[ad_1]
ALBANY — Attorney General Letitia James, despite allegations by her Republican opponent Michael Henry, gave away to charity most of the campaign contributions that she had received from a Harlem real estate developer who was recently indicted on campaign finance charges.
James’ campaign, in which she was running for governor before abandoning that bid, told the Times Union in November it planned to return all of the money developer Gerald Migdol and his family contributed to her statewide campaigns. The comments came after Migdol was arrested in connection with an alleged straw-donor campaign scheme connected to former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, who also has been indicted on federal charges.
The criminal charges relate to Benjamin’s failed election bid for comptroller of New York City.
Although it appears James only returned $9,000 out of $35,250 her campaigned received from Migdol, his wife Sheryl and his son Aaron, the campaign clarified Thursday that the remaining money, $26,250 was donated to charity.
James’ campaign returned $4,000 it received from the Migdol family in 2021 that it received when James announced her candidacy for governor, according to state Board of Elections records.
In January 2020, James returned a $5,000 donation made in December 2019 by Migdol; the check had bounced, according to the campaign.
The money that was donated to charities, $8,750 to each of three organizations, had been received in filing periods prior to James announcing her brief run for governor.
The money was given to: New York Cares, which focuses on volunteering for social issues; Little Essentials, which provides assistance for children in poverty; and God’s Love We Deliver, which provides meals to people who are too sick to cook.
Henry, a New York City Republican, told reporters Thursday in Albany that in November, following Migdol’s indictment, she did not “return a dime of the corruption cash.”
“I’m calling on the Attorney General Letitia James to publicly, if she has not already, return all of the funds that she received from Gerald Migdol, his family and his organization and to have a public accounting to the public to see exactly how much money she’s received from him over the years,” Henry said.
Henry also questioned why James did not open an investigation into the matter relating to Migdol.
“Why did she accepted this money from Gerald Migdol? And why did she not call for any investigations?” Henry said.
About five months after Migdol’s indictment, federal prosecutors indicted Benjamin earlier this month on bribery and campaign finance charges. The indictment led to Benjamin’s resignation, although he has pleaded not guilty and indicated he will fight the charges.
Migdol and his family contributed $111,100 to 25 campaigns since 2006, according to state records. Most of the money has been given since 2013.
James received the most of the money and Harlem Assemblywoman Inez E. Dickens, received $17,250. Since 2020, outside of James, Dickens and Benjamin, the state Senate Democratic campaign committee received $15,000, which was noted in the federal indictment of Benjamin; Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg received $1,000.
[ad_2]
Source link