FILE - In this Dec. 19, 2006, file photo, New York Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, speaks at a news conference at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. Bruno, who rose from poverty to become one of New York’s most powerful politicians for more than a decade starting in the mid-1990s, died Tuesday night, Oct. 6, 2020. He was 91. AP Photo/Tim Roske, File)
Joseph Bruno
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno has died at age 91. Bruno rose from poverty to become one of New York’s most powerful politicians for more than a decade starting in the mid-1990s. He was a crucial Republican ally of former Gov. George Pataki, helping usher in tax cuts and other conservative legislation. Bruno ended his state Senate career in 2008 after three decades. In 2009, he was convicted of two corruption charges. He had them overturned on appeal and was acquitted at a second trial. He died Tuesday.
