New York City’s Lieutenant Governor Brian A. Benjamin has resigned from office after an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) brought forward charges bordering on campaign fraud in connection to a past campaign. 

Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday that Mr Benjamin was stepping down immediately “while the legal process plays out.”

Ms Hochul will now decide who will fill the lieutenant governor vacancy.

“It is clear to both of us that he cannot continue to serve as lieutenant governor,” Ms Hochul said in a statement on Tuesday evening. “New Yorkers deserve absolute confidence in their government, and I will continue working every day to deliver for them.”

Mr Benjamin was arrested on Tuesday morning and pleaded not guilty to the five-count charges accusing him of conspiring to direct state funds to a real estate investor in exchange for thousands of dollars for illegal campaign contributions in last year’s race for New York City comptroller.

Mr Benjamin was also accused of offering to help the investor, Gerald Migdol, obtain a zoning variance if he made a $15,000 donation to a separate fund for State Senate Democrats. 

The New York Times reported that Mr Migdol began cooperating with investigators after being arrested in May 2021 on wire fraud and other charges connected to the case.

“This is a simple story of corruption,” Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, before Mr Benjamin’s resignation. “Taxpayer money for campaign contributions. A quid pro quo. This for that. That’s bribery, plain and simple.”