FBI Arrests State Sen. Malcolm Smith, Councilman Dan Halloran For Mayoral Election Bribery Plot
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| Smith Halloran |
State Senator, City Councilman Arrested in Alleged Mayoral Ballot Bribery Scheme
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A prominent Democratic state senator and a Republican city councilman from Queens were arrested Tuesday in an alleged plot to get the senator onto the New York City mayoral ballot by paying off GOP county chairmen, authorities said.
Democratic State Sen. Malcolm Smith, City Councilman Dan Halloran and four others were arrested by the FBI Tuesday morning.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Smith "tried to bribe his way to a shot at Gracie Mansion."
Bharara said Smith conceived the plot and Halloran "quarterbacked that drive by finding party chairmen who were wide open to receiving bribes."
NBC 4 New York's calls and emails to offices and attorneys of those arrested were not immediately returned.
Any candidate seeking to be added to a ballot needs to be approved by three of the five county chairmen for a particular party.
Two Republican county chairmen -- Joseph Savino, of the Bronx, and Vincent Tabone, of Queens -- were among those arrested Tuesday.
Smith was elected to the State Senate in 2000 in a special election. He was elected minority leader in 2007, succeeding David Paterson.
Halloran assumed office in 2010 and represents the 19th district in Queens, succeeding Tony Avella.
He garnered widespread attention that year when he said five municipal employees told him that workers had engaged in a deliberate slowdown in clearing snow following the Christmas blizzard.
The Department of Investigation said later that an exhaustive probe found no evidence of such a slowdown.
Federal officials announced other arrests Tuesday; those expected to be charged are Democrat Noramie Jasmin, mayor of Spring Valley in Rockland County, and her deputy mayor, Joseph Desmaret.
| Posted: 04/02/2013 8:02 am EDT
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Malcolm Smith And Dan Halloran Arrested For Trying To Rig NYC Mayoral Election, According To Report
| Posted: 04/02/2013 8:02 am EDT
By Aidan Gardiner, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
QUEENS — Prominent Queens politicians Malcolm Smith and Dan Halloran were arrested early Tuesday for attempting to rig this year's mayoral election, according to a published report.
Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation took State Senator Smith and City Councilman Halloran into custody at their homes about 6 a.m., the New York Postreported.
Halloran told a reporter outside his home that he "had no idea" why he was being arrested, the Post reported.
“I’m sure the truth will come out once I have an opportunity to find out what’s going on,” Halloran added.
The pair allegedly formed an alliance to place Smith, a Democrat who represents Queens Village, St. Albans and Jamaica, onto the Republican mayoral ballot by enlisting the support of major GOP leaders through bribes, according to the Post.
Smith needed the support of three boroughs to get the Republican nod without having to change party affiliation, the newspaper reported.
Halloran, a Republican representing northeastern Queens, was tasked with setting up those meetings and handling bribes totaling thousands of dollars, thePost reported.
The bribes were masked as legal and accounting services, the paper added.
Halloran has also been accused of pocketing bribes from a consultant in exchange for $80,000 in City Council funding, the newspaper said.
