Posted Monday, May 11, 2015 2:56 pm

After a closed-door meeting in Albany on Monday, Dean Skelos stepped down as Senate majority leader and was replaced by Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport).

Immediately after criminal charges against Skelos, 67, and his son, Adam, 32, were announced on May 4, Senate Republicans rallied around him. That support ebbed, however, and just a week later, it was all but confirmed that Skelos would be out before the meeting took place.

“The past seven days have taken a tremendous toll on my entire family, including my wife, my son, my 94-year-old father, my brothers and sisters, and two young grandchildren, who have all been unfairly placed under the media’s spotlight,” Skelos said in a statement emailed to the press. “This scrutiny was more real and more eye-opening than I could have ever imagined when I asked the members of our conference to stand by me last week. With that in mind, I have decided to step down as Temporary President and Majority Leader of the New York State Senate.”

The federal complaint, filed by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, includes allegations that Skelos leveraged his influence in Albany to secure more than $200,000 in payments to his son.

At the center of the allegations is AbTech, an Arizona-based company that Skelos allegedly persuaded to hire his son, and for which, prosecutors say, he also leveraged his influence in order to secure a $12 million contract with Nassau County.

“I am innocent of the charges leveled against me,” Skelos said in an emailed statement after his arrest. “I am not saying I am just not guilty, I am saying that I am innocent. I fully expect to be exonerated by a public jury trial.”

Skelos is the second Albany power player to lose his position this year. The same scenario played out for former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver after he was also arrested by Bharara.

The leadership position did not pass to Deputy Majority Leader Tom Libous (R-Deposit), because he is under indictment on corruption charges. Libous is also battling prostate cancer, and is not always able to attend legislative sessions in Albany.

Skelos will keep his seat in the Senate, though he will lose much of the power and influence he has had as majority leader. There was concern that if the seat were to pass to someone from New York City, Long Island would be on the losing end of many Albany deals.

According to his official biography, Flanagan was raised in Huntington. In 1983 he graduated with a B.A. in economics from the College of William and Mary in Virginia. In 1990 he received a law degree from Touro Law School. He lives in East Northport with his wife and three children.

“I am proud and humbled to have been chosen as Temporary President and Majority Leader of the New York State Senate,” Flanagan said in a release. “I thank my colleagues for the confidence they have placed in me. With this job comes a responsibility to lead and to listen, and to rebuild the public’s trust.”

Flanagan is serving his seventh term in the Senate. He was first elected by his Suffolk County constituents in 2002. He is chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Education, and also serves on the committees on Codes; Corporations, Authorities and Commissions; Finance; Higher Education; Insurance; Judiciary; Rules; and Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs.

After posting the announcement that he was stepping down on Facebook, Skelos was met with a flurry of support from his constituents, many saying they were still supporting him despite the charges.

“This is a difficult decision for me personally, but I know it is the right one,” Skelos said. “I deeply love this institution and admire each and every one of my colleagues for the choice they made to enter public service so they could make a difference in the lives of hardworking New York taxpayers and their families.”