Statement from FBI Assistant Director George Venizelos on Public Corruption Arrests of New York State Senator Malcolm Smith, New York City Council Member Daniel Halloran, and Others

FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos made the following comments on the arrests of New York State Senator Malcolm Smith, New York City Council Member Daniel Halloran, and others:

Elected officials are called public servants because they are supposed to serve the people. Public service is not supposed to be a shortcut to self-enrichment. People in New York, in Spring Valley—in any city or town in this country—rightly expect their elected or appointed representatives to hold themselves to a higher standard. At the very least, public officials should obey the law. As alleged, these defendants did not obey the law; they broke the law and the public trust. There is a price to pay for that kind of betrayal.