Once the most powerful Republican politician in New York state, Bruno is the former State Senate majority leader. The scandal-plagued politician announced his retirement in June 2008.

A Skidmore gad, Bruno served in the Korean War before entering politics on the campaign staff for Governor Nelson Rockefeller. The President of the New York State Association of Young Republicans, Bruno worked as an assistant for Speaker of the Assembly Perry B. Duryea before being elected to the New York State Senate in 1976, where he stayed for decades. During his tenure on the State Senate, he was instrumental in bringing the death penalty back to New York State in the mid-90s, and he stuck around for so long that he was even named president and majority leader in the early aughts. However, when he stepped up his game as acting Lieutenant Governor in 2008, he mysteriously resigned after only a few months on the job. By early 2009 he was indicted on eight counts of corruption, including mail and wire fraud, and after a long series of convictions, acquittals, and appeals, Bruno has faded from the public eye. [Image via AP, with Joe Pesci]