NEW YORK (Reuters) – Federal authorities charged New York state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and his son yesterday with engaging in a corruption scheme, in the latest of a string of criminal cases against politicians in the state’s capital of Albany.
Skelos, a 67-year-old Republican, and his 32-year-old son, Adam, were named in a six-count criminal complaint filed in Manhattan federal court that included charges of conspiracy and extortion.
Prosecutors said Skelos pressured a real estate developer and an environmental technology company to pay his son more than $200,000 in exchange for his support on infrastructure and legislation.
The men surrendered to the Federal Bureau of Investigation yesterday morning. They were expected to later appear in court.
Skelos said in a statement he was “innocent of the charges leveled against me.” His son’s lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.
In the last decade, 22 legislators have been charged in Albany for corruption, according to New York University Law School’s Brennan Center for Justice.
Then-New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, was charged for corruption offenses in January. This is the first time in recent history that leaders of both of legislative chambers are simultaneously facing charges.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Skelos’ case showed that “public corruption is a deep-seated problem” in New York.
Yesterday’s complaint built upon evidence secured through cooperating witnesses, wire taps and search warrants.
According to the complaint, beginning in 2010, Skelos and his son pressured a real estate developer to pay Adam Skelos, a commissioned title insurance salesman, while the company was lobbying for legislation.
Payments included $20,000 disguised as a commission and $4,000 per month from an environmental technology firm tied to the developer seeking to win government-funded contracts, the complaint said.
