A look at the life and times of Joe Bruno.
1929: Glens Falls
Bruno was born in Glens Falls in April 1929. He attended Catholic school there and earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Skidmore College. In his 2016 memoir, “Keep Swinging: A Memoir of Politics and Justice,” he described paying his way through college by hauling and selling 100-pound cakes of ice from a truck.
1952-54: Korean War
Deployed at the end of the war, Bruno was promoted to sergeant first class and received a Bronze Service Star. He also became the undefeated light heavyweight boxing champion of 25th Infantry Division, based in Hawaii. His technique: a combination of technique, ring smarts and an ability to take a punch.
1969-74: Republican rising
Bruno served as Rensselaer County Republican chairman for several years, as a senior aide to Republican Assembly Speaker Perry Duryea, and a campaign staffer for Gov. Nelson Rockefeller.
1976: New senator
Bruno was first elected to the chamber he would eventually lead, representing New York’s 43rd State Senate District, which covers Rensselaer County and most of Saratoga County.
1994: The coup
In November 1994, with the backing of governor-elect George Pataki and U.S. Sen. Alfonse D’amato, Bruno took over as Senate majority leader in a Thanksgiving-weekend coup that took out Majority Leader Ralph Marino of Long Island, who had led the conference since 1989.
2007: Battling Spitzer
Bruno’s use of state aircraft for largely political purposes — the subject of an extensive Times Union investigation — led to a vicious feud with newly elected Democratic Gov. Eliot
Spitzer. Bruno alleged Spitzer’s administration had deployed the State Police to track his activities — “political espionage,” in his estimation.
2008: Retirement
Embroiled in a federal corruption investigation, Bruno announced his retirement from the Senate in June. "I have no regrets because this has been a great trip and it is time for me to ride off into the sunset," Bruno said in a statement issued the week of his resignation the following month.
2009: Indicted, convicted
Bruno was arraigned on federal corruption charges in January. During the ensuing trial, prosecutors painted a portrait of Bruno using his Senate office and staff to run secret business deals and accept money from parties with interests before the
Senate. Convicted of two felonies, he was sentenced to two years in federal prison.
2010: Reversal of fortune
The U.S. Supreme Court redefined the scope of the “honest services” law undergirding Bruno’s 2009 conviction. Months later, federal prosecutors announced their intention to seek a retrial of Bruno under the newly circumscribed law. In 2012, he is indicted again.
2014: Acquitted
After deliberating four hours, the jury in Bruno’s second federal trial returned a verdict of not guilty on both charges. “It's behind us for the first time in nine years," Bruno told the press after the verdict "It's like the first day of the rest of my life.”