ALBANY — Now that he has been acquitted on corruption charges, ex-state Sen. Joe Bruno wants the state to reimburse him for $2.4 million in legal fees.
Bruno, the former Republican majority leader, filed for the money with the state attorney general under a statute that permits recovery of “reasonable” legal expenses by state employees accused of criminal wrongdoing related to official duties.
Bruno was acquitted of receiving kickbacks disguised as consulting fees. Capital New York first reported Bruno’s $2.4 million request.
In May, The Post reported that Bruno, if he beat the charges, would be seeking as much as $4 million for legal fees dating back to his first trial in 2009.
“After what I’ve been through, with nine years of being investigated, nine years of the feds turning my life upside down, with one trial and another, with all the pain and suffering, I’m entitled under the law to recover my legal cost and I intend to do so,” Bruno told The Post back then.
Bruno, 85, led the GOP majority in the state Senate for 14 years before stepping down in 2008.