A senior New York State politician was arrested Tuesday on charges that he tried to bribe his way onto the ballot for the Big Apple's upcoming mayoral election. Malcolm Smith, a veteran Democratic senator in the state assembly in Albany, was among six people, including several local officials, charged in the alleged scheme.
Prosecutors say that Smith, 56, tried to bribe Republicans to put him on their party's ticket for the November election to replace billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is stepping down. "The criminal complaint describes an unappetising smorgasbord of graft and greed involving six officials who together built a corridor of corruption" stretching from New York City to Albany, Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara said.
The FBI's assistant director, George Venizelos, said "public service is not supposed to be a shortcut to self-enrichment... There is a price to pay for that kind of betrayal." The allegation is that $80,000 was paid or offered in the scheme that centered on Smith trying to get the necessary backing from three New York City Republican leaders for him to run on their party's ballot. "Smith broached the subject of his mayoral ambition with two men he believed were real estate developers and sought their help in influencing the Republican county chairmen.
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