3 months ago
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Documents show former New York Senate leader Joseph Bruno sponsored a $2.5 million state grant to a college in his district for a new technology center where the main tenant would be a company whose investors included Bruno business associate Jared Abbruzzese.
Bruno is on trial in federal court facing eight fraud counts, accused of using his state influence to enrich himself and denying New Yorkers his honest services.
The 2006 grant to the Sage Colleges in Troy was used to help refurbish a science building into an incubator space, meant to foster business applications from research.
Senate finance staff testified Evident Technologies would be the anchor tenant. Other Abbruzzese companies employed Bruno as a consultant in 2004 and 2005.
