Bribery probe snares NYC Democrat seeking mayor's seat

Jon Campbell, Gannett Albany Bureau | USATODAY

ALBANY, N.Y. — Prosecutors charged four New York politicians, including a leading Democrat in the state Senate, and two political operatives with a wide-ranging scheme to influence the state's politics, including the New York City mayoral race, with bribes, land swaps and insider deals, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday.

Prosecutors accused state Sen. Malcolm Smith, a seven-term Queens Democrat, of organizing bribes as he attempted to force his way on the Republican ticket for the 2013 New York City mayoral race last year. He was one of six people charged as part of three bribery schemes that emerged from an undercover FBI investigation.

"Today's charges demonstrate, once again, that a show-me-the-money culture seems to pervade every level of New York government," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. "The complaint describes an unappetizing smorgasbord of graft and greed."

Also charged in the plot were New York City Councilman Dan Halloran, Bronx GOP Chairman Joseph Savino, Queens GOP Chairman Vincent Tabone, Spring Valley Mayor Noramie Jasmin and Deputy Mayor Joseph Desmaret.

Smith, once the first African-American majority leader of the state Senate, is a key member of the coalition of Republicans and Democrats that control the chamber. His spokesman said Smith would be cleared of wrongdoing.

"(Smith) will be vindicated when the all the facts in the case are revealed," Todd Shapiro said in a statement.

All six defendants were arrested Tuesday morning and were to be arraigned in White Plains federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa Margaret Smith.

Smith, a Democrat, needed approval from at least three of New York City's five GOP leaders to run as a Republican in the mayoral race.

An FBI undercover agent who posed as a wealthy real estate developer and another person identified in court papers as a "cooperating witness" allegedly observed Smith offer tens of thousands of dollars to Tabone and Savino for their support. Halloran allegedly accepted $20,500 to set up key meetings, court papers say. The cooperating witness, who pleaded guilty March 11 to unspecified charges, assisted investigators to get a more lenient sentence, the FBI said.

Smith and Halloran, a former police officer, were both recorded on wire taps. In one recording, Smith allegedly says he wants to "close the deal" with the borough GOP leaders. In another recording, Halloran purportedly explains how money controlled New York politics.

"That's politics. That's politics. It's all about how much," Halloran said, according to the criminal complaint. "And that's our politicians in New York. They're all like that, all like that, and they get like that because of the drive that the money does for everything else. You can't do anything without (expletive) money."

At a meeting Feb. 8 at a hotel in Manhattan, Halloran allegedly told the undercover FBI agent that Savino, the Bronx Republican chairman, wanted $25,000 for his support, and Tabone, the Queens party chairman, wanted $25,000 up front and another $25,000 after he signed the papers to put Smith on the ballot, court papers say. At another meeting, Smith allegedly suggested structuring the payments as retainers for legal and accounting services, court papers say.

Savino allegedly accepted $15,000 for the undercover FBI agent at a Manhattan restaurant on Valentine's Day, court papers say. The same day, Tabone accepted $25,000 from the undercover agent.

Prosecutors charged Smith with conspiracy to bribe, wire fraud and extortion. Tabone, Savino and Halloran are charged with conspiracy and wire fraud. Jasmin and Desmaret are charged with mail fraud.

Jasmin and Desmaret are accused of agreeing to sell land belonging to the Village of Spring Valley to a real estate developer in exchange for money and a stake in the ownership of the project. Jasmin allegedly promised to vote for transferring the land in exchange for an ownership stake in the project and gave the cooperating witness $600 to set up a holding company under a relatives name to hide the transaction, court papers say. Desmaret allegedly accepted about $10,000 in cash bribes, the complaint says.

Bharara, who has targeted a number of state lawmakers as part of high-profile corruption cases, said New Yorkers should "demand more" from their government.

"Any time you have a situation that happens again and again and again and it happens to people that should know better … then something is broken in the system," Bharara said.

Contributing: Donna Leinwand Leger, USA TODAY