1 ?3 my it 1? Approved: JASON A. R. Assistant United States Attorneys Before: THE HONORABLE MICHAEL H. DOLINGER United States Magistrate Judge Southern District of New York yarns UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. SEALED Violations of . 18 U.S.C. 666, 1343, DEAN SKELOS, and 1346, 1349, 1951, and 2 ADAM SKELOS, - COUNTY OF OFFENSE: Defendants. NEW YORK SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, 35.. PAUL M. TAKLA, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and charges as follows: COUNT ONE (Conspiracy to Commit Extortion Under Color of Official Right) 1. From at least in or about 2010, up to and including in or about April 2015, in.the.Southern District ofIN York and elsewhere, DEAN SKELOS and ADAM SKELOS, the defendants, and others known and unknown, willfully and knowingly did combine, conspire, confederate, and agree together and with each other to violate Title 18, Dnited States Code, Section 1951. 2. It was a part and an object of the conspiracy that DEAN SKELOS and ADAM SKELOS, the defendants, and others known and unknown, willfully and knowingly, would and did obstruct, delay, and affect commerce and the movement of articles and commodities in commerce by extortion.as that terniis defined.in'ritle 18, United.States Code, Section 1951, to wit, DEAN SKELOS, ADAM SKELOS, and.others known.and unknown, would and did arrange for DEAN SKELOS to cause entities with business before New York State to direct payments to ADAM SKELOS with the expectation that DEAN SKELOS would.use his official position on their behalf. (Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951.) COUNT TWO (Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Fraud) 3. From at least in or about 2010, up to and including in or about.April 2015, in.the Southern District.of New York.and.elsewhere, DEAN SKELOS and ADAM SKELOS, the defendants, and others known and conspire, confederate, and agree together and with each other to violate Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 1346. 4. It was a part and an object of the conspiracy that DEAN SKELOS and ADAM SKELOS, the defendants and others known and unknown, willfully and knowingly, having devised and intending to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud, and to deprive the public of its intangible right to DEAN honest services as an elected legislator, would and did transmit and cause to be transmitted by means of wire communication in interstate and foreign commerce, writings, signs, signals, pictures, and sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme and.artifice, in violation.of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, to wit, DEAN SKELOS, while serving as Majority Leader and (Jo?Maj ority Coalition Leader of the New York State Senate, would and did take official action in return for payments to his son, ADAM SKELOS. (Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.) COUNT THREE (Extortion Under Color of Official Right Real Estate Developer) 5. From at least in or about 2010, up to and including in or about April 2015, in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, DEANSKELOS and ADAM SKELOS, the defendants, willfully and knowingly, would and did obstruct, delay, and affect commerce and the movement of articles and commodities in commerce by extortion as that term is defined in Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951, to wit, DEAN SKELOS, aided and abetted by ADAM SKELOS, used his official position to cause a real estate developer with business before New York State to make and direct payments to ADAM SKELOS. (Title 18, United States Code, Sections 195i and 2.) COUNT FOUR (Extortion Under Color of Official Right The Environmental Technology Company) 6. From at least in or about 2010, up to and including in or about?April 201.5, in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, DEAN SKELOS and ADAM SKELOS, the defendants, willfully and knowingly, would and did.obstruct, delay, and affect commerce and the movement of articles and commodities in commerce by extortion as that term is defined in Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951, to wit, DEAN SKELOS, aided and abetted by ADAM SKELOS, used his official position.to cause an environmental technology company'with.business before New York State to make payments to ADAM SKELOS. (Title 18, United States Code, Sections l951 and 2.) COUNT FIVE (Solicitation of Bribes and Gratuities Real Estate Developer) 7. From at least in or about 2010, up to and including in or about April 2015, in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, DEAN SKELOS, the defendant, being an agent of a State and local government, to wit, a Member of the New York State Senate, and defendant ADAM SKELOS, as an aider and abetter of DEAN SKELOS, corruptly solicited and demanded for the benefit of a person, and accepted and agreed to accept, a thing of value from a person, intending to be influenced and rewarded in connection with a business transaction, and series of transactions of such government and agency involving a thing of value of $5,000 and.more, while such.government and agency was in receipt of, in any one year period, benefits in excess of $10 000 under a Federal program involving a grant, contract, subsidy, loan, guarantee, insurance, and other form of federal assistance, to wit, DEAN SKELOS, in his capacity as a Member of the New York State Senate, and ADAM SKELOS, as an aider and abetter, solicited and accepted cash and things of value from a real estate developer with business before New York State intending for DEAN SKELOS to be influenced and rewarded. (Title 18, United States Code, Sections 666(a)(1)(B) and 2.) COUNT SIX Company) 8. From at least in or about 2010, up to and including in or about April 2015 in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, DEAN SKELOS, the defendant, being an agent of a State and local government, to wit, a Member of the New York State Senate, and defendant ADAM SKELOS, as an aider and abetter of DEAN SKELOS, corruptly solicited and demanded for the benefit of a person, and accepted and agreed to accept, a thing of value from a person, intending to be influenced and rewarded in connection with a business transaction, and series of transactions of such government and agency involving a thing of value of $5,000 and.more, while such.government and agency was in receipt of, in any one year period, benefits in excess of $10 000 under a Federal program involving a grant, contract, subsidy, loan, guarantee, insurance, and other form of federal assistance, to wit, DEAN SKELOS, in his capacity as a Member of the New York State Senate, and ADAM SKELOS, as an aider and abetter, solicited and accepted cash and things of value from an environmental technology company with business before New York State intending for DEAN SKELOS to be influenced and rewarded. (Title 18, United States Code, Sections 666(a)(1)(B) and 2.) The bases for deponent? knowledge and for the foregoing charges are, in part, as follows: 9 . I am a Special Agent with the FBI, and I have been personally involved in the investigation.of this matter, which.has been.handled jointly by Special Agents of the FBI and Criminal InVestigators in Office for the Southern District.of New York I have been.employed.by the FBI for approximately 10 years and both I and other members of the investigative team have experience in fraud and political corruption investigations and techniques associated with such investigations, including wire interceptions, financial analysis, and working with informants. 10. This affidavit is based in.part upon.my own observations, my conversations with other law enforcement agents and others, my examination of documents and reports by others, my review of recordings of meetings and calls, my interviews of witnesses, and my training and experience. Because this affidavit is being submitted for the limited purpose of establishing probable cause, it does not include all the facts that I have learned during the course of the investigation. Where the contents of documents and the actions, statements and conversations of(3thers are reported herein, they are reported in substance and in part, except where specifically indicated otherwise. OVERVIEW 11. This case involves a scheme by defendant DEAN SKELOS, the New York State Senate Majority Leader, and his son, defendant ADAM SKELOS to monetize DEAN SKELOS official position by extorting money from.others for ADAMISKELOS, with.the expectation.that such payments would influence the official actions of DEAN SKELOS. As part of this scheme, DEAN SKELOS and ADAM SKELOS pressured an individual cooperating with the Government identified.herein as who is a senior executive of a major real estate development firm to arrange for ADAM SKELOS to be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in order to influence official actions by DEAN SKELOS. Developer?l arranged these payments to ADAM SKELOS in response to a series of demands made to Developer?1 by DEAN SKELOS, including during time periods when Developer~1 was lobbying DEAN and during specific meetings when.DEAN SKELOS discussed.his efforts to secure legislation favorable to Developer?1. 12. Beginning in or about late 2010, Developer?l arranged for defendant ADAM SKELOS to receive a one?time $20,000 payment disguised as a commission for title work that ADAM SKELOS did not perform, and continuing payments of $4,000 per month from an environmental technOlogy company (the ?Environmental Technology Company") seeking to win government~funded contracts in New York State. In 2013, when Nassau County was considering awarding the Environmental Technology Company a multiwmillion?dollar contract, the defendants threatened to block the contract unless payments to ADAM SKELOS were substantially increased. In response to the threat, the Environmental Technology Company agreed to increase ADAM SKELOS payments to $10,000 per month.and.received.the assurance that if the Environmental Technology Company ?took care? of ADAM SKELOS, DEAN SKELOS would ?take care? of the Environmental Technology Company. 5 The Environmental Technology Company has paid a total of at least $198,000 to ADAM SKELOS through February 2015. 13. In obtaining these and other financial benefits, DEAN SKELOS and ADAM SKELOS, the defendants, made explicit and implicit representations that DEAN SKELOS would use his official position.on behalf of the entities paying his son. At times, in.order to ensure that the payments to ADAM SKELOS would continue, DEAN SKELOS took official actions to benefit Developer?1 and the Environmental Technology Company, including but not limited to: a . DEAN SKELOS promoted and voted for various real estate legislation sought by and favorable to Developer~l, including legislation concerning rent regulation.and.property tax abatements, to DevelOper~l. b. DEAN SKELOS used.his official position.to facilitate the approval by Nassau County of a $12 million contract with the Environmental Technology Company, causing the Company to more than double its payment to ADAM SKELOS. c. pressured Nassau.County'officials to obtain additional funding so that work on the contract could progress and (ii) to make payments to the Environmental Technology Company so that the Company would continue making payments to ADAM SKELOS. d. DEAN SKELOS assisted the Environmental Technology Company in its (ultimately unsuccessful) attempt to secure the issuance of hydrofracking regulations by the New York State Department of Health sought by the Environmental Technology Company. e. DEAN SKELOS attempted.to secure changes to New York State? 3 2015?2016 budget to include additional funding for stormwater infrastructure projects and.changes to New York State LaW'that would have permitted ?design~build? contracts, both of which would have benefitted the Environmental Technology Company. 14. The defendants DEAN SKELOS and ADAM SKELOS used various methods to conceal their illegal scheme, including but not limited to the following: a. After DEAN SKELOS made an urgent request that. Developer?l give ADAM SKELOS a title insurance commission, and 6 ADAM SKELOS disguised a $20 000 payment to ADAM SKELOS both to falsely make it appear that the payment was in.return.for work by ADAM SKELOS and so that it could not be traced back to Developer?1. b. ADAM SKELOS did not register as a lobbyist as required under New York State law even though he lobbied New York State and county officials, including his father, on behalf of the Environmental Technology Company. c. When discussing the scheme, DEAN SKELOS and ADAM SKELOS used coded language and, in the case of ADAM used a self?described ?burner? phone, in an attempt to limit possible electronic surveillance by law enforcement. d. DEAN SKELOS and ADAM SKELOS increased their acts of concealment, including by changing their behavior and.the manner in which they communicated, following the federal criminal charges brought against the Speaker of the New York.Assembly on January 22, 2015 and the subsequent public focus on corruption investigations. RELEVANT INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES DEAN SKELOS 15. Since his election in 1984, DEAN SKELOS, the defendant, has represented a portion of Nassau County as a Member of the New York State Senate (the ?Senate?), which, along with the Assembly, constitutes the New York State Legislature (the ?Legislature"). Additionally, DEAN SKELOS has been Majority Leader and/or Co?Maj ority Coalition Leader of the Senate since at least in or about January 2011. On January 7, 2015, DEAN SKELOS was elected Majority Leader of the Senate for the 2015-2016 session. I know from publicly, available federal and New York State government documents, public reports, and my training and experience that, in each year relevant to this Complaint, the governments of New York State and Nassau County received funds from the federal government in excess of $10,000 per year. 16. I know from witness interviews and my review of publicly available sources that, pursuant.to the Rules of the Senate and