Yesterday, the former President of the New York State Senate, Joseph Bruno, was sentenced to two years in federal prison following a conviction for corruption-related charges:

A federal judge sentenced former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno to two years in prison on Thursday after admonishing the rags-to-riches political leader for failing to apologize for, or even acknowledge, his crimes.

"I know you don't believe you did anything wrong," U.S. District Judge Gary L. Sharpe told Bruno. "You're not sorry because you don't believe you did anything wrong. ... (But) you trampled on the integrity of the state Legislature."

The Syracuse Post-Standard sees the Bruno case as more evidence of why New York needs to pass stricter legislation:

The average citizen might lament that a law is needed to require public servants to do their jobs without engaging in corruption — except perhaps in New York, where public corruption investigations and convictions are all too common.

To address that problem, the Public Corruption Prevention and Enforcement Act was introduced this week in the Senate by Sen. Eric Schneiderman, D-Manhattan, Sen. David Valesky, D-Oneida, and 12 other co-sponsors, and in the Assembly by Micah Kellner, D-Manhattan. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus W. Vance Jr. helped draft the proposal, which would give the attorney general and district attorneys powerful new tools. “This legislation will enable local prosecutors to regain their traditional role in rooting out and prosecuting public corruption, and bring honor back to public service,” Vance declared.

The law imposes a duty on all public servants — elected, appointed or hired, in Albany and across the state — to provide honest services to their constituents. It creates new categories of felony offenses, expanding the definition of “corrupt schemes” from actions that involve public property, services or resources to efforts to corrupt the operation of government itself. It ensures that bribery offers, as well as completed bribes, are treated as crimes. It adopts an array of conflict-of-interest bans on legislators’ “member item” grants, and increases public disclosure of outside income and gifts received by lawmakers.

If this law were already in place, advocates say, the state attorney general or a district attorney could have prosecuted Joe Bruno, rather than depending on federal intervention. “It is unfortunate that this legislation is necessary,” Valesky said of the measure. “But New York state government needs to restore the public trust.”

Yesterday, Gov. David A. Paterson’s (D-NY) press secretary, announced her resignation. In doing so, Marissa Shorenstein, became the 5th senior-level state official to step down amid the scandal that has cast a cloud over the Paterson administration.

The scandal surrounds what actions Gov. Paterson may have taken to interfere with the legal process in a domestic violence incident involving one of his top aides.

The statement that Shorenstein issued about her resignation was one of those smile-like-you-mean-it statements that are typical in these situations:

"It has been a privilege to serve New York State for the past two years, and I thank the governor for giving me the opportunity to do so.”

I guess social grace precludes someone like Shorenstein from saying, "I was determined not to be the last one to jump overboard before the ship sank."

New York Gov. David Paterson's recent announcement that he would not seek re-election followed allegations that the governor's office may have tried to interfere with a domestic violence case. Yet New York isn't the only state where ethics is making the news.

* In North Carolina, the state commission that regulates alcoholic beverage sales may draft a voluntary ethics code in the wake of stories that raised ethics concerns. According to one newspaper, Gov. Beverly Perdue is pushing the state commission to ban gifts that "might be perceived as swaying booze buying decisions."

* In Utah, legislative leaders have pushed their own ethics bills in hopes of heading off the momentum for ballot initiatives that citizens groups are proposing as ethics reform. In this op-ed column, a business leader cites the state House Majority Leader's recent statement dissing citizen-led reform as proof why an initiative is needed: "Could there be a more resounding endorsement for putting this initiative on the ballot and letting the people of Utah weigh in on this important matter?"

* In Connecticut, a former state prosecutor has agreed to pay a $2,000 fine to settle a complaint brought by the state's ethics office. The state panel stated that L. Mark Hurley violated ethics rules by "using his access to funds paid by . . . defendants for his own personal use."

* In Florida, a Tea Party activist has filed an ethics complaint against a state legislator concerning travel expenses and campaign finance rules.

This editorial in today's New York Times urges Gov. David Paterson to resign unless he can provide a satisfactory explanation for his role in a legal case involving one of his top aides.

The Times writes:

It now seems clear that, at the very least, [Gov. Paterson] tried to arrange a ham-handed cover-up to avert a scandal involving a top aide. There are also disturbing signs that he or other state officials may have unlawfully intervened to protect the aide from accusations of domestic violence.

... If he can show that he did no wrong, he must do so fully and immediately. If not, he should resign.

The tale is sordid. The governor’s aide, David Johnson, is accused by his former girlfriend, Sherr-una Booker, of attacking her last Halloween. Ms. Booker obtained two orders of protection against him. In her first court appearance, she said that the State Police had tried to stop her from going to court. The judge noted bruises on her arms.

The possibility of a Paterson resignation looms exactly two years to the month after Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned after revelations that he had been a client of a prostitution ring.

Within the next few hours, New York Gov. David Paterson is expected to announce he will drop his bid for re-election. The announcement would come on the heels of news reports that Gov. Paterson allegedly telephoned a woman who had accused one of the governor's top aides of a violent assault. According to the New York Times:

Many details of the governor’s role in this episode are unclear, but the accounts presented in court and police records and interviews with the woman’s lawyer and others portray a brutal encounter, a frightened woman and an effort to make a potential political embarrassment go away.

The case involved David W. Johnson, 37, who had risen from working as Mr. Paterson’s driver and scheduler to serving in the most senior ranks of the administration, but who also had a history of altercations with women.

A spokesman for the governor denied that Paterson initiated the phone conversation with the woman. Court records show the woman was twice given a temporary order of protection against Johnson.

Bernard Kerik, the ex-New York City police commissioner who was nominated in 2004 to head the nation's Department of Homeland Security, received his sentence yesterday: four years in prison for acts of corruption.

According to the New York Times:

Mr. Kerik pleaded guilty to two counts of tax fraud, one count of making a false statement on a loan application and five counts of making false statements to the federal government while being vetted for senior posts. Judge (Stephen) Robinson ordered him to pay restitution of $187,931 to the Internal Revenue Service.

... During the hearing, Judge Robinson said he admired much about Mr. Kerik, particularly his leadership in the 9/11 aftermath. But, he said, "the fact that Mr. Kerik would use that event for personal gain and aggrandizement is a dark place in the soul for me."

In this editorial, the New York Daily News didn't mince words:

[Kerik] had chewed up and spat out the trust the public placed in him, then thought he could saunter into history, his name adorning a city jail. Not anymore.

Just about everyone who visits New York City for the first time has the same observation: from meals to museums, everything tends to be expensive. But who knew a bagel sandwich and a diet soda cost $177?

This editorial in yesterday's New York Times reports on Larry Seabrook, a city councilman in the Bronx who sought a $177 reimbursement from public funds for that meal. Seabrook has been indicted on 13 counts of corruption.

Other elected officials in New York are being investigated -- either by the state's attorney general or federal officials -- for misappropriating public funds. The lesson, writes the Times, is that serious reform is needed:

... it is just too hazardous to give politicians their own pots of money, especially in difficult economic times. It is time to end these slush funds in the city and in Albany. The money should go where it’s most needed, not where it’s most politically fruitful.

On Sunday afternoon, the news media and web were abuzz with rumors that the New York Times was about to expose a major scandal that would force Gov. David Paterson (D-NY) to announce his resignation. But such article has appeared in the Times or any other publication. Last night on CNN's "Larry King Live," the governor spoke about the rumors:

"I won't kid you. I think I have thought about who might be after me, but for me to speculate about it would be as wrong as the speculations that were made about me.

... there was no such conversation about resigning, because none of this is true. It's a flat-out lie."

According to The Hill, the Times had been working on a lengthy article on Gov. Paterson, but:

The Times stayed mum on its contents, causing a number of reporters to speculate the governor might be in trouble for personal, romantic indiscretions, or that he might be under federal investigation. But it now seems the Times was merely readying a long profile on the governor's life, not a piece that would in any way implicate him in serious wrongdoing.

The package of ethics reform that the state legislature in New York has drafted are a good start, but this editorial in today's New York Times complains that:

... the plan is not the full-fledged housecleaning necessary for a place that has gone too long without the slightest dusting of reform.

And the Times editorial also criticizes the package for not adequately addressing the issue of lawmakers' outside income:

The (current) proposal would mandate more disclosure, including requirements that lawmakers list income ranges to $1 million or more. That is a clear improvement, but there is a big hole: exemptions for the Legislature’s lawyers, including Mr. Silver, who would not be required to list clients. That is wrong. A lawmaker’s first obligation is to the public, not the clients.

Let's hope other newspapers and commentators join the Times in urging legislators to set a high bar for ethics reform.

Today's New York Times reviews Gov. David Paterson's State of the State address in this editorial, describing New York as "saddled with a Legislature that is incompetent in its governance and corrupt in its behavior."

The newspaper applauds Gov. Paterson for urging legislators to "attack economics and ethics at the same time." The governor's ethics reform proposals, writes The Times, will help to "tackle the pay-to-play culture" in New York. And the editorial also praises Paterson's call for "a truly independent ethics commission to oversee all branches of the government."

Do these ethics reforms have a real chance of passing the state legislature? Stay tuned.