Former Majority Leader Bruno Convicted on Two Felonies

Former New York State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno was found guilty on federal corruption charges by a jury on Monday. Over the course of the three-week trial, prosecutors argued that Bruno, a Republican, improperly used his position in the State Senate to enrich himself.

Bruno was found guilty of mail fraud due to checks he received from a businessman and friend, Jared Abbruzzese. According to the New York Times, Abbruzzese had sought Bruno’s assistance on multiple occasions, seeking the senator’s help in directing state money to a variety of different business ventures, from telecommunications firms to nanotechnology startups, for which Bruno received about $200,000. The pair also cooperated on a horse breeding partnership, in which Abbruzzese forgave roughly $40,000 in debts that Bruno had accumulated and also paying the senator $40,000 for a horse that prosecutors said was basically worthless. Bruno, said the jury, had failed to disclose this partnership.

The verdict could hold a significant impact on other state lawmakers, 212 of whom have outside jobs themselves. Some of the state’s good government organizations, such as Common Cause and the New York Public Interest Research Group, also made note that the verdict could spur ethics reform in Albany, something they feel has been a long time in coming.

Bruno had originally been accused of eight different counts of various fraud and abuse relating to improper use of his position in the Senate, but was acquitted of two counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud. The jury could not reach a decision regarding another count of mail fraud.