Santa has a big gift for former New York State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office says it will approve reimbursement of $2.4 million in legal bills Bruno racked up in a federal corruption cases in which he was ultimately acquitted.
In a letter Wednesday, Schneiderman says the state has ”no choice” but to certify that the money should be paid back to the Rensselaer Republican and his campaign fund even though he’s been out of office for six years... Comptroller Tom DiNapoli now must review the expenditure.
Bruno was first indicted in 2009 on charges of ”honest services fraud” but that portion of the law was later thrown out by the Supreme Court. Federal prosecutors then indicted him on bribery charges, but he was acquitted in May 2014.