Benjamin bribery charges reinstated
Ruling is a reversal in campaign fraud case of ex-lieutenant governor
ALBANY — A federal appeals court has reinstated bribery charges against former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, who resigned from office in April 2022 after his arrest on allegations of campaign finance wrongdoing.
The ruling will, at least temporarily, derail efforts that Benjamin has made to rebuild his public persona in spite of the criminal charges that have dogged him for nearly two years.
A U.S. District Court judge initially dismissed the bribery and wire fraud charges against Benjamin because of federal prosecutors’ inability to prove an explicit “quid pro quo” involving the exchange of campaign contributions for a grant to a school fund overseen by a local developer, Gerald Migdol.
But on Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found there is enough evidence to find Benjamin may have allegedly engaged in an explicit quid pro quo — an exchange of something of value for an official act.
The court found the laws are sufficient to support charges that the “alleged exchange in this case was prohibited.”
“Benjamin had fair warning that his alleged agreement with Migdol was illegal and that it would not become legal if he simply avoided memorializing it expressly in words or in writing,” the court ruled in its decision released Friday.
The court found an explicit agreement can be “plainly evident, but not necessarily expressly stated,” while asserting the lower court’s ruling was “based on a misunderstanding” of the case law.
“The fact that the agreement was never stated expressly is immaterial because the existence of the agreement, and the clarity of its terms to Migdol and Benjamin, could be inferred from their words and actions,” the court ruled.
Benjamin’s attorneys may seek to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which issued a seminal 2010 ruling that retooled the federal honest services statute and upended many criminal cases at the time involving public officials.
“The facts are clear that Mr. Benjamin did noth
ing other than engage in routine fundraising and support a nonprofit providing needed resources to Harlem public schools,” Benjamin’s attorney, Barry H. Berke, said in a statement. “We remain confident that Mr. Benjamin will be vindicated in this case, which never should have been brought.”
Berke noted the decision on Friday was related specifically to the legal standard that should be applied to a bribery case, but should not be misconstrued to be a ruling on the alleged crimes themselves. “Those allegations are false,” he said.
At the time of his arrest two years ago, Benjamin was viewed as a rising star in the Democratic Party in New York. Gov. Kathy Hochul tapped Benjamin, then a state senator from Harlem, to be her lieutenant governor as she pieced together her administration in the wake of the resignation of Andrew M. Cuomo.
Hochul’s announcement of her No. 2 pick in the heart of Harlem with local political officials in attendance came as she cast Benjamin as the next great politician from Harlem.
Instead, a few months later, he was arrested on campaign finance corruption charges. He quickly resigned, despite insisting his innocence in the case.
Benjamin was also charged with falsifying information in his background check to become Hochul’s second in command. The charge has been placed on hold while the courts have been reviewing the bribery allegations on appeal.
After a district court judge found Benjamin did not engage in an explicit quid pro quo, a ruling based on the narrow definition of the bribery statute, Benjamin began engaging in a brief press campaign to try and rebuild his public reputation. But the decision from the appeals court is a significant setback on any potential political comeback.
The criminal case is related to Benjamin’s 2019 failed campaign for New York City comptroller. He became a state senator in 2017, after Democratic Party leaders in Manhattan appointed him as the party’s candidate in a special election in the deepblue Harlem district. Benjamin was previously involved in real estate and community organizing.
In November 2021, Migdol was indicted on charges of participating in a straw-donor scheme, which did not directly implicate Benjamin. (The scheme was first outlined in a story in The City in January 2021, months prior to Hochul’s appointment of Benjamin as lieutenant governor.)
Federal prosecutors have accused Migdol and Benjamin of engaging in a scheme of exchanging $50,000 state grant funds for the developer’s Friends of Public School Harlem for assistance to secure matching campaign funds. The Times Union reported on the state grant in March 2022, prior to Benjamin’s indictment.
The case centers on whether it is bribery for a lawmaker to make an arrangement with a potential donor to exchange public grant funds for campaign contributions — and how explicit that deal must be for it to legally qualify as bribery.
In March 2019, Benjamin attended a meeting at Migdol’s residence where the state senator allegedly relayed that he wanted Migdol to procure numerous small contributions for his comptroller campaign, according to the indictment.
When Migdol replied that his ability to do so was limited, Benjamin allegedly replied, “Let me see what I can do.”
A day after securing grant funds for Friends of Public School Harlem, Benjamin allegedly sent a text to Migdol. When Migdol asked, “Does it mean what I’m hoping?” Benjamin allegedly replied, “Oh yes it does. We passed the resolution yesterday! $50k.”
About two weeks later, in July 2019, Migdol allegedly met with Benjamin in his Senate office in Harlem, providing him with $25,000 in campaign contributions in the name of one of his relatives and on behalf of a company of his.
During the meeting, Benjamin allegedly reminded Migdol of the $50,000 grant, and said he expected Migdol to procure “numerous small contributions” for the comptroller campaign.
Beginning in October 2019, after Benjamin had begun fundraising for comptroller, Migdol allegedly began funneling $250 contributions to that campaign fund that were eligible for the public matching funds. The contributions were in the names of others, and at least several of them had not authorized the contributions.
The broader case had an unexpected wrinkle last month when Migdol died the day before his 74th birthday.
In Migdol’s obituary, he was described as a “community-minded businessman, attorney, philanthropist and beloved family man,” who was “characterized by his unwavering commitment to making a positive impact on the lives of others.”
“One of Gerald’s most cherished endeavors was his commitment to ensuring that thousands of public school students in Harlem had access to essential school supplies, regardless of their financial circumstances,” the obituary reads. “His generosity extended beyond formal philanthropy, as he readily offered assistance to friends, family, and strangers alike, embodying the true spirit of compassion and kindness.”