Governor Kathy Hochul and Lt. Governor Brian Benjamin
On April 12, five hours after US Attorney Damian Williams charged Lt. Governor Brian Benjamin with bribery, Benjamin resigned. The charges against Benjamin stem when he served as a State Senator and was before he was seleced to be Gov. Kathy Hochul’s running mate, but the damage was so severe that Hochul and NY Democrats wanted to remove Benjamin from both the June Democratic primary ballot and the November ballot.
“I have accepted Brian Benjamin’s resignation effective immediately. 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,” said Hochul in a statement released at 5pm on April 12.
At 12 noon on April 12, US Attorney Williams held a press conference to announce the charges and arrest of Benjamin who surrended in lower Manhattan. Calling it “a simple story of corruption. Taxpayer money for campaign contributions. Quid pro quo. This for that. That’s bribery, plain and simple.”
Williams added, “As alleged, Brian Benjamin used his power as a New York state senator to secure a state-funded grant in exchange for contributions to his own political campaigns. By doing so, Benjamin abused his power and effectively used state funds to support his political campaigns. My Office and our partners at the FBI and DOI will continue to ensure that politicians who put themselves over the public interest will be prosecuted.”
Benjamin is charged with using his office while State Senator in 2019 to direct a $50,000 grant to a non-profit controlled by a real estate developer, who was not named in the indictment. In exchange, the developer was to collect small donations for Benjamin’s campaign for NYC Comptroller. Benjamin is also charged with two counts of falsifying records in connection with the preparation of contribution forms that falsely reported certain contributions made by the developer as being made by other individuals. Benjamin also made false statements in a questionnaire he submitted while seeking to become Lieutenant Governor.
FBI New York Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll said: “Exploiting one’s official authority by allocating state funds as part of a bribe to procure donations to a political campaign, and engaging in activity to cover up the bribe, is illegal. As we allege today, Benjamin’s conduct in this scheme directly circumvents those procedures put in place to keep our systems fair.”
DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said: “As charged, Lieutenant Governor Benjamin, while a New York State senator, used his official position to obtain donations to his political campaigns. He allegedly allocated public grant funds to a non-profit controlled by a co-conspirator in exchange for campaign contributions, and then lied to hide this illegal scheme. In so doing, he served his own interests at the expense of his constituents, a betrayal of the public trust and a violation of federal law.”
“On or about July 8, 2019, BENJAMIN met with CC-1. CC-1 provided BENJAMIN with three checks totaling $25,000 made out to BENJAMIN’s New York State senate campaign (the “Senate Campaign”). Two of the checks were written in the names of relatives of CC-1 who did not share CC-1’s last name, and the third was written in the name of a limited liability corporation that CC-1 controlled (the “CC-1 LLC”). CC-1 made the contributions in the names of two other individuals and the CC-1 LLC to conceal any connection between CC-1 and the contributions. Because BENJAMIN had not yet filed a certification regarding his Comptroller Campaign with the New York City Campaign Finance Board (“CFB”), BENJAMIN could accept campaign contributions only to his senate campaign. As a state campaign, the senate campaign was not eligible for public matching funds available in New York City municipal races. BENJAMIN also gave CC-1 contributor forms to complete, and CC-1 completed them in BENJAMIN’s presence, signing the names of CC-1’s relatives. BENJAMIN reviewed and accepted the forms and contributions, even though he knew that the listed relatives were not in fact funding the contributions.”
“During the same meeting, BENJAMIN reminded CC-1 of the State Grant for Organization-1 and that BENJAMIN still expected CC-1 to procure numerous small contributions for his Comptroller Campaign. BENJAMIN later reminded CC-1 of his expectations again, including by presenting CC-1 with a novelty check representing the $50,000 at a fundraiser for Organization-1 held just one week before BENJAMIN became eligible to receive contributions for his Comptroller Campaign, and by calling CC-1 shortly thereafter to specify the kinds of contributions he needed.
“Between October 2019 and January 2021, CC-1 obtained numerous contributions for BENJAMIN’s Comptroller Campaign, many of which were fraudulent (the “CC-1 Contributions”). BENJAMIN communicated with CC-1 about CC-1’s fundraising efforts during that period. BENJAMIN also communicated with his staff and advisors about CC-1’s fundraising efforts, and specifically described certain contributions as having been procured by CC-1. And BENJAMIN personally met with CC-1 on more than one occasion to receive some of the contributions CC-1 had purportedly collected from others.
Alleged Lies and Deception
BENJAMIN and others acting at his direction or on his behalf, engaged in a series of lies and deceptions in order to conceal the bribery scheme and BENJAMIN’s connection to CC-1. In or about November 2019, the New York State Board of Elections (“BOE”) notified BENJAMIN’s senate campaign that it had failed to file certain forms required to identify owners of certain limited liability companies (“LLCs”) that had made contributions to the Senate Campaign. This included the LLC through which CC-1 had made a $5,000 contribution during the July 8, 2019, meeting. A member of BENJAMIN’s staff sent BENJAMIN an email listing LLCs requiring additional disclosures, specifically identifying the LLC used by CC-1 as being associated with CC-1, and asked BENJAMIN for help obtaining ownership information those LLCs. BENJAMIN responded to that email by asking, “What happens if someone refuses to provide the information?” Ultimately, BENJAMIN’s senate campaign provided the BOE with ownership information about certain LLCs, but not the LLC used by CC-1.
Note: Benjamin’s campaign for State Senate was not entitled to matching funds, but his campaign for NYC Comptroller was eligible for matching funds, and required hundreds of smaller contributions from residents of NYC in order to receive an 8-1 match, paid for and monitored by the NYC Campaign Finance Board.
In or about February 2020, the CFB informed BENJAMIN’s Comptroller Campaign that certain of the CC-1 Contributions had been deemed ineligible for matching funds because, among other reasons, they were funded by sequentially-numbered money orders.
In January of 2021, a news outlet published an article raising questions about the legitimacy of certain contributions to BENJAMIN’s Comptroller Campaign, including certain of the CC-1 Contributions. The next day, BENJAMIN’s Comptroller Campaign submitted a misleading letter to the CFB stating there had been no reason to question the legitimacy of the contributions purportedly procured by Individual-1 in light of, among other things, Individual-1’s reputation in the community. At the time the letter was submitted, however, BENJAMIN knew that the CC-1 Contributions had in fact been procured by CC-1, not Individual-1.
Note: Governor Cuomo resigns in Aug 2012, and Hochul is appointed Governor.
On or about August 17, 2021, while being considered to be the next Lieutenant Governor of the State of New York, BENJAMIN submitted responses to an executive appointment questionnaire that contained questions addressing, among other things, BENJAMIN’s relationship with political contributors. Despite BENJAMIN’s efforts to procure $50,000 for Organization-1 and his solicitation of contributions from CC-1, BENJAMIN falsely stated, among other things, that he had never “directly exercised [his] governmental authority (either as a Legislator or Executive official) concerning a matter of a donor [he] directly solicited.” And approximately two hours after submitting his responses to that questionnaire, BENJAMIN called CC-1 for the first time in six months.
In found guilty, Benjamin, 45, faces 50 years in jail. A story in the New York Times on March 27 was the warning that Governor Hochul needed to take action. “Federal prosecutors and the F.B.I. are investigating whether Lt. Gov. Brian A. Benjamin of New York played a role in an effort to funnel fraudulent contributions to his unsuccessful 2021 campaign for New York City comptroller, and have issued subpoenas to his campaign advisers and the State Senate,” wrote NY Times reporters Nicholas Fandos and William Rashbaum.
Other reports have Benjamin continuing to perpetrate the lie that he did nothing wrong, even to his boss, Governor Hochul. Speculation has already begun as to who will replace Benjamin as Lt. Governor. One name we hear is State Senator Jamaal Bailey, who represents the Bronx and Mt. Vernon.
