New York’s lawmakers

Dean Skelos Must Go

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD NYT

How many indictments, arrests, jail sentences, scandals or embarrassments does it take for New York’s lawmakers to get the message? Like most members of the public, we are sick of the sleaziness that serves as everyday business in Albany. Yet, once again, on Monday morning, another state bigwig marched into a federal courthouse to face corruption charges.

This affliction knows no party lines. This time, it was a Republican, the Senate leader, Dean Skelos, charged with extortion, fraud and bribe solicitation. Not four months ago, New Yorkers witnessed the stunning arrest of the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, the powerful Democrat who dominated that house for 20 years.

Within a few days of the arrest, Mr. Silver resigned from his leadership post to focus on his legal battles. Mr. Skelos should now do the same. Like Mr. Silver, Mr. Skelos has vowed to fight the charges, which is, of course, his right. Arrested with his son, Adam Skelos, on six federal charges, Mr. Skelos said: “I am not saying I am just not guilty; I am saying that I am innocent.”

After issuing the 43-page complaint, the United States attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, said the six counts documented how Mr. Skelos used the power of his office to “illegally enrich his son, Adam, and indirectly, himself.” The senator is charged with operating a five-year scheme to get a developer and an Arizona environmental company to pay his son fees and “commissions” of nearly $220,000. Those companies made the payments to ensure that Mr. Skelos would promote state legislation they wanted, the complaint charges. One F.B.I. officer labeled the payments “backdoor bribes.”

New York’s Legislature has about a month to conclude this year’s business. Lawmakers must deal with renewal of rental regulations and mayoral control of schools. They need to raise the minimum wage and create a way for undocumented students to receive state college financial aid. Given the stink of scandal that hangs over the Albany crowd, it should be the best time for campaign finance reform. At the very least, lawmakers should make it harder to create dozens of mock businesses — limited liability companies — as a way to funnel huge contributions to lawmakers like Mr. Silver and Mr. Skelos.

In announcing the latest arrests, Mr. Bharara said that it should be clear that “public corruption is a deep-seated problem in New York State.” He added that his office was “deadly serious about tackling that problem.”

Albany lawmakers can go on watching their leaders and colleagues get arrested, and wait for their own humiliation, or they can get work to set a better standard than the corrupt model they now have. Sadly, the smart money will be on their opting for inaction. Voters should be thinking about that now, before the next election.