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March 10, 2011
$leaze rap for top pol
Corruption case
NY Post
by Mitchel Maddux, Josh Margolin and Dan Mangan
Speaking of mom 'n' pop businesses, MomandPopNYC blogger, retail consultant and Atlantic Yards lobbyist Richard Lipsky has been swept up in a corruption investigation that netted Brooklyn State Senator — and big Atlantic Yards booster — Carl Kruger.
State Sen. Carl Kruger, a powerful Brooklyn Democrat, will surrender to federal authorities today to face corruption charges, along with an Upper West Side lobbyist linked to him, sources told The Post.
Kruger has been under investigation since 2007 by Brooklyn federal prosecutors for allegations he performed official acts in exchange for campaign donations.
But that ongoing probe is not related to charges Kruger, the ranking Democrat on the Senate's Finance Committee, will face today in Manhattan federal court, sources said.
Those charges relate to lobbying involving hospitals in the city, NBC said.
In addition, longtime Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. of the 55th District in Brooklyn is facing corruption charges today, the station reported.
Also surrendering is lobbyist Richard Lipsky -- well-known for helping small businesses oppose plans that would benefit larger business, including big-box retailers such as Walmart, The Post has learned.
He recently has been advising developers of Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards project.
Related coverage...
The Brooklyn Paper, Report: Kruger will surrender to feds in corruption case
State Sen. Carl Kruger is expected to surrender to federal authorities and be charged with trading his political clout for personal gain today — just one week after his attorney claimed the FBI was no longer investigating the Brooklyn legislator.
...Federal prosecutors haven’t disclosed the criminal charges that Kruger is facing, nor have they named any of his would-be co-conspirators, although the Times claims that Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. (D–Brownsville) and Richard Lipsky, a longtime small business lobbyist and blogger whose client list includes Forest City Ratner Companies, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and the Neighborhood Retail Alliance, will be charged alongside the senator.
Kruger isn’t talking either — he hung up on this reporter on Wednesday evening.
The New York Times, 2 State Legislators Surrender in Corruption Case
State Senator Karl Kruger, Assemblyman William F. Boyland Jr. and an influential lobbyist were among eight people who surrendered on Thursday to face charges in a federal corruption case accusing the lawmakers of taking bribes over the course of a decade in schemes large and small, from pushing hospital mergers to extending business hours for liquor stores.
In addition to the lawmakers and the lobbyist, Richard Lipsky, those charged in a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday morning included a real estate developer, two hospital executives, a hospital consultant and a Brooklyn doctor.
Photo: NY Post
Posted by eric at March 10, 2011 11:18 AM