Bharara Calls Corruption A “Deep Problem”

United States Attorney Preet Bharara says there now can be "no doubt" that there is a "deep problem" of corruption in Albany.

In an interview with New York City radio station WNYC on Monday, December 12, Bharara said that in the aftermath of the convictions of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, he doesn't believe every lawmaker is corrupt. But he said he does believe there have been long-running corruption schemes in Albany.

Bharara said New York state lawmakers have been "doing a pretty poor job" in self-policing to crack down on wrongdoing.

The prosecutor suggested it would be more difficult for elected officials to get away with bribery and extortion if there were more limits on outside income.

Bharara would not discuss whether his office is investigating Governor Andrew Cuomo. In the past, he has said New Yorkers should "stay tuned." But he has refused to elaborate on the possibility of future corruption charges involving state officials.

In addition to the recent guilty verdicts in the Silver and Skelos trials, Bharara's office successfully prosecuted Thomas Libous, who had been deputy majority leader of the Senate. In July, the Binghamton Republican was convicted of lying to the FBI.