NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A federal judge on Monday dismissed bribery and fraud charges against Democratic former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin but kept the charges that he falsified business records.
NY 1 reported that Judge Paul Oetken agreed to dismiss some of the charges, finding that the indictment "fails to allege an explicit quid pro quo, which is an essential element of the bribery and honest services wire fraud charges brought against Benjamin."
The charges that were left intact allege that Benjamin knowingly made a false entry in a record with the intent to impede an investigation.
Benjamin, a Democrat, resigned after his arrest last April. He pleaded not guilty to charges that he obtained campaign contributions from a real estate developer in exchange for his influence to get a $50,000 grant of state funds for a nonprofit organization the developer controlled.
His arrest had created a political crisis for Gov. Kathy Hochul, a fellow Democrat who chose him to serve as second-in-command when she became governor following a sexual harassment scandal that drove from office her predecessor, Democrat Andrew Cuomo.
At the time of his arrest, Benjamin's lawyers had issued a statement saying they planned to show the courts that their client’s actions were laudable rather than a crime.
In tossing out the first three charges in a five-count indictment, the judge wrote that appeals courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have made clear that proof of a promise was necessary to support criminal charges when payments are made in the form of campaign contributions.
The judge said he also agreed with a separate defense argument that the facts alleged in the indictment, even if true, fail to establish criminal liability. He noted that the government’s timeline of events show that there was no agreement between the Benjamin and the developer at the time Benjamin procured the $50,000 in state funding.
His lawyers did not immediately comment on Monday.
A spokesperson for prosecutors declined comment.
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