The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Ex-N.Y. Sen. guilty in bribery case
Former Democratic state Sen. Malcolm Smith was convicted Thursday of scheming to bribe his way onto the ballot in the 2013 New York City mayoral election.
A federal jury found Smith guilty on all four charges: bribery conspiracy, wire fraud, use of interstate facilities to commit bribery and extortion.
A co-defendant, former Queens Republican Vice Chairman Vincent Tabone, was also convicted of four charges: bribery conspiracy, wire fraud, use of interstate facilities to commit bribery and witness tampering.
The conviction comes the same week that longtime Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, stepped down from his leadership post in the face of federal charges that he accepted nearly $4 million in payoffs and kickbacks.
When Smith and Tabone were arrested last year, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the case illustrated a “culture of corruption” in New York politics, which he referenced again last week when he arrested Silver.
Smith, once one of the state’s most powerful lawmakers, lost his re-election campaign last year after being indicted.
In 2013, prosecutors said, Smith wanted to be mayor but also wanted to avoid a Democratic mayoral primary. So he in- stead decided to obtain the backing of Republican leaders in three boroughs, which would allow him to run for the GOP line, the indictment said. Prosecutors said he authorized bribes totaling about $200,000.
Jurors saw video recordings of transactions that prosecutors said were bribes, and they heard testimony from an FBI informant identified only as “Raj,” who had posed as a wealthy real estate developer and was in on meetings involving Smith and Republican leaders.
Prosecutor Justin Anderson said Smith displayed “selfish ambition, blatant greed and a mefirst sensibility.”
Smith’s at torneys claimed the senator had been entrapped, never paid a bribe and was lied to by informants.
Prosecutors, however, said Smith was usually the first person in the scheme to mention bribery.
Tabone claimed he believed his $25,000 was legitimate pay for political consulting work. And he denied that he tried to influence a witness who was his mentor.