A timeline of political scandals in New York state

WNYT Staff

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The arrest of Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin in a campaign donation scheme is just the latest in a series of scandals to rock state government.

  • Oct. 17, 1913: William Sulzer becomes the only governor of New York to be impeached. He was accused of mishandling campaign funds, and was removed from office.
  • Dec. 22, 2006: State Comptroller Alan Hevesi resigns and is later sentenced to prison over a charge of defrauding the government.
  • March 12, 2008: Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigns after being caught in a prostitution sting in Washington, D.C. The resignation takes effect five days later.
  • July 18, 2008: State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno resigns Senate seat after stepping down as Senate leader on June 24, amid federal corruption charges. He was later convicted on two felony counts, but the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction. A later retrial resulted in acquittal.
  • June 20, 2011: Rep. Anthony Weiner — a once-rising star in the Democratic Party — sent a lewd picture of himself over Twitter and resigned after the behavior came to light.
  • Jan. 30, 2015: State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver resigns as speaker after his arrest on federal corruption charges. He was convicted on seven counts. The conviction was later overturned, but he was convicted again in a later trial.
  • May 11, 2015: Dean Skelos steps down as majority leader of the state Senate a week after his arrest on federal corruption charges along with his son. He was later convicted, automatically losing his seat. An appeals court overturned his conviction, but he was found guilty again on retrial.
  • May 7, 2018: State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigns hours after a New Yorker article was published detailing allegations of physical abuse.
  • Aug. 8, 2018: Rep. Chris Collins is arrested on charges related to insider trading. He would eventually plead guilty and resign from Congress. He was sentenced to 26 months in prison.
  • Aug. 24, 2021: Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigns after allegations of sexual harassment.
  • April 12, 2022: Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin is arrested in a federal corruption investigation. He resigns from office later that day.