New York Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin, second in command in the state, tendered his resignation on Tuesday. This, after his arrest hours before, well, he is accused of corruption charges in a federal prosecutor’s office, reported Governor Kathy Hochul.
“I have accepted the resignation of Brian Benjamin effective immediately.” This was indicated by Hochul in a statement, in what constitutes his first words after the arrest of the lieutenant governor and the subsequent presentation of charges.
Attack on the New York Subway
Hochul is attending to an attack that occurred on a city subway line in which a man shot inside a car, also injuring passengers waiting on the platform, leaving 10 wounded by gunshots. Five of them are in critical but stable condition.
“As the legal process unfolds, it is clear that he cannot continue as lieutenant governor. New Yorkers deserve absolute confidence in his government,” he said in a statement.
brian benjamin
Benjamin, 45, resigned after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan filed five charges against him. They include bribery, wire fraud and document forgery, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
The now defendant was released on $250,000 bail and left court without comment.
The also former state senator, appointed to the position by Hochul last August, would be his running mate in the Democratic primaries in June to revalidate their positions.
corruption plot
From 2019 to at least around 2021, the defendant participated in a scheme to obtain contributions, according to the indictment of the federal prosecutor’s office, released during a press conference.
The charges stem from an investigation by the US Attorney’s Office and the FBI when Benjamin was a state senator and allegedly participated in a scheme to obtain campaign contributions from a real estate investor.
In exchange, he would use his power to secure a $50,000 grant from public funds for an investor-controlled nonprofit.
The investigation into Benjamin began after the FBI arrested his fundraiser, Gerald Migdol, in November and charged him with wire fraud.
According to the indictment, the lieutenant governor faces a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years.
