Politicians nabbed in New York probe
New York – A high-ranking Democratic New York State senator was
arrested yesterday and charged with trying to buy a place on the Republican ticket in the city’s mayoral race, in what prosecutors said was part of a bribery scandal that reflected pervasive corruption in New York politics.
Five other politicians – three Republicans and two Democrats – were also arrested and charged with collectively accepting more than US$100,000 (NZ$119,000) in bribes in meetings that often took place in parked cars, hotels and state offices, court papers reveal.
Authorities described the scheme, potentially one of the biggest political scandals to hit New York in years, as an attempt to game the city’s first wide-open mayoral election in more than a decade. New York will vote in November for a new mayor to replace Michael Bloomberg, whose third term wraps up at year’s end.
The charges centre on State Senator Malcolm Smith, a Democrat from Queens, who was widely considered a long-shot candidate for City Hall. Prosecutors say he made payments to a city councilman to set up meetings with top New York Republicans to assist in getting him on the mayoral ballot.
Smith and the councilman, Daniel Halloran, a Republican from Queens, were among the six politicians arrested yesterday.
Later yesterday, all six appeared in federal court in White Plains, and were ordered to post US$250,000 in bail. They face charges including bribery, extortion, and wire and mail fraud.
‘‘From time to time the question arises, how common is corruption in New York?’’ Manhattan lawyer Preet Bharara told a news conference. ‘‘Based on the cases that we have brought and continue to bring, it seems downright pervasive.’’
The politicians arrested yesterday were Queens County Republican Party vice-chairman Vincent Tabone, Bronx County Republican Party chairman Joseph Savino, Spring Valley Mayor Noramie Jasmin, and Spring Valley Deputy Mayor Joseph Desmaret.
Jasmin and Desmaret, both Democrats, were charged with mail fraud in connection with the sale of village property.
Following the court appearance, Smith’s lawyer, Gerald Shargel, said there is ‘‘much more to this story’’, and indicated that his client planned to plead not guilty.
Lawyers representing Halloran, Tabone and Desmaret denied the charges, while lawyers for Jasmin and Savino did not comment.
‘‘It seems to be that they are trying to make the business of politics as usual into a crime,’’ Tabone’s lawyer, Vito Palmieri, said.
The election ticket scandal, uncovered by FBI agents working with an undercover investigator and a co-operating witness, allegedly involved a series of secret meetings in which bribes were discussed or money exchanged as Smith sought the requisite backing to run as a Republican.
At a September meeting at a Manhattan restaurant at which he received US$7500 in cash, Halloran told a co-operating witness working with the FBI: ‘‘Money is what greases the wheels – good, bad or indifferent.’’
Prosecutors said that two of the politicians charged in the scheme – Tabone and Savino – received a total of US$40,000 in bribes for promising to support Smith.
As Bloomberg prepares to leave City Hall after 12 years in office, the race to replace him is shaping up to be one of the most contested campaigns in years.
The chairman of the state Republican party, Ed Cox, called the arrests ‘‘deeply concerning’’.