New York Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and his son Adam arrive at FBI offices in New York. New York lawmaker's son's complaints about wiretapping caught on wiretap

Federal authorities arrested Dean Skelos, the leader of the New York state Senate, and his son Adam on corruption charges Monday morning.

The complaint alleges that the elder Skelos sought to help his son’s businesses by directing companies involved in state dealings to him, with the expectation that the Senate leader, a Republican from Long Island, would then give those companies preferential treatment. According to the filing, those companies included a real-estate developer and a technology company.


The charges, filed against them in the United States District Court in Manhattan, include conspiracy to commit extortion, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, extortion under color of official right and solicitation of bribes and gratuity.

According to the filing, Adam Skelos, 32, called a lobbyist on Jan. 30 to say that the group should not be pushing legislation to benefit the Environmental Technology Company “because of everything that came out.”

In another call in February captured in a court-ordered wiretap, another lobbyist told the younger Skelos that they had to “lay low” because “there’s a lot of scrutiny going on.”

Adam started using a cellphone in late February that he called his “safe phone” and “burner phone,” according to the filing, instructing those wishing to get in touch with him on that phone to send him a coded text to his regular phone.

Clearly, it didn’t help him evade scrutiny.

Father and son also started using other ways to communicate that Adam thought could not be electronically intercepted. Adam said that they were using FaceTime, for example, “because of what’s going on with my dad that doesn’t show up on the phone bill, just the data plan.”

During a call with a Senate staffer in late March, Adam said it was “f——ing frustrating’ not to be able to speak to his dad on the phone, nor could he “just send smoke signals or a little pigeon with [a] f—-ing note [tied] to its foot.”

According to the complaint, Adam told his father that he was frustrated that he could not provide “real advice” regarding his environmental technology company, “because it’s like f—-ing Preet Bharara is listening to every f—-ing phone call. It’s just f—-ing frustrating,” referencing the prosecuting federal attorney’s investigations.

“It is,” the Senate leader replied.