Former State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R-Brunswick) was convicted today of two felonies in federal court. He was convicted specifically of accepting money for no work and failing to report the money as a gift, and for failing to disclose his membership in some sort of thoroughbred horse breeding partnership. Each count features a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.

He was charged with depriving the public of “honest services,” saying he used his immense political clout to land lucrative business deals and failed to disclose his conflicts of interests.

Prosecutors said Bruno pocketed $3.2 million in bogus consulting fees, with much of it coming from two financial firms Wright Investors Service of Connecticut and McGinn, Smith & Co., an Albany investment firm.

Prosecutors said the firms paid Bruno to sign up labor unions and other big-money investors as clients.

The unions Bruno approached and many of the businesses he worked for all had interests before the state, prosecutors charged.

I have no doubt that Bruno’s crimes are but the tip of the corrupt Albany iceberg. One can only hope that his conviction serves as a stepping stone to a more ethical and responsive state government. Because when it comes to Albany, hope is all we’ve got.