State Senator Carl Kruger Finally Hit With Corruption and Bribery Charges

State Senator Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn) and Assemblyman William Boyland turned themselves into police this morning in order to face longstanding allegations of a bribery conspiracy. As the Village Voice's Tom Robbins wrote back in the summer of 2010, Kruger "has been relentlessly soaking [South Brooklyn] for hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign booty for years," leading to some unpleasant attention from the FBI, dating back to 20077. Now, the New York Times reports that other Brooklyn and Queens politicians will follow to face charges of corruption.

As for Kruger, though everyone seemed to know this was coming, "He's saddened because he's one of the most dedicated public servants for the past 25 years with an impeccable reputation," his lawyer said. "This obviously is a difficult day for all of us." But maybe not as difficult as neighborhoods like Brighton Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Bergen Beach and more have had it for around two decades.

"Everyone knows that Carl has been using his post to take money for years, so this isn't surprising," one Democratic source told the Post. "What's more surprising is that it didn't happen 10 years ago."

The FBI investigation, which captured talks of nightclub bribes on Coney Island Avenue back in 2008, is just now hitting the man at the top. This is where they've ended up, via the Daily News:

Sources said Kruger took bribes to do favors for hospital executives, a Brooklyn-based developer and a lobbyist, Richard Lipsky.

The payoffs were funneled into checking accounts that Kruger had access to, the sources said.

One source said the feds will charge Kruger with using his influence in the Senate to push for approval of a merger involving the now-defunct Parkway Hospital in Queens.

Additionally, as captured in the FBI stings, Kruger allegedly threw around his influence in exchange for campaign donations. The Post notes that "Kruger has one of the Legislature's largest campaign war chests: $2.6 million as of last July."

"The only time anybody sees Carl Kruger's hands are when they are inside your pockets, or filled with campaign funds," attorney Jeffrey Lichtman told Tom Robbins last year. "He is just another pig at the Albany trough." But maybe not for much longer.

[jcoscarelli@villagevoice.com / @joecoscarelli]