NEW YORK — New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin was arrested Tuesday and is facing federal campaign finance fraud and bribery charges related to his time as a state senator and his failed city comptroller bid.
Benjamin, a Democrat, pleaded not guilty during a brief appearance in Manhattan federal court after prosecutors with the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment charging him with bribery, fraud, conspiracy and falsification of records.
“This is a simple story of corruption,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Damian Williams said during an afternoon news conference. “Taxpayers’ money for campaign contributions. Quid pro quo. That’s bribery, plain and simple.”
The indictment accuses Benjamin of conspiring to direct $50,000 in state funds to longtime political ally Gerald Migdol, who in turn steered thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions to the then-state senator’s 2021 comptroller campaign.
Benjamin was ordered to hand over his passport and told to limit his travel as Magistrate Judge Ona Wang set bond at $250,000.
Gov. Kathy Hochul declined to address the arrest while speaking at a news conference following a Brooklyn subway shooting.
“I have not had a chance to speak with him. ... This is not the place, but I will be addressing it very shortly,” she said.
The charges come weeks after the New York Daily News first reported that federal investigators had issued subpoenas seeking information about grants Benjamin doled out as a senator. He was still serving in the Senate representing Harlem last year when his campaign for New York City comptroller drew the attention of investigators.
The FBI and the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York arrested Migdol in November 2021, accusing him of facilitating phony donations intended to boost Benjamin’s campaign war chest to receive public matching funds.
According to the indictment, Benjamin allegedly steered a $50,000 grant to an educational nonprofit led by Migdol, a Harlem real estate developer, in 2019 in exchange for illegal campaign contributions. He also promised to help Migdol obtain a zoning variance approval for a project in return for contributions.
In so doing, Benjamin “abused his authority as a New York State senator, engaging in a bribery scheme using public funds for his own corrupt purposes,” the charging document alleges.
According to federal prosecutors, Benjamin also “engaged in a series of lies” to cover up his misdeeds that included falsifying campaign donor forms and providing “false information in vetting forms” he submitted “while under consideration to be appointed the next lieutenant governor of New York State.”
Following The News’ disclosures about the investigation, Benjamin admitted last week that he did not tell Hochul that he was aware his 2021 comptroller campaign had been subpoenaed before his appointment to his current post.
Breaking his silence for the first time since The News first reported that federal investigators were probing his past grants, Benjamin maintained his innocence and said he was cooperating with authorities.
“I’m fully supportive of their efforts,” Benjamin told The News as he read from a prepared statement during a brief interview in a hallway at the State Capitol. “I have provided all information that they have requested and will continue to do so if they have any further requests.”
He also vowed to remain Hochul’s running mate.
Hochul chose Benjamin as her second-in-command last summer when she replaced disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned following multiple allegations of sexual harassment.
Last week, the governor expressed support for her embattled right-hand man.
“I have utmost confidence in my lieutenant governor,” Hochul said. “He is my running mate.”
The arrest Tuesday marks the latest chapter in Benjamin’s ongoing issues in the arena of campaign finance.
As first reported by The News, Benjamin faced criticism after providing incorrect information on a background check submitted to the governor’s office and state police as part of the vetting process for his current position.
On his initial background form, signed and dated Aug. 16, Benjamin reported he hadn’t been contacted by “law enforcement or a regulatory body concerning any possible legal, regulatory, ethical, or campaign finance, infraction or violation or investigation.”
He had, in fact, been contacted by the state Elections Board over his use of campaign funds, and was aware that the Manhattan district attorney’s office and federal prosecutors were already looking at donations made to his comptroller campaign.
Benjamin told The News last week that he had done nothing wrong and “followed the process.”
Additionally, in January, financial disclosure reports revealed that Benjamin quietly coughed up roughly $25,000 to cover car loan payments and other personal expenses initially charged to his old Senate campaign account.
He also reimbursed the account for a “non-fund-raising event held at Minton’s Playhouse” in 2018 that Benjamin has oscillated between describing as a wedding celebration and a purely political event.
Hochul was one of several top Democrats who attended the function at the Harlem nightclub, a month after Benjamin and his wife tied the knot in Virginia.
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