A federal grand jury today indicted former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno on felony charges alleging he used his position to extract $3.2 million in private consulting fees from clients who sought to purchase his influence.
An 8-count indictment handed up today charges the 79-year-old Republican with corruption charges that carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Bruno pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Albany and was released without bail.
In a 35-page indictment filed at noon, grand jurors asked Bruno to forfeit much of his fortune and assets for his alleged crimes.
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The indictment lays out Bruno's alleged deceptions, such as not disclosing his dealings to ethics authorities. It describes "schemes" involving use of his public office to do business with labor unions, who he steered to Wright Investors Service, a Connecticut firm that paid him nearly $1.4 million from 1994 to 2006, and McGinn, Smith & Co., an Albany investment firm that paid Bruno $632,116 from 1993 to 2005. The firms ended up receiving investment advisory fees or brokerage fees paid by the union benefit funds.
People named in the indictment were Bruno's friends Leonard J. Fassler, Jared E. Abbruzzese and Russell C. Ball who paid Bruno hundreds of thousands of dollars for alleged consulting services, even though Bruno provided virtually no consulting.
In one case, Abbruzzese paid Bruno $80,000 for a nearly worthless horse raised by Bruno at his thoroughbred breeding business at his farm and home in Brunswick.
Federal prosecutors allege the scheme took place from 1993 to December 2006, a period that included Bruno's tenure as the Senate Majority Leader, one of the three most powerful positions in state government.
According to the indictment, during that time, Bruno was paid for services he provided to two companies and three individuals:
• Wright Investors' Service, an investment adviser in Milford, Conn.;
• McGinn, Smith & Co., an investment banking firm in Albany;
• Leonard J. Fassler, who was associated with Sage Alerting Systems, Inc., Microknowledge Inc., and other firms
• Russel C. Ball, who was assoicated with Roadway Contracting, Inc., and BB Gardner Management Corp.
• Jared E. Abbruzzese, who was associated with Communication Technology Advisors, LLC, and other firms.
The indictment alleges Bruno signed a written agreement with Wright Investors' Service on March 1, 1994, that paid him a fee for each client that opened an account at the firm as a result of a referral from Bruno. Wright paid Bruno a total of $1.3 million from 1994 to 2006.
Bruno allegedly contacted 16 labor unions on behalf of Wright suggesting the unions hire Wright. Bruno did this, the indictment alleges, while he "wielded power and influence" over the unions as the Senate Majority Leader.
In August 1998, Bruno became a part-time employee of Wright, but "routinely failed to disclose his status as an employee to union officials he contacted," as required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
A total of 11 unions that Bruno contacted during the time he worked on behalf of Wright became clients of the firm, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors allege Bruno tried to conceal the private work he did on behalf of Wright by falsely claiming his contacts with union officials had been disclosed to the "Senate" Ethics Committee. The indictment alleges Bruno had never asked for nor received an opinion from the Legislative Ethics Committee about the work he did for Wright.
Much more on this soon. The long and the short of it is that Uncle Joe appears to be pretty royally screwed. Unless he ends up cutting one hell of a deal, I don't see how he doesn't end up in prison.
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy...
