The lieutenant governor of the state of New York, brian benjaminpresented his resignation on Tuesday, after being charged by the US federal justice system with corruption, the authorities announced.
“Brian Benjamin, the lieutenant governor of the state of New York, was indicted for corruption and other related offenses,” the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
The state’s lieutenant governor, 45, “reported to the FBI in Manhattan this morning” and appeared before a federal judge, he said.
Afternoon, Kathy Hochulthe governor of the fourth most populous state in the country, with some 20 million inhabitants, announced that she had “accepted the immediate resignation” of her deputy.
“It is clear to both of them that he could not continue to serve as lieutenant governor. New Yorkers must have absolute confidence in their government,” said Hochul, also a Democrat.
Benjamin is accused of having “used his authority” beginning in 2019 when he was a deputy in the state parliament to “divert a state-run grant to an organization controlled by a property investor in return for contributions” to his campaign for election. in 2021 in the position of controller of finances of the city of New York.
The $50,000 grant was awarded to a nonprofit organization controlled by the real estate investor.
Benjamin is also accused of having provided false documents during his declaration of candidacy for the position of lieutenant governor in the 2022 elections, and of having “fallen into a series of lies and deceptions to disguise the mechanism of corruption.”
He faces 10 years in prison for the corruption charge and up to 20 years for the rest, in particular the document falsification charge.
Benjamin rose to the post of lieutenant governor in New York in August to replace Hochul, who became governor after the resignation of her predecessor Andrew Cuomoaccused of sexual assault.
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