plot to rig the New York City mayor's race, the New York Post reported.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- State Sen. Malcolm Smith, a Queens Democrat, was arrested this morning at his home by FBI agents investigating a plot to get Smith on the Republican ballot for New York City mayor, the New York Post is reporting.
The New York Times and the Associated Press also reported the arrest this morning.
Smith was charged at his Queens home shortly after 6 a.m., the Post reported. Also charged was New York City Councilman Dan Halloran. Both men are accused of building an alliance built on cash payments and fraud to get Smith placed on the GOP mayoral ballot, the Post said.
Smith did not comment as he was arrested.
Here's more from the Post's report:
"To get on the GOP ballot, Smith allegedly enlisted Halloran, a Republican, to set up meetings with party leaders and negotiate thousands of dollars in bribes. The money was masked as payments for legal and accounting services, sources said.
"Halloran allegedly collected thousands in bribes for himself along the way, the sources said.
"He is separately charged with taking bribes from a consultant in return for up to $80,000 in City Council discretionary funding.
"The feds were already investigating Halloran when they got wind of the alleged ballot-manipulating plan in November, the sources said. Smith met with his alleged co-conspirators as recently as February."
Smith became the fifth member of the Independent Democratic Conference in December, just days before the IDC publicly joined with the Senate Republicans to take charge of Albany's upper house. Sen. David Valesky, D-Oneida, is also a member of the IDC. The coalition left traditional Democrats -- who would have controlled the Senate if the IDC had not broken away -- in the minority.
Smith's trouble would not upset the current coalition configuration, at least by the numbers. Currently, there are 31 Republicans, 27 Democrats (including one who caucuses with the GOP) and the five breakaway Democrats. It takes 32 members to control the Senate.
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