Brooklyn official faces bribery charges

A Brooklyn assemblyman acquitted on corruption charges just two weeks ago in federal court in Manhattan was rearrested Tuesday and charged in a new indictment with soliciting $250,000 in bribes.

Assemb. William Boyland was accused of offering political favors in return for money from two undercover FBI agents and an informant posing as businessmen in three different schemes, saying in one instance that he needed cash to "solidify some lawyers" after his indictment in the Manhattan case.

Among the favors, he took $7,400 to help a carnival business secure sites and permits in his district, took $7,000 after he was charged in Manhattan to help with a real estate project, and solicited $250,000 for his help in a hospital deal, the indictment said.

Boyland was released after pleading not guilty Tuesday in Brooklyn federal court, and declined to comment on the new charges. He was acquitted Nov. 10 of conspiring to take bribes from a health-care company.

The new case alleges that, after he was indicted in Manhattan, Boyland told the undercover FBI agents that he didn't want to talk to them on the phone any more for security reasons. The agents secretly tape-recorded the in-person meeting.

"The charges announced today are all the more astonishing in light of the fact that Boyland allegedly committed much of the criminal conduct after he had already been charged in another bribery case," said Janice Fedarcyk, head of the New York FBI office.

Boyland faces up to 30 years in prison.