Cuomo's ethics overhaul plan gets boost

For a governor demanding an ethics overhaul, charges against state Sen. Carl Kruger and Assemb. William Boyland Jr., both Brooklyn Democrats, couldn't come at a better time. U.S. officials said in a criminal complaint last week that the former Senate finance committee chairman received "a stream of bribes totaling at least $1 million" since 2006. Boyland is accused of taking pay for a "no-show" job.

Weeks ago, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said he wanted the State Legislature to do two things early in the session: Pass his budget and enact tougher ethics laws. Negotiations on ethics are under way, focusing on disclosure of a lawmaker's outside business clients. The governor has threatened to create a commission with subpoena power to investigate legislators if they don't pass a bill. The new federal case boosts Cuomo's leverage exponentially. -- Yancey Roy in Albany