Corruption news for New York, from the New York Times:

The chief of staff to William F. Boyland Jr., an assemblyman arrested this week on charges of soliciting and accepting thousands of dollars in bribes from undercover federal agents posing as eager businessmen, was arrested on Thursday in connection with the alleged scheme.

Ry-Ann Hermon, 33, Mr. Boyland’s chief of staff since 2008, was charged in Federal District Court in Brooklyn with accepting bribes from the same federal agents who were dealing with Mr. Boyland (pictured, right), according to prosecutors. And according to the complaint, some of Ms. Hermon’s overtures were remarkably transparent.

Read the rest of the story at the New York Times.

Corruption news for New Jersey, from The Trentonian:

The longtime commander of New Jersey's National Guard is resigning after being caught having a physical relationship with a woman who works for him, government officials told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Maj. Gen. Glenn Rieth, a prominent member of Republican Gov. Chris Christie's Cabinet and a childhood friend, will retire within weeks, according to government officials familiar with the matter.

The officials said Reith, who is married, and the aide were caught in his office last month touching each other.

Read the rest of the story at the The Trentonian.

Corruption news for Kentucky, from the Louisville-Courier Journal:

Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer acknowledged Thursday that two weeks after hiring his girlfriend for a $5,000-a-month job he also hired one of her friends for a $24,000-a-year position at a commodity distribution center in Louisville.Farmer said he hired the friend, Patti Apperson, only after his personnel and budget office vetted her and told him that she was qualified for the job.

According to Apperson’s personnel file, she was hired on Nov. 16, eight days after the general election, in which Farmer was the losing candidate for lieutenant governor and two days before The Courier-Journal reported that Farmer, who is going through a divorce, had hired his girlfriend, Stephanie Sandmann.

Read the rest of the story at the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Corruption news for Wisconsin, from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Gov. Scott Walker's administration has created a new hotline for people to report public assistance fraud. The calls will go to the Office of the Inspector General within the Department of Health Services. The number is (877) 865-3432.

Walker said in a statement Thursday that establishing the hotline will serve as a tool to ensure that people receive the help they need while preventing waste, fraud and abuse.

Read the rest of the story at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Corruption news for Pennsylvania, from the Scranton Times-Tribune:

The state's fiscal watchdog has warned Pennsylvania State University not to spend taxpayer dollars on the legal defense of campus officials facing charges related to the child sexual abuse scandal rocking the campus.

Auditor General Jack Wagner (pictured, right) said he notified the university that he doesn't want to see any of the millions of dollars of state aid going annually to the state-related institution used to pay anyone's legal bills. Former Penn State Senior Vice President Gary Shultz and former athletic director Tim Curley have been charged with perjury before a state grand jury and failing to report child sex abuse.

Read the rest of the story at the Scranton Times-Tribune.

Corruption news for Illinois, from WBEZ:

Attorney's for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich say he's a "tragic figure" who should receive a light sentence for his corruption convictions. But prosectuors want a federal judge to give Blagojevich 15 to 20 years in prison when he's sentenced next week.

Both sides outlined their arguments in court filings Wednesday. Blagojevich is set to be sentenced Dec. 6. Prosecutors say a heavy sentence is required because former Gov. George Ryan's 6 1/2- year sentence clearly wasn't long enough to deter Blagojevich and others from engaging in public corruption.

Read the rest of the story at WBEZ.

Corruption news for New Mexico, from the Wall Street Journal:

A federal grand jury is investigating former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson over possible campaign-finance violations stemming from his 2008 presidential run, including allegations that he arranged for supporters to pay off a woman who planned to say they had engaged in an extramarital affair, according to people familiar with the inquiry.

The most explosive matter under investigation involves allegations by a former member of Mr. Richardson's inner circle. That individual said Mr. Richardson's political allies gave $250,000 to placate a woman who was considering suing the governor in 2007, exposing their alleged extramarital affair, according to people familiar with the federal probe. They said the woman was a state employee at the time that she allegedly became romantically involved with Mr. Richardson around 2004.

Read the rest of the story at the Wall Street Journal.

Corruption news for Louisiana, from The Advocate:

Attorneys for the Governor’s Office and two other state agencies urged a judge Monday to throw out former Alcohol and Tobacco Control Commissioner Murphy Painter’s wrongful-termination and defamation claims.

The attorneys argued Painter’s public service came to an end in the summer of 2010 — and that he was the focus of a scathing report by the state Office of Inspector General earlier this year — because of his own misdeeds.

Read the rest of the story at The Advocate.

Corruption news for Nebraska, from the Lincoln Journal Star:

Employees of the agency that runs the state lottery received free meals, movie tickets and other perks from companies that were awarded contracts to operate its online games and scratch tickets, a state audit found.

Auditors determined that nothing illegal occurred at the state lottery, which is operated by the Nebraska Department of Revenue, but they raised concerns about "excessive socializing" between vendors and Revenue Department officials who award lottery contracts.

Corruption news for South Carolina, from the Free Times:

[John Rainey] is trying to expose [Nikki] Haley, a fellow Republican, for the betterment of the Grand Old Party, he declares, not to weaken it. Besides, he says, before he’s a Republican he is a South Carolinian and an American.

“This is my civic duty,” he said on a warm fall day in October at the farm. “To call out people who I don’t believe represent South Carolina in a manner in which we want to be known and remembered.”

Read the rest of the story at the Free Times.