A New York political consultant whose clients included the the New York Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and several large developers was arrested Tuesday on federal corruption charges.
The consultant, Melvin Lowe, now faces numerous fraud and tax violations, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. The nine-count complaint against Lowe alleges that he defrauded the New York Democratic Senate Campaign Committee of more than $100,000 by having a vendor submit a fake printing invoice. Lowe allegedly had the vendor send him $75,000 of the total, while $20,000 went to another political consultant and $5,000 remained with the vendor. According to the complaint, the $20,000 payment to the consultant was made just days after an unnamed state senator promised the consultant that he would receive “a benefit” for previous assistance provided to the senator.
Lowe is also charged, among other things, with income tax violations for allegedly failing to report more than $2 million in income.
According to The New York Times, Lowe was among a list of “outstanding and dedicated colleagues and volunteers” thanked by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in the acknowledgments of his 2003 book, “Crossroads.”
Lowe was due to appear in White Plains federal court on Tuesday.
