Federal prosecutors want former New York Senate leader Joseph Bruno to serve eight years in prison for corrupting his office.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Albany filed court papers late Friday asking a judge to give the disgraced Republican a stiff penalty when he is sentenced on May 6.
Bruno was convicted in December of two counts of honest services fraud. Prosecutors say he abused his powerful position by secretly accepting millions of dollars in consulting contracts from companies and unions that do business with the state.
Bruno’s lawyers have asked U.S. District Judge Gary Sharpe to sentence Bruno to probation and a fine. In a filing Friday, they said he should get no more than six months in jail.
Both sides have agreed that Bruno should also pay $280,000 in restitution.
Bruno, 81, resigned in 2008 after serving 14 years as the Senate’s most powerful lawmaker.
In asking the judge for a tough sentence, Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Coombe called Bruno’s offenses “egregious” and said he has not accepted responsibility for his crimes.
“Defendant, whose position as New York State Senate majority leader made him one of the three most powerful men in New York State, exploited his office for his own personal gain,” Coombe wrote.
Defense attorney William Dreyer said Bruno deserved leniency.
“He has suffered a fall from a high position of power and from grace,” Dreyer wrote. “He is a man who for his entire life respected the law. A message now has been sent to the community and to the public servants in this state that conflicts of interest are a matter of federal felony statutes.”
He added the Bruno has a long history of helping people both through his government position and work with charities.
Bruno didn’t testify during his trial, but often stopped by the courthouse steps and told reporters he had done nothing wrong. He maintained that his sideline consulting business was legitimate.
The judge recently rejected Bruno’s request to postpone the sentencing hearing until the U.S. Supreme Court decides three unrelated cases that have challenged the constitutionality of the honest services fraud statute.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.