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Opening arguments held in Rensselaer County Exec. McLaughlin's trial

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas,
Jim Levulis
Published January 24, 2023 at 5:41 PM EST
Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin leaves the courtroom on Jan. 24, 2023.
Dave Lucas
Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin leaves the courtroom on Jan. 24, 2023.

The first day of Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin’s trial has ended.

The Republican has rejected calls to resign after New York Attorney General Tish James alleged he stole thousands of dollars in campaign contributions while serving in the state Assembly in November 2017. McLaughlin, who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, has called the two felony charges brought by the AG’s office “nonsense.” James’ office says it "follows the facts of every single case, and the fact here is that Steve McLaughlin was indicted for breaking the law and violating the public’s trust.”

WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief Dave Lucas was in Rensselaer County Court for the first day of arguments on Tuesday and spoke with WAMC's Jim Levulis.

The trial is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
News
Dave Lucas
Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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Jim Levulis
Jim was WAMC’s Assistant News Director and hosted WAMC's flagship news programs: Midday Magazine, Northeast Report and Northeast Report Late Edition.
See stories by Jim Levulis
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