By Hunter Walker 2/22/12 2:52pm

backstory

Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. and his father, Frank, together in 2005. (Photo: NYS Assembly)

My Weekend With The Boylands

During the course of reporting this week’s cover story on William Boyland Jr., I spent over a month attempting to speak to the allegedly corrupt Assemblyman including sending emails, Facebook messages, multiple calls to his work number and personal cell phone and visits to his office in Albany, his district office in Brownsville and his home in Bedford Stuyvesant. I finally met Mr. Boyland last Saturday night in the lobby of the Hotel Albany where he was on hand for the annual New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus association weekend.

Upon seeing Mr. Boyland, who was handing his young son money to spend in the hotel gift shop, I immediately walked over, whipped out my audio recorder and introduced myself.

“I know who you are, you stopped by my house,” Assemblyman Boyland responded.

Mr. Boyland declined to discuss the pair of corruption trials against him, the bullets fired at his car last August, or the, at last count, 41 lawsuits filed against him by the State Board of Elections for his failure to file required campaign finance disclosures.

“You have a card or something? I’m not going to do any comment now. I’ll reach out when you get home OK?”

Even though I already left a card for Mr. Boyland on my visit to his house, I gave him another one. He never called.

Mr. Boyland didn’t have much to say to me, but his father, William Boyland Sr., who’s better known as Frank, was far more forthcoming. Read More

By Hunter Walker 2/22/12 6:30am

William's World

The last of a legacy. (Dale Stephanos)

Boylands Go Bust in Brooklyn: Is William Jr. the Last of the ‘Kennedys of Brownsville’?

The past 12 months have not been good for assemblyman William Boyland Jr. In March, he was arrested on federal corruption charges. In July, it was reported he was playing computer games when he should have been in session in Albany. In August, his GMC Yukon was shot at as he drove through his neighborhood of Brownsville—though this last event seems to have been random.

There was moment of hope when Mr. Boyland was acquitted in November. But no sooner had he settled back into life as a free man—nearly three weeks later—than FBI agents arrived at his home, and he was arrested on a second set of corruption charges. According to the indictment, the bureau had him on tape, soliciting bribes.

(He declined to be interviewed.)

Should he be convicted of the charges against him, Mr. Boyland will be the last of a nearly-40-year-long Brooklyn political dynasty. Read More