Malcolm Smith
Once a powerful Queens Democrat and majority leader of the Senate, Smith was indicted for allegedly trying to bribe his way onto the Republican primary ballot in the 2013 mayor’s race. His trial starts June 2.John Sampson
Sampson was arrested a week after Huntley’s recording scheme was unveiled. The former Senate minority leader was charged with embezzling nearly $500,000 in escrow money, obstruction of justice and witness-tampering, among other charges.Sampson was hit this year with a new indictment that accused him of lying to FBI agents “about directing members of his Senate staff to take actions to benefit a Brooklyn liquor store in which Sampson secretly held an ownership interest,” federal prosecutors said.
Melvin Lowe
Political consultant Lowe, 53, was busted in October on federal fraud and tax violations. A former top aide to Sampson, he was accused of defrauding the state Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee out of $100,000 by using a false invoice for printing services. No trial has been set.Ruben Wills
Queens City Councilman Wills has been under investigation by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman since 2012 and was charged last week with stealing $30,000 in taxpayer money. He pleaded not guilty to fraud and grand larceny after he was accused of using money from his New York 4 Life nonprofit to go on shopping sprees. He spent $750 on a Louis Vuitton handbag, Schneiderman said.Curtis Taylor
Former Newsday reporter Taylor worked as spokesman and deputy chief of staff for Smith. Taylor left the government payroll in February 2011 and opened his own public relations and communications business, according to his LinkedIn profile. He did not return a call for comment.Velmanette Montgomery
Veteran lawmaker Montgomery was only bringing the ailing Huntley soup when she was caught on the federal wire, Montgomery’s spokesman said last week. He said Montgomery had heard nothing from federal prosecutors about the investigation.Montgomery distinguished herself by racking up more per-diem expenses than any other state senator from 2009 to 2012, The Post reported in January 2013. She spent $77,000 for lodging and meals.
Ruth Hassell-Thompson
State Sen. Hassell-Thompson, a Democrat representing parts of The Bronx and Westchester County, said last year that she was “perplexed” to be among the Huntley Nine. The senator said she had lunch with her colleague in 2012 and they spoke “about matters including our health and our families. At no time — past or present — did we discuss anything inappropriate, improper or illegal.”Hassell-Thompson was among a group of senators who received campaign contributions from donors associated with the Aqueduct Entertainment Group.
Her office did not return a call for comment.
José Peralta
State Sen. Peralta has spent $36,000 in legal fees through his campaign committee since landing on the Huntley Nine list, though his spokesman told The Post that the Queens Democrat has been cleared by the feds.Peralta reportedly helped secure $500,000 in taxpayer money for the Corona-Elmhurst Center for Economic Development, a group he helped found in 2004 after he was elected to the Assembly.
Questions were raised about the group’s legitimacy because it hadn’t filed tax returns and it appeared to be inactive.
Peralta said in 2009 that he froze the money after the organization’s director had become ill. He became a senator in 2010.
Eric Adams
New Brooklyn Borough President Adams is still under federal probe, says a source familiar with the investigation. Adams served in the state Senate from January 2007 to the end of 2013 and was head of the Racing and Wagering Committee. He was a supporter of the AEG racino plan.A spokesman said Adams had heard nothing from the feds about their probe or if he was still a target.
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