State Senate Republicans were locked behind closed doors late Monday pondering whether to oust Dean Skelos — charged with corruption and bribery — as their legislative leader.
Why they saw any need for debate is beyond us.
Because in a town reeking with the stench of unbridled corruption, Skelos appears to have set some sort of new record in shamelessly selling his public office.
That, at least, is the clear implication of the six-count criminal complaint unveiled against the Long Island Republican and his son, Adam. The two are charged with a five-year scheme to “monetize” his office.
Skelos, recall, notably refused to call on Sheldon Silver to quit as Assembly speaker after he was indicted. Now we know why.
US Attorney Preet Bharara, taking aim at yet another Albany kingpin, charged Skelos with extorting payments from companies to his son in return for legislative favors.
Adam Skelos, Bharara charged, was wholly dependent on his father, becoming a consultant for an environmental company even while admitting (according to wiretaps) that he “literally knew nothing about water or, you know, any of that stuff.”
So brazen was their alleged plotting, according to the charges, that they even discussed payoffs by phone during the wake for slain NYPD Det. Wenjian Liu.
Then, after Silver’s indictment, father and son allegedly tried desperately to cover their tracks — using untraceable “burner” phones and bemoaning how “frustrating” it was that Bharara might be listening in on every conversation.
Both Dean and Adam Skelos swear they’ll be vindicated. A jury of their peers will tell.
But if a fraction of Bharara’s charges hold up, then the US attorney had it right Monday: Even after all the elected officials indicted and convicted in recent years, corruption remains “a deep-seated problem” in both chambers of the Legislature and on both sides of the political aisle.
And when it comes to shrugging at corruption, bipartisanship reigns supreme in Albany.
The capital is filthy enough that changing players at the top won’t itself make a difference — but it’s the right place to start.