All Over Albany

Malcolm Smith arrested for alleged bribery plot, passengers say allegedly drunk cab driver wouldn't stop, $60k to repair West Capitol Park lawn

State Senator Malcolm Smith was arrested by the feds Tuesday morning as part of an alleged plot to bribe Republican officials to let him run as a Republican for mayor of New York City. A handful of other officials have been accused, including Republican NYC councilman Daniel Halloran. From the press release from federal prosecutor Preet Baharara:

The complaint describes an unappetizing smorgasbord of graft and greed involving six officials who together built a corridor of corruption stretching from Queens and the Bronx to Rockland County and all the way up to Albany itself. As alleged, Senator Malcolm Smith tried to bribe his way to a shot at Gracie Mansion - Smith drew up the game plan and Councilman Halloran essentially quarterbacked that drive by finding party chairmen who were wide open to receiving bribes.

The Democratic state Senator from Queens is part of the Independent Democratic Conference that formed a majority coalition with Republicans. He also formerly headed up the state Senate from 2006-2009 while Democrats controlled the chamber. [NYT] [NYDN] [State of Politics] [US Attorney] [TU CapCon]

Among the names floated as a potential Republican challenger to Andrew Cuomo for governor in 2014: Chris Gibson. [Post-Star]

Saratoga Springs police say they don't know if three attacks on women on the street -- two recently, the third in September -- are related. SSPD says it's investigating and asking the crime lab if there's similarity in evidence from the three attacks. The woman assaulted and robbed over the weekend has been released from the hospital. [TU] [News10] [News10]

The caretaker of the hall that hosted party that prompted the parade of unruliness through north Troy Saturday night says the event was "a nightmare." [Troy Record]

State Police have identified the man who died in a Wilton house fire over the weekend. NYSP say Emilio J. Jordan, Jr. was confined to a wheel chair because of a medical condition -- the fire was discovered by a home health aide. The Wilton Fire Department says the fire was almost out by the time it arrived. [NYSP] [Saratogian]

Troy police say a pedestrian was hit by a car while crossing Burdett Ave Monday evening (map). The drive was not ticketed. [TU] [News10]

Mark Fusco -- the Rensselaer police officer accused of driving drunk when his car crashed in East Greenbush, killing a passenger -- has been arraigned on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, manslaughter and aggravated driving while intoxicated. "Officials familiar with the investigation" have told the TU Fusco's BAC was .20 -- the legal limit is .08. [YNN] [TU]

Ballston Spa police say they stopped a taxi driver who was driving drunk early Saturday. One of the cab's passengers says she and her friends noticed the driver was drunk and asked him to stop, but he wouldn't -- so they called the taxi's dispatcher. [Saratogian] [YNN]

Troy police say they've arrested a man they suspect robbed two banks last week. [Troy Record]

Albany police say they made three arrests over the weekend that involved illegal handguns. [TU]

A Niskayuna man is accused of biting the finger of a Schenectady police officer as he tried to pull bags of drugs from the man's mouth. [Daily Gazette]

Police in Schenectady County say they're investigating three purse thefts from churches -- during services -- over the Easter holiday. [WNYT]

Albany police say a man tried -- unsuccessfully -- to steal a purse from a 92-year-old woman Sunday afternoon near UAlbany's downtown campus (map). Says APD spokesman Steve Smith: "You have to give this woman some credit. She held onto her purse and the injuries she has are very minor." [TU] [YNN]

The state Office of General Services says it will spend $60,000 to repair the lawns in West Capitol Park after damage during the rally to repeal the NY SAFE Act in West Capitol Park in February. (It was wet and there were thousands of people -- the lawns were mud by the time the rally was over.) [TU]

National Grid beat its target for outages in upstate New York last year, with just under 1 per customer. [TU]

Plan floated in Schenectady: for the city to get a $40 cut of the fee when a city employee -- such as a police officer -- calls for a vehicle to be towed. [Daily Gazette]

Ballston Spa is looking at amending its zoning downtown to only allow retail or doctors' offices on the first floor of buildings. [Saratogian]

The Rudnick's store in downtown Schenectady is closing after 72 years (map). The owner is critical of the direction of development downtown, arguing Metroplex hasn't put enough emphasis on retail. [TU] [Daily Gazette]

Opening Day
Red Sox over the Yankees 8-2 [ESPN]
Mets beat the Padres 11-2 [ESPN]