Student Association Senator Michael Cassidy's role in a bribery plot to fix the upcoming SA presidential election led to his resignation at last Wednesday's SA Senate meeting.

Unreleased recordings of the third-year senator, Cassidy, and SA presidential candidate, Giovanni Cox, have surfaced, in which Cassidy attempted to bribe Cox, said several SA members.

In the recordings, which were private conversations between the senators, Cassidy offered to substantially increase funding for the Cox-led student group "Project Inspire," said SA Senate Chair Karl Schlegel.

The former senator promised the program director position to Cox in exchange for his withdrawal from the race and the endorsement of candidate Jonathan Teich, Schlegel said.

Cassidy admitted to letting the best interest of the students "slip his mind."

"I don't really know what my motivation was," Cassidy said, "I got caught up in the moment."

Cox, a residential assistant and senator representing Dutch Quad, contacted Schlegel regarding the first tape on the evening of March 28. The second conversation was recorded on the night of March 31, immediately following a Senate meeting and one day prior to the self-nomination deadline.

Schlegel requested copies of the recordings on April 1 and 2. He was forwarded two WAV audio files - the first over 20 minutes long.

On the first recording, Cox, a member of the Governmental Affairs Committee, tells Cassidy to "make [him] an offer," Schlegel said.

Cassidy, a senior transfer student from Hudson Valley Community College, offered Cox an increase to the $250 standard student group budget in return for Cox's cooperation.

Cox has not confirmed or denied that he accepted the bribe. "I don't want to get into details about it," said Cox, "because the election is still going on and I don't want to turn it into a smear campaign. I want to have a fun clean election, and when it is all done we can air it out."

However, some SA officials do believe he did accept the bribe based on the digital recording.

"I did not explicitly hear him accept on the first recording, but the nature of the second recording would lead me to believe that he accepted," said Schlegel. "The second recording took place following the mandatory candidates meeting when Cassidy asked him 'do we have a deal or not?'"

The SA condemns the acts of this "select minority," Schlegel said, and is avidly cooperating with a "higher authority."

Furthermore, the Senate is actively arranging amendments and finance bylaws to ensure that nothing of this nature ever goes unnoticed again.

"The exploits of those engaged have cast a dark cloud over the Student Association," Vice-Chairperson Joshua Sussman said.

"Today is a disgrace to our workers and our students."

The office of Student Involvement acknowledges the existence of the recordings, but claims that they do not have a copy, said Director of Student Leadership Michael Jaromin.

"I am aware of them but I am not in possession of either. I have heard parts of the contents of the tapes," Jaromin said. He also pointed out that the tapes are the property of the person who made them.

"The Student Association is just that, an association of students, and the Office of Student Involvement supports the democratic process," Jaromin said.

SA President Brian Tregerman rejected suggestions made on flyers distributed, in part by Cox's residents from Dutch Quad, that he may have been linked to the Senate conspiracy.

The flyers titled, "Fraud and bribery-do you know your SA pres.?," contain accusations that Tregerman and Teich "were mentioned on the tape as part of fixing the student elections."

"This is a case of the sins of few affecting the reputations of many," Tregerman said. "Any stab at disenfranchising the student body leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

Cox called to re-open election procedures, which would have allowed for new candidates to announce eligibility. The proposition died on the table, in a 7-13 vote.

Cox, the Brooklyn-born SA senator, is linked with the unsanctioned canvassing campaign in which the allegations are made. Cox has not been removed from the presidential ballot and is still campaigning.

Due to the number of recent infractions, Cox will appear before the Supreme Court on Thursday. If he does win the election and is found guilty of distributing the flyers he will not be allowed to represent the student body.

Teich said he is sick of having his name in the mouth of his competition.

"I have nothing to do with these allegations," he said. "I have nothing to hide and I would like that these tapes be released to the student body."

A rededication to ethics and responsibility in the form of increased fiscal scrutiny and the formation of an ethics committee are the steps being taken to ensure that this does not become "politics as usual," Schlegel said.

"I truly would like us to move on together, help a peer in a time of need, and not allow this to happen again," wrote Cox in a press release.