U.S. Drops Corruption Case Against New York’s Former Lieutenant Governor

Brian Benjamin had been accused of funneling state money to a real estate developer in exchange for campaign contributions. A key witness in the case has died.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan told a judge on Friday that they would drop a bribery case against Brian A. Benjamin, New York’s former lieutenant governor, following the death of a key witness.

The decision lifts a cloud that has followed Mr. Benjamin, a Democrat, since April 2022 when the government first accused him of funneling state money to a real estate developer in exchange for campaign contributions. The charges, announced in a splashy news conference, forced Mr. Benjamin to resign and all but ended his political career.

The Supreme Court declined to dismiss the case in December, and it had appeared as if Mr. Benjamin might finally face trial.

But on Friday, prosecutors wrote to the judge overseeing the case, J. Paul Oetken, that they no longer saw a path to proving their allegations after the death of the developer, Gerald Migdol. Mr. Migdol had pleaded guilty to related charges and was cooperating with the government before he died in February.

“Based on a review of the evidence in the case, and in light of the death of cooperating witness and co-defendant Gerald Migdol,” the prosecutors wrote, “the government has determined that it can no longer prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, the charges in the indictment.”

Mr. Benjamin had maintained his innocence, and in a statement, he thanked prosecutors for dismissing the case after what he called a “painful journey.” He said he had represented both his State Senate district and the state “with honor and integrity.”