Brooklyn state senator pleads not guilty to taking bribes

PHOTOGRAPHER: The Associated Press

A New York state senator has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he took $1 million in bribes in a federal influence-peddling case.

Democratic Sen. Carl Kruger of Brooklyn entered the plea today. The hearing came days after prosecutors boosted charges against him, adding bribery.

Outside court in Manhattan, Kruger’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman said his client “never accepted bribes from anyone for any matter and he never abused his office in any way whatsoever.”

In court, Brafman said a substantial number of 30,000 calls intercepted by the FBI during the investigation involved his client either directly or indirectly.

Kruger was the powerful Senate Finance Committee chairman from 2008 to 2010 when Democrats controlled the Senate. Prosecutors say he unfairly helped a developer, a lobbyist and two hospital executives.