Assemblyman Claims He Has Cooperated On Corruption Cases For Years
Bronx Assemblyman Nelson Castro says he has been cooperating with federal and county prosecutors on public corruption cases for years.
Castro, a Democrat, announced today in a statement that he would be resigning from the Assembly after one of those cases was made public just hours ago with the arrest of fellow Assemblyman Eric Stevenson on federal charges that he accepted bribes.
Castro said in his statement that he had agreed to cooperate with the Bronx district attorney's office and the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York "in conjunction with various investigations aimed at rooting out public corruption." He said he began to cooperate with the Bronx district attorney's office in 2009 following an indictment on a civil matter. Castro was elected in 2008.
Stevenson, also a Democrat from the Bronx, was arrested this morning on federal charges that he accepted bribes. Stevenson's lawyer told The Times he is still reviewing the charges against his client and "would have no comment until he had done so."
The federal complaint against Stevenson refers to an "Assemblyman 1," which news reports have identified as Castro.
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