Updated 05/03/2012 05:04 PM
Joe Bruno indicted again on corruption charges
Former State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno has been indicted again. The 83-year-old Republican pleaded Bruno pleaded not guilty to new corruption charges in federal court Thursday afternoon. Lori Chung has more.
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ALBANY, N.Y. -- Walking by cameras, former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno let his attorneys do the talking after pleading not guilty to two new charges of honest services fraud.
Defense attorney William Dreyer said, "Instead of failure to disclose, the words bribery and kickbacks are now substituted."
That new indictment was handed up Thursday. Bruno's 2009 conviction was tossed out on appeal, after the Supreme Court ruled that the section of law dealing with disclosure was unconstitutional. The circumstances surrounding these charges remain the same. In part, prosecutors say Bruno steered state contracts to an Albany businessman who he also worked for as a consultant. His attorneys call the case a witch hunt.
Defense attorney E. Stewart Jones said, "Tens of millions of dollars spent by the government, of taxpayers' money, on this. And for what? To harm an 83-year-old man."
Prosecutors showed they are moving forward with a new trial - an option left open by the appeals court. Defense attorneys say Bruno will be ready.
Jones said, "He's going to stand with us, and he's going to fight until he is fully acquitted and vindicated."
Now, prosecutors say Bruno accepted $440,000 from the businessman. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
Bruno's attorneys speak out:
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Bruno Indictment May 2012