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Deja Vu: Brand New Corruption Charges For Brooklyn Pol Recently Acquitted Of Corruption
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 29, 2011
Modified Nov 29, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 29, 2011
Modified Nov 29, 2011
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NY Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. was his acquittal on corruption charges earlier this month, but the party is about to end, because the feds just arrested him this morning on new corruption charges. U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch says Boyland solicited more than $250,000 in bribes and took thousands for performing official acts for bribe players. Boyland, who represents Brooklyn's 55th District, allegedly told one undercover agent, "I got a middle guy by the way ... I gotta stay clean ... I got a bag man..."
According to the feds, right after Boyland was indicted on corruption charges in March 2011 (the ones he was eventually cleared of):
Boyland and a member of his staff contacted UC1 [undercover agent 1] seeking a direct, personal payment of $7,000. In a recorded telephone call, Boyland told UC1 that he needed the money to "solidify some attorneys." Boyland stated that he was willing to travel to Philadelphia for the money and that he wanted the payment in cash...
At the end of meeting, UC1 gave Boyland the $7,000 in cash, and stated: “Knowing that if you think you want to bring someone else onboard or knowing that you’ll be there politically for us is all that we’re looking for.” In response, Boyland made a “thumbs up” sign and affirmed that “the political thing will be fine in terms of just where we need to go because I’m thinking environmental and I’m thinking the two houses of the state and city. You know, the relationships are there.”
Later, when trying to obtain a $250,000 bribe, in exchange for obtaining state grants for undercover agents posing as potential buyers of a Brooklyn hospital, Boyland allegedly told them that he preferred in-person meetings, "I stopped talking on the phone awhile ago ... I’m just saying there is no real conversation that you can have that, you know, especially with what we’re talking about. You can’t do that."
Then, during an in-person meeting, the feds say he demanded $250,000, rejecting one undercover agent's suggestion of $5,000 per introduction to people to move along the project, "I’m not talking about $5,000 folks. I’m talking about ...people that can actually get these projects done and that’s where we started off with. We started off, we didn’t start off with, we can go with somebody who knows someone. We not talking about those folks . . . . We talking about the man."
If convicted, Boyland could be sentenced to up to 30 years. As bad as these charges are, Boyland's year could be worse—he was shot at, you know!
Tagged
bribery
brooklyn
corruption
Politics
the man
william boyland
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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