As part of their investigation into the business dealings of Senator Bruno, federal authorities are examining a series of land deals involving Kenneth Bruno, who has emerged as a nexus between his father and a wealthy businessman, Jared E. Abbruzzese, whose financial ties to Senator Bruno are under scrutiny.
The younger Mr. Bruno was instrumental in persuading the wife of Mr. Abbruzzese to pay $90,000 for almost 12 acres on Pond View Way from a partnership involving Senator Bruno, according to an owner of the partnership. Weeks before that November 2004 deal was completed, a Canadian racetrack owner that had hired Kenneth Bruno as a lobbyist formed an advocacy group with Mr. Abbruzzese that would urge an overhaul of the state's horse racing industry, an issue in which Senator Bruno has been playing a major role.
Kenneth Bruno's involvement in recruiting buyers for the partnership's land, including Mr. Abbruzzese's wife, was critical to reviving a moribund project in which Senator Bruno had a 25 percent stake, according to James D. Featherstonhaugh, a lawyer and lobbyist who also owned 25 percent of the partnership, the First Grafton Corporation.
