(January 4, 2011) — New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has reiterated his tough stance on penalties for corrupt officials after news revealed that the man who bribed former Sen. Carl Kruger pleaded guilty.
In an influence-peddling case, Kruger resigned before pleading guilty last month to federal charges. He admitted that he accepted nearly a half-million dollars in bribes.
Robert Aquino — the man accused of bribing Kruger — entered the plea to conspiracy to commit bribery Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan. While Kruger agreed not to appeal any prison sentence up to 11 years and three months, Aquino could face up to five years in prison.
According to DiNapoli’s office, the comptroller is set to resubmit a program that would institute a penalty of up to two times the amount a public official profited from a crime. White DiNapoli introduced a similar measure let year, it did not make its way through the Legislature. He noted that his previous similar proposal would have applied to the accused Kruger.
In a statement, DiNapoli said:
“Former Senator Kruger’s actions were a breach of the public’s trust, but the State Constitution prevents the forfeiture of his pension. My bill would ensure that those public officials who engage in corrupt practices and wrongdoing will suffer a cost to themselves and their families if they abuse their position for personal gain. Public confidence in government has been bruised and battered. This bill will be a strong step toward rebuilding trust.”
The release from the Office of the Comptroller continued:
“This revised program bill would enhance penalties by elevating Official Misconduct to a felony and would increase the penalties for any abuse of the public trust in New York State. An abuse of the public trust entails committing a felony and using one’s position as a public servant to commit or conceal a felony or to conspire to commit a felony.”
DiNapoli has been consistently vocal about his efforts to address the misdeeds of the previous administration of the Albany-based New York State Common Retirement Fund (CRF). His top priorities have been to restore the public’s confidence in the integrity of CRF’s investment decision-making process and in the operations of the scheme. In June, for example, DiNapoli proposed legislation to codify his ban on the involvement of placement agents, paid intermediaries and registered lobbyists in investments with CRF.
CRF became the first public pension fund in the nation to ban placement agents when Comptroller DiNapoli issued his Executive Order in April 2009.