FBI busts Queens State Sen. Malcolm Smith in mayoral election bribery plot

 

Sen. Malcolm Smith

The FBI busted Democratic state Sen. Malcolm Smith of Queens Tuesday and was set to haul in City Councilman Dan Halloran on charges they tried to rig the 2013 mayoral election by buying Smith a spot on the Republican ballot, sources said.
Agents were also rounding up four suspects, including Bronx Republican Chairman Jay Savino and Queens GOP vice chairman Vincent Tabone who were to receive bribes in exchange for backing Smith when he switched sides last year in a never-realized run for City Hall.

 City Councilman Dan Halloran

Smith was picked up by agents early Tuesday at his Queens home.
All six defendants were scheduled to be presented in White Plains Federal Court and Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara was scheduled to hold a press conference later in the day in Manhattan.

The charges mark a tremendous fall from grace for Smith, who for a time was president pro tem of the state Senate when Democrats briefly held the chamber’s leadership in Albany.