Originally Published: February 5, 2015
Citizens Union’s corruption tracker shows Albany’s crime wave continues to rise
With Malcolm Smith’s unsurprising conviction on federal corruption charges, it affirms the choice made last fall by the voters to boot him from office for misconduct. The voters of the 14th Senate District elected his challenger, former city councilmember Leroy Comrie, Jr. Smith is the 28th and most recent NY state legislator in the past fifteen years who has been forced from office because of criminal or ethical misconduct. His conviction is the first of the new two-year legislative cycle which began 5 weeks ago. An additional 4 state legislators, including recently charged former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, await trial, bringing the total of to 32 legislators who have left office or may be forced from office soon because of corruption or misconduct.
This endless parade of convicted and indicted state legislators needs to stop. Governor Andrew Cuomo has wisely proposed using the state budget as the ultimate mechanism to secure much-needed ethics and campaign finance reforms. Citizens Union is pleased that serious action and much-needed change on these reforms are on the horizon for this legislative session.
Smith’s conviction is the second time in recent years that a NY Senate Majority Leader has been found guilty of corruption. The other one was his successor, Pedro Espada, who was convicted in 2012.
Details about the 32 state legislators is contained within Citizens Union’s corruption tracker.