NY Marriage Foe Hit with Federal Charges

New York state senator Carl Kruger, a powerful Brooklyn Democrat who voted against the marriage equality bill in 2009, surrendered to federal authorities Thursday morning on charges related to an influence-peddling scheme.

According to the New York Daily News, Kruger and Brooklyn assemblyman William Boyland turned themselves in at FBI headquarters in Lower Manhattan and were expected to appear before a federal judge later in the day.

"Federal prosecutors are expected to charge Kruger, a veteran Brooklyn Democrat, and Boyland, a fourth-term Brownsville Democrat, with pocketing tens of thousands of dollars in bribes, several sources said."

"One source said the feds will charge Kruger with using his influence in the Senate to push for approval of a merger involving the now-defunct Parkway Hospital in Queens," the News reported.

The ranking Democrat on the senate finance committee, Kruger chaired the powerful committee in the brief time his party controlled the state senate. He was one of the "four amigos," a group of renegade Democrats including the notoriously homophobic Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr., who challenged party leadership to push their individual agendas.

It is unclear whether Kruger will keep his seat, a key question in the marriage equality issue, where six votes are still needed to pass the bill in the 62-member senate.