U.S. Drops Corruption Case Against New York’s Former Lieutenant Governor

New York|U.S. Drops Corruption Case Against New York’s Former Lieutenant Governor

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said on Friday that they would drop a bribery case against Brian A. Benjamin, New York’s former lieutenant governor, following the death of a key witness.

Mr. Benjamin, a Democrat, had been expected to face trial on charges that he funneled state money to a real estate developer in exchange for campaign contributions. His indictment in 2022 had forced him to resign.

But on Friday, prosecutors wrote to the judge overseeing the case that they no longer saw a path to proving their allegations after the developer’s death. The developer, Gerald Migdol, had pleaded guilty to related charges and was cooperating with the government before he died in February.

“Based on a review of the evidence in the case, and in light of the death of cooperating witness and co-defendant Gerald Migdol,” the prosecutors wrote, “the government has determined that it can no longer prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, the charges in the indictment.”

A lawyer for Mr. Benjamin did not immediately comment and a spokesman for the Southern District of New York declined to speak about the case.

Mr. Benjamin, 48, had been considered a rising star when Gov. Kathy Hochul picked him from the State Senate in August 2021 to become her lieutenant governor. The move made him her No. 2, and gave Mr. Benjamin a platform to advance his own career.

The federal indictment in April 2022 changed all that. Prosecutors charged that Mr. Benjamin had used his State Senate office to secure a $50,000 grant for a Harlem nonprofit run by Mr. Migdol. In exchange, Mr. Migdol helped arrange thousands of dollars in illegal contributions to Mr. Benjamin’s campaigns, prosecutors said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Jonah E. Bromwich contributed reporting.