Shameful former lieutenant. Gov. Brian Benjamin appeared in court Monday with former lawyer for former mayor Bill de Blasio – who immediately put forward the same theory that helped remove de Blasio in a pay-per-play corruption investigation.
Barry Burke appears to be telegraphing his planned strategy on behalf of Benjamin, who resigned last week after being accused of an alleged bribery scheme involving more than $ 50,000 in illegal donations to his campaign commissions.
“This is a very unusual case of political corruption, because the accusations are based solely on political contributions and no personal gain,” Berke said during a statement before a federal court in Manhattan.
in 2016, de Blasio was referred for investigation by the U.S. Electoral Council, which sparked state and federal investigations into fundraising for his 2013 mayoral campaign, his controversial nonprofit campaign for a New York City, and the U.S. Senate election in 2014
Former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin leaves the U.S. Court of Justice on April 18, 2022. Alec Tobacco for the NY Post
The following year, then-acting Manhattan prosecutor June Kim said he had decided not to press charges against de Blasio in part because of “the particular difficulty of proving criminal intent in corruption schemes where there is no evidence of personal gain.”
Also during Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Paul Otken gave Benjamin permission to travel to New Jersey after Berke said he “has a family there” and prosecutors did not object.
The move comes amid efforts by Gov. Katie Hochul and Democrats to replace Benjamin as its candidate in the June 28 primary, prompting him to be disqualified by leaving the state.
Benjamin’s lawyer Barry Burke (left) was previously a lawyer for former mayor Bill de Blasio during a corruption investigation.Alek Tabak told the NY Post
Speaking last week on WNYC radio, Hochul said “this is the option, I think … because death is the other” and joked that presenter Brian Lehrer should get involved when he asked her to ask Benjamin, a former senator. from Haarlem, to move temporarily to the Garden State.
“Call him, Brian, and you can tell him that’s your thought,” she said.
“I have no control over this.”
Benjamin, who is free of a $ 250,000 bond, was previously allowed to travel to the federal states of North Georgia and East Virginia.
Benjamin is accused of organizing a $ 50,000 state grant to developer and lawyer Gerald Migdol, friends of Harlem Public School in exchange for Migdol, who is said to have directed a little more than that to the Benjamin Senate Committee’s campaign. and his failed bid for a city controller last year.
Berke called Benjamin’s corruption case “unusual” because it was based “only on political input and no personal gain.” Alec Tabac told the NY Post
Migdol was arrested in the alleged scheme last year and is reportedly cooperating with the federal government against Benjamin.
In a statement, Berke called the five-count indictment against Benjamin “an unprecedented attempt to prosecute an honorable state leader for routine fundraising and supporting a non-profit organization that provides the necessary resources to public schools in Haarlem.”
Burke also said he and his aide, Danny James, had decided to take over the case, “because we are shocked and scared that the prosecution will make such fragile and unjustified accusations against the incumbent lieutenant governor and so close to the primary.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney General in Manhattan, Damien Williams, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Benjamin was represented at his indictment last week by lawyers James Gatta and William Harrington, who filed documents Monday to withdraw from the case because Benjamin replaced them with Burke and James.
Benjamin resigned after being arrested and charged in connection with a campaign funding scheme. Alec Tobacco for the NY Post
In 2018, de Blasio admitted that he owed Berke’s company, Kramer Levin, about $ 300,000 in unpaid court fees, which last year, according to The City’s website, probably rose to $ 435,000 in interest.
“Obviously I intend to deal with this debt and gather resources over time,” de Blasio said when asked about the issue in October.
Berke declined to say what, if anything, de Blasio has done since then to pay his bill, and de Blasio’s spokesman did not immediately send a request for comment.
Berke donated both races for de Blasio mayors and chaired the commission to fund his 2013 election campaign.
In 2015, de Blasio appointed Berke as his official representative on the board of directors of the Lincoln Center.
Burke was also a chief adviser to Democrats in the House of Representatives during the second impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump and was a special adviser to the House Judiciary Committee during Trump’s first impeachment.
Additional reports by Carl Campanile
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