U.S. Attorney Says New Yorkers ‘Can Expect More’ Corruption Cases

The string of corruption arrests in New York State is far from over, according to the man who has issued

Preet Bharara announcing the arrest of State Senator Malcolm Smith and Councilman Dan Halloran. (Photo: Getty)
Preet Bharara announcing the arrest of State Senator Malcolm Smith and Councilman Dan Halloran. (Photo: Getty)

The string of corruption arrests in New York State is far from over, according to the man who has issued many of the indictments.

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In a rare televised interview with Capital Tonight, Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said even more public corruption cases can be expected to emerge due to the “pervasive” nature of the problem in the state.

“We investigate cases very aggressively, and we are going to continue to do that, whether the legislature is in session or not,” he said, alluding to the upcoming end of the legislative session. “You can expect more cases to come, because there is a lot more corruption that has not yet been brought to light.”

Of course, there’s an increasingly long and unwieldy list of federal corruption cases that have been brought against state and city legislators, both this year and several proceeding it, adding a heavy weight to Mr. Bharara’s words.

For example, among the sitting officials currently facing charges are State Senators John Sampson and Malcolm Smith, Councilman Dan Halloran and Assemblyman Eric Stevenson. Still others, including former State Senators Shirley Huntley, Carl Kruger and Pedro Espada, have been recently convicted. With the exception of Mr. Halloran, all are Democrats.

In the interview, Mr. Bharara also shot down criticism, advanced by some pols, that federal prosecutors are unfairly targeting racial minorities in their probes.

“I think I saw that in a blog post somewhere,” he replied. “Anybody who knows me or knows this office, knows that’s a ludicrous accusation to make. If you look at our body of work in this area, or in any other area, it is clear that we go where the law and the facts take us.”

Mr. Bharara, who is of Indian descent, added, “Whether someone is of a particular background–I happen to be of a particular background myself–that factors into our decision-making not in any way, shape or form.”

U.S. Attorney Says New Yorkers ‘Can Expect More’ Corruption Cases