Former New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin has bribery, fraud charges reinstated

• A federal appeals court has reinstated bribery and fraud charges against former New York Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin.
• The ruling issued Friday by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan overturned a December 2022 ruling by a lower court judge.
• The ruling related to a deal with a real estate developer who contributed to Benjamin’s campaign.

A federal appeals court on Friday reinstated bribery and fraud charges against former New York Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin.

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan reversed a December 2022 ruling by a lower court judge that expunged most of the case against Democrats, leaving only the record tampering charge.

In a written decision, the appeals court said the jury found that Benjamin promised to allocate $50,000 in state funds to a nonprofit organization controlled by the real estate developer in exchange for campaign contributions from the real estate developer. He said that it can be inferred.

New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin arrested on bribery charges, resigns

“We conclude that the indictment sufficiently alleges express quid pro quo,” the Second Circuit said. “Accordingly, we reverse the district court’s judgment and remand for further proceedings.”

In an opinion written by Judge Stephen J. Menashi, the three-judge panel found that Mr. Benjamin’s purported contract with the developer was “unlawful and could not be expressly expressed in mere words or words.” The court concluded that it issued a valid warning: “If one avoids memorializing the deceased, it will not be legal.” write. “

Benjamin’s lawyer, Barry Burke, said in a statement that the dispute over the legal standards that applied to the allegations against his client arose before the trial.

“Those claims are false. The fact is that Mr. Benjamin has done nothing other than engage in routine fundraising and support nonprofit organizations that provide needed resources to Harlem’s public schools.” That’s clear,” Burke said. “We are confident that Mr. Benjamin will be vindicated in this lawsuit that should never have been brought.”

A spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office declined to comment.

Federal judge dismisses bribery and fraud charges against former New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin

Benjamin resigned as lieutenant governor after his arrest in April 2022. The arrest created a political crisis for Gov. Kathy Hochul, a fellow Democrat. Governor Hochul selected him to be his second-in-command when he became governor, after his predecessor, Democrat Andrew Cuomo, resigned amid a sexual harassment scandal.

Benjamin was the state’s second black lieutenant governor. In his career as a state representative, which began in May 2017, he emphasized criminal justice reform and affordable housing. His district includes much of downtown Harlem, where he was born and raised by Caribbean immigrant parents.

In dismissing the most serious charges in 2022, Judge J. Paul Oetken ruled that prosecutors argued that there was a clear example of Benjamin facilitating bribery, an essential element of the bribery and honest services fraud charges. I wrote that I couldn’t do it.