Case against ex-LG could get dropped

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Feb 23, 2024 View in browser   By Jeff Coltin and Nick Reisman With help from Shawn Ness The key witness in former Lt. Governor Brian Benjamin's bribery case, Gerald Migdol, died on Feb. 9. The case may now be thrown out. | Seth Wenig/AP NEW YORK MINUTE: State Inspector General Lucy Lang’s office is out with a new 84-page report examining the first two years of her time in the role. Between 2022 and 2023 the office, which serves as an investigative ombudsman for the executive branch, received 12,705 complaints. The vast majority are from allegations of workers’ compensation fraud. Lang has sought to raise the profile of the little-known office, becoming a more prominent figure in the media over the last two years. BENJAMIN CASE: Federal prosecutors’ key witness in the bribery case against former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin died earlier this month. So the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York may have to drop its case against Benjamin — a case where a judge already tossed the top charges since they didn’t meet the standard of a crime. Gerald Migdol, a real estate developer and attorney, died on Feb. 9, The New York Law Journal first reported. Migdol pleaded guilty to a bribery scheme in 2022, testifying that he donated to Benjamin’s campaign in return for a $50,000 state grant to a nonprofit he ran. “Jerry’s passing is a terrible loss,” Migdol’s lawyers Joel Cohen and Jerry Goldfeder said in a statement, using Migdol’s nickname. “He was an unusually kind, generous and charitable man.” Benjamin’s team argues that prosecutors from U.S. Attorney Damian Williams’ office coerced Migdol into confessing to a quid pro quo. They say Benjamin, who was a Democratic state Senator running for city comptroller at the time, did nothing illegal and didn’t know about Migdol’s straw donor scheme. A federal judge agreed and dropped the bribery and fraud counts against Benjamin before the case even got to trial, leaving only lesser counts of falsification of records. The prosecutors appealed and now are waiting for a ruling on whether the charges should be reinstated. Prosecutors planned to have Migdol testify at Benjamin’s trial, they wrote a letter alerting the appeals court of his death. Despite that, they wrote, “the Government does not presently intend to abandon any allegation in the Indictment.” But a former federal prosecutor who handled government corruption cases thinks they’ll have to drop it. “It’s hard to see how they would have sufficient evidence to put in front of a jury on the bribery charges,” Paul Tuchmann, a partner at Wiggin and Dana, said in an interview. “Theoretically, the government could always find additional proof,” but “in this case, it’s hard to imagine what the other evidence would be.” So why not drop the appeal? Tuchmann says the judge’s ruling dismissing the charges against Benjamin is a bad precedent for the government, one that could make alleged government corruption even harder to prove in court than it already is. Benjamin’s lawyer Barry Berke and the Southern District both declined to comment. But fellow politicians are closely watching Benjamin’s case. More than a dozen current and former Democratic elected officials wrote in an amicus brief last year they were “gravely concerned” that prosecutors’ case could “criminalize ordinary, innocent — indeed, necessary — conduct.” — Jeff Coltin HAPPY FRIDAY. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman. WHERE’S KATHY? In Washington, D.C. for the National Governors Association Conference. WHERE’S ERIC? Breaking ground on the new Mary Cali Dalton Recreation Center, calling in for an interview on GMGT Live’s “The Reset Talk Show,” hosting a roundtable discussion with Korean community leaders, delivering remarks at Cornerstone Evangelist Temple’s virtual Black History Month celebration, speaking at Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar’s Dominican Republic Independence Day celebration, then speaking at Aasha Charity Foundation’s sixth-anniversary celebration. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This one is for all the marbles.” House Speaker Mike Johnson, speaking at a fundraiser in Binghamton on upcoming swing seat races in New York. ABOVE THE FOLD Three prominent labor unions sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie urging them to pass affordable housing legislation. | Joseph Spector/POLITICO LABOR WANTS A HOUSING DEAL: ​​A trio of prominent labor unions want a compromise on a stalled housing bill. Leaders for District Council 37, the Hotel Trades Council and 32BJ SEIU urged top state officials in a letter to reach a middle ground on what has become a nettlesome and politically charged issue. “We need more affordable housing units to be created, and we need sensible tools with strong obligations to incentivize a level of private sector investment that will start to fulfill our housing needs,” they wrote to Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie in a letter obtained by Playbook. The unions are also seeking tenant protections and measures to spur the conversion of commercial real estate space into residential housing. For the unions, the push is multifold: They want labor protections in any major development efforts. They also argue that the housing market's affordability problems have hurt their members. And more development means more jobs — particularly for the building service workers in 32BJ, who effectively use their political clout to ensure large real estate projects hire unionized workers. “Our members are tenants who desperately want to live affordably near where they work,” they wrote. “Our members are workers whose livelihoods depend on having a fair floor of labor standards, as all workers - union and nonunion alike - deserve.” But reaching a sweeping housing deal has been elusive at the statehouse in Albany. Hochul’s proposal last year fell flat with state lawmakers. Left-leaning Democrats want measures meant to make it harder to evict tenants and limit rent increases. And the real estate lobby perennially pushes for controversial tax breaks. This year Hochul is trying to provide incentives to local governments to boost an expansion of available housing and drive down costs. — Nick Reisman CITY HALL: THE LATEST Queens Borough President Donovan Richards is hosting a campaign watch party for the new movie "Bob Marley: One Love." | William Alatriste/NYC Council Media Unit ONE LOVE, MANY DOLLARS: Queens Borough President Donovan Richards is planning to pack the Jamaica Multiplex Sunday for a campaign fundraiser screening of the new movie “Bob Marley: One Love” — and qualify for matching funds in just one night. “Bob Marley had a renowned song ‘No Woman, No Cry,’ and politicians have a song, ‘no fundraising, no cry,’” Richards quipped. Candidates for Queens BP need 100 donations from borough residents and raise $48,000 to unlock the 8-to-1 public matching funds. Richards is close, he said, but this event would get him there, after selling 250 of the cheap tickets — $15 for one, $25 for two. “This is the future of NY fundraising,” Richards fundraiser Darren Rigger told Playbook. “In the past, you’d run around and you’d do house parties — 10 people here, 12 people there.” Now, Rigger said, “we’re going to crush it in one night.” Moviegoers are being asked to dress Jamaican — the country, not the neighborhood — and Richards’ Jamaica-born dad — again, the country — will be there too. Richards is planning to run for reelection in 2025 and isn’t expected to face serious opposition. He’s widely considered a potential candidate for Congress or mayor after that. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg slammed an Arizona prosecutor for not extraditing a man accused of murder in Queens. (Gothamist) — A “negligent” engineer whose errors led to the collapse of a seven-story Bronx apartment building agreed to pay a $10,000 fine and serve a two-year city inspection ban. (NY Post) — Friday marked the final day of operations at a city benefits center in the Bronx, where staff helped New Yorkers apply for food, Medicaid and cash assistance. (City Limits) NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY The New York Immigration Coalition compared President Joe Biden's consideration of asylum restrictions to Donald Trump's "anti-immigration policies." | Charles McQuillan/Getty Images ASYLUM CONCERNS: The New York Immigration Coalition is not happy with the news President Joe Biden is weighing restrictions on entry by people who are seeking asylum status. The advocacy group in a statement on Thursday called for ways of making the asylum system fairer. “We don’t need more Trump anti-immigrant policies or rhetoric. We must continue to work for the safety and protection of all human beings seeking protection,” Murad Awawdeh, the group’s executive director, said. New York has been contending with the flow of migrants over the last two years, a crisis that could cost the state as much as $2.4 billion in the upcoming budget. “Asylum is a legal and humanitarian right for people feeling violence and persecution,” Awawdeh said. “The federal government – whether it's the president or Congress — should not be working to end this system, but to instead improve it to create a more fair, efficient and humane asylum system.” Possible executive action by Biden has support from Hochul, who said Thursday at the Politico Governors Summit she’s glad he is considering it as the migrant crisis is playing an increased role in New York’s politics. “We have to look at the conditions that are being used for asylum now because they’re more expansive than they have been in the past,” she said. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Local leaders in the state are concerned with potential cuts to highway funding in the budget. (WENY) — Democrats want to end so-called “judge shopping” in redistricting challenges. (Times Union) — The effort to bring high-speed rail to New York has been slow-going. (Spectrum News) KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION Rep. Richie Torres was removed from the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club's honorary after his comments about Israel. | Al Drago/Getty Images WE’RE BREAKING UP WITH YOU: The Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club has booted Rep. Ritchie Torres off its honorary, 100-plus member Board of Governors — though Torres said he’s had nothing to do with the club in years. It’s the latest cleaving of Torres with the wider progressive movement after the Bronx Democrat reportedly left the Congressional Progressive Caucus over his outspoken support for Israel. The LGBTQ+ club’s president Allen Roskoff was an ally to the openly gay Torres but has since trashed him for aligning with conservatives on Israel. The latest issue was holding a campaign fundraiser co-hosted by former City Councilmember Chaim Deutsch, who’s been criticized for his anti-gay votes. “We don’t believe people should be raising money from conservative people who have done the gay community harm,” Roskoff told Playbook. “I have not seen Allen Roskoff in years. Nor have I attended a Jim Owles meeting in years. Mr. Roskoff is of no relevance to me,” Torres told Playbook. “If Allen is so offended by my pro-Israel advocacy, he should return every dollar I have ever contributed or raised for Jim Owles. That would mean putting his money where his mouth is.” — Jeff Coltin More from Congress: — A Manhattan protest calling for a cease-fire in Gaza targeted Pro-Israel Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. (The New York Times) — Reps. Dan Goldman and Jerry Nadler are calling on Biden to orchestrate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. (City and State) NEW YORK STATE OF MIND — A new Staten Island St. Patrick’s Day Parade will let LGBTQ+ groups march — as an alternative to the longstanding parade that excludes them. (Staten Island Advance) — The Nassau County Executive has banned transgender girls that play for girls’ sports teams aren’t allowed to use County facilities. (Newsday) — The Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation is leaving his position. (Times Union) SOCIAL DATA Edited by Daniel Lippman MAKING MOVES: Lauren Tsuboyama, managing director for strategic communications at Blue State, has joined BerlinRosen as senior vice president for cities … Joseph Landau has been named the dean of Fordham Law School and the Paul Fuller Professor of Law. Landau currently is the associate dean of academic affairs at Fordham Law. WELCOME TO THE WORLD: New York City Council Member Julie Won and political consultant Eugene Noh had a baby boy last weekend. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Jennifer Epstein … S.E. Cupp … Sarah Mallory … Erenia Michell … Lois Romano … AP’s Richard Lardner … Derek Khanna … (WAS THURSDAY): Bob Bauer ... Herta Amir ... Iliza Shlesinger. YOUR NEW YORK NUMBER OF THE DAY 0.1 percent The amount of fines collected of those the state levied for illegal weed sales — $22,500 out of $25 million, per THE CITY.   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

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