NY Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin resigns following arrest in campaign finance scheme
Following a federal investigation into alleged campaign finance fraud, NY Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin has resigned. Source: Photo by @thatmattwade and is marked with CC BY 30.
New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin resigned on April 12 after being arrested and indicted on campaign finance fraud-related charges in connection with his alleged participation in a scheme to support his campaigns with illegal donations.
Benjamin, 45, was accused in a five-count indictment of participating in a scheme to gain campaign contributions from a real estate developer in exchange for using his influence as a state senator to obtain a $50,000 state grant for the developer’s charity business. Thousands of dollars of illegal contributions were directed to Benjamin’s 2020 senate campaign and his unsuccessful bid for New York City Comptroller in 2021.
“This is a simple story of corruption,” Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a press conference before Benjamin’s resignation. “Taxpayer money for campaign contributions. A quid pro quo. This for that. That’s bribery, plain and simple.”
The newly appointed lieutenant governor, who was appointed in August of 2021, is now charged with one count of federal program bribery, one count of honest services wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit those offenses and two counts of falsification of records. Benjamin pleaded not guilty on April 12 at an initial appearance in Manhattan federal court, after which he was released and bail was set at $250,000. Per the terms of his release, Benjamin’s travel is restricted and he is barred from returning to the state capitol in Albany.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who tapped Benjamin to be her lieutenant governor less than a year ago, said his resignation would be effective immediately. In the statement made on Twitter, Hochul said, “While the legal process plays out, it is clear to both of us that he cannot continue to serve as Lieutenant Governor."
“New Yorkers deserve absolute confidence in their government, and I will continue working every day to deliver for them,” she added.
Benjamin’s indictment — the result of an investigation by federal prosecutors, the F.B.I. and New York City’s Department of Investigation — accuses the former state senator of engaging in a “series of lies and deceptions” to cover up the campaign finance scheme that took place from 2019 to 2021. Prosecutors allege he falsified campaign donation forms, misled city authorities and gave false information in his background check to become lieutenant governor last year.
Benjamin made his first court appearance since his arrest on April 18, during which federal prosecutors announced the government had issued 160 subpoenas for financial, phone and other records as part of their investigation into the former lieutenant governor’s wrongdoing.
In a statement before the April 18 hearing, lawyers for Benjamin said they were “shocked and dismayed that the prosecution would bring such flimsy and unwarranted charges against a sitting lieutenant governor, a mere 67 days before voting begins in the primary election.”
The myriad ramifications of Benjamin’s indictment continue to ripple through Albany, where Hochul is urging lawmakers to consider a bill that would remove Benjamin as her running mate on the ballot for governor before the June Democratic primary. Though Benjamin suspended his re-election campaign hours after his arrest, state election law only allows for Benjamin’s removal if he is moving out of state, dying or running for another elected office.
“There is a need for a legislative solution,” Hochul told reporters in the state capitol on April 26. “And I would like the legislature to do just that and to pass legislation that corrects what is really a strange part of our law that does not allow the removal of someone who is under indictment.”
The ballot must be finalized by May 4, according to the Board of Elections. Hochul has yet to name a new lieutenant governor.