ALBANY — City correction officers saw a flurry of long-stalled pension sweeteners and other benefits sail through the state Senate soon after signing a fat deal with Joseph Bruno’s investment firm, federal prosecutors revealed yesterday at the former majority leader’s corruption trial.
The revelations came during testimony by longtime Correction Officers Benevolent Association President Norman Seabrook, whose union racked up a staggering series of legislative victories during the Republican’s reign.
His union’s February 2001 newsletter declared 2000 “the most productive legislative period in COBA history.”
The newsletter was among two dozen documents displayed by Assistant US Attorney William Pericak in an attempt to show how the powerful Senate boss traded political favors for pension investments by labor unions.
Bruno’s trial on eight counts of felony fraud began Monday.
The legislative victories followed COBA’s December 1998 decision to invest as much as $30 million from its annuity fund with Wright Investors Services, which paid Bruno $1.2 million for introducing the firm to union bigs.
