Bruno trial starts today, homicide in Albany, speculation about connections between deaths in Greenfield, toddler found because of lights on his shoes

Joe Bruno's federal trial starts today. The feds are prosecuting him under a "theft of honest services" statute -- the feds allege that Bruno made more than $3 million in consulting fees from groups who benefited from his influence in state government. The case is expected to shine a light on the many of the gaps in New York State's ethics laws. Apparently some people are saying the case is almost like putting the entire culture of the capitol on trial. Bruno has already spent more than $600k on his defense. [TU] [AP/Saratogian] [TU] [NYT] [AP/Troy Record]

Albany police say a man was killed on Saturday in an Eagle Street apartment just down the block from the Governor's Mansion (map). The APD says there are no suspects, yet. [Fox23] [TU]

Troy police say a man has been arrested and charged for the murder on Second Street two weeks ago. They didn't release info about a motive. Police say information from people in the neighborhood helped lead them to the suspect. [TU] [Troy Record] [WNYT]

The Schenectady city council approved a budget that does not include a tax increase. The originally-proposed budget had included an almost six percent increase. [TU][TU]

New York State's texting-while-driving ban took effect yesterday. [Fox23]

Albany police say a man was stabbed on Philip Street early Saturday morning (map). Police say they man said he didn't want to pursue the case. [Fox23] [WNYT]

The APD says a teen was either shot or stabbed -- they couldn't figure out which -- during a large fight that may have started on Henry Johnson Saturday night. [CapNews9]

The APD says gun shots were fired at a car at First and Judson Friday night (map). [TU]

Police say two gas stations along Rt 5 in Colonie and Schenectady were knocked over within 20 minutes of each other last night. [CBS6]

Schenectady police are trying to stem a rash of car break-ins by using tactics such as "bait" cars. [Fox23] [CapNews9]

There's some speculation that the deaths of Jennifer Hammond, whose remains were recently found near Greenfield, and Christina White, whose body was found in the same forested area in 2006, might somehow be linked. [Saratogian] [TU]

The Troy city council and Harry Tutunjian are feuding over proposed cuts to the city budget. [Troy Record]

The owners of a handful of Colonie motels say they will be reducing the number of sex offenders allowed to stay at their properties. [TU]

UAlbany says it will reconsider its plans to build new dorms right next to a residential area on the uptown campus' southeast corner. There's a neighborhood blog tracking opposition to the dorms. [TU]

A two-year-old who had wandered into the woods in Greenfield Friday night was found when someone noticed the blinking red lights on his shoes in their yard. [Saratogian]

Saratogian Springs is getting $1.5 million in federal stimulus money for the Spring Run bike trail. [Post-Star]

The GE Global Research Center in Niskayuna is getting almost $11 million from the feds for geothermal energy research. [Daily Gazette $]

A researcher at UAlbany's East Campus, who chose to have a pre-emptive double mastectomy because she carries a gene mutation that significantly increases the risk of breast cancer, is pushing to start a bank for tissue with the mutation. (The tissue could then be used for research purposes.) [TU]

Comments

I wonder how much of the over $600K that Bruno has spent on his defense came from donations to the "Joe Bruno Defense Fund".

Also, I wonder how many of the shootings in Albany have to do with the OGK arrests

A serial killer in Saratoga County? Scary business. Hopefully it's that guy who's already in prison.

A co-worker of mine is also a crossing guard. Just last Thursday a high-school student almost ran over my friend, three children and their dad. She wasn't looking because she was texting at 40 mph in a residential neighborhood. I know that she's an inexperienced driver, but she could easily have been an adult. I hope they really crack down.

Say Something!

We'd really like you to take part in the conversation here at All Over Albany. But we do have a few rules here. Don't worry, they're easy. The first: be kind. The second: treat everyone else with the same respect you'd like to see in return. Cool? Great, post away. Comments are moderated so it might take a little while for your comment to show up. Thanks for being patient.

What's All Over Albany?

All Over Albany is for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. In other words, it's for you. It's kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who can help you find out what's up. Oh, and our friends call us AOA.

Search

Recently on All Over Albany

Thank you!

When we started AOA a decade ago we had no idea what was going to happen. And it turned out better than we could have... (more)

Let's stay in touch

This all feels like the last day of camp or something. And we're going to miss you all so much. But we'd like to stay... (more)

A few things I think about this place

Working on AOA over the past decade has been a life-changing experience for me and it's shaped the way I think about so many things.... (more)

Albany tightened its rules for shoveling snowy sidewalks last winter -- so how'd that work out?

If winter ever gets its act together and drops more snow on us, there will be sidewalks to shovel. And shortly after that, Albany will... (more)

Tea with Jack McEneny

Last week we were fortunate enough to spend a few minutes with Jack McEneny -- former state Assemblyman, unofficial Albany historian, and genuinely nice guy.... (more)

Recent Comments

My three year old son absolutely loving riding the train around Huck Finn's (Hoffman's) Playland this summer.

Thank you!

...has 27 comments, most recently from Ashley

Let's stay in touch

...has 4 comments, most recently from mg

A look inside 2 Judson Street

...has 3 comments, most recently from Diane (Agans) Boyle

Everything changes: Alicia Lea

...has 2 comments, most recently from Chaz Boyark

A few things I think about this place

...has 13 comments, most recently from Katherine