Six New York politicians, including Queens State Sen. Malcolm Smith, have been charged with bribery scheme aimed at placing Smith, a Democrat, as the Republican nominee for mayor.
Others who were charged include New York City Councilman Daniel Halloran, a Democrat from Queens, and Republican Party officials Vincent Tabone and Joseph Savino.
“A show-me-the-money culture seems to pervade every level of New York government,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement, calling the charges “an unappetizing smorgasbord of graft and greed involving six officials who together built a corridor of corruption stretching from Queens and the Bronx to Rockland County and all the way up to Albany itself.”
Smith and the other defendants are to appear in court on Tuesday to face six charges of fraud and conspiracy. Smith’s lawyer said that his client denies all the charges.