What to Know
- An aide and one-time chief of staff to New York State Assembly Assistant Speaker Felix Ortiz has been arrested on a wire fraud charge
- Authorities say Maruf "Mitu" Alam diverted $80,000 over six years from campaign funds into his personal accounts
- Ortiz, a Democrat, said in a statement that he had just learned of the arrest and could not yet comment.
An aide and one-time chief of staff to New York State Assembly Assistant Speaker Felix Ortiz has been arrested on a wire fraud charge.
Authorities say Maruf "Mitu" Alam diverted $80,000 over six years from campaign funds into his personal accounts.
Alam, of Brooklyn, was arrested Thursday on a criminal complaint in Brooklyn federal court.
A lawyer for Alam did not respond to a request for comment.
Ortiz, a Democrat, said in a statement that he had just learned of the arrest and could not yet comment.
According to the criminal complaint, Alam diverted the money from campaign committee accounts set up to support Ortiz.
Local
The complaint said FBI agents who interviewed Ortiz in March were told that Alam acted as the "treasurer" for two campaign accounts.
