ALBANY - Longtime Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings held a news conference Wednesday morning to talk about why he is not running for re-election.

Jennings got emotional at times as he announced he would not be seeking for a sixth term. He said it's been an honor to serve as Albany’s mayor for 20 years.

Jennings entered the room to a round of applause from City Hall staff. Some of them have been with the mayor the whole time he’s been in office.

“I’ve been thinking about this for weeks and really I’ve had a lot of discussions with my close, personal friends, but most importantly my family,” Jennings said.  “You know, I have had a lot of energy and hours and time and a lot things that I’ve missed and my grandkids growing up. I said now’s the time to take a step back, evaluate where you are and where you’re going, and do what’s best. The city will be fine.”

ALBANY - The former state Senator at the heart of the most recent spate of corruption scandals in New York learned her fate Thursday. Shirley Huntley was sentenced to a year and a day in prison.

The Queens Democrat admitted to embezzling nearly $88,000 from a state-funded non-profit she controlled.

She wore a wire to help the feds secretly record nine people in hopes of receiving leniency. That list includes six state senators and a New York City councilman.

Eight of the nine are under criminal investigation. That includes Senators Malcolm Smith and John Sampson, who have already been charged with crimes.

NewsChannel 13 reached out to the other senators named for reaction, including Sen. Jose Peralta. He says he's confident authorities will find he engaged in no wrongdoing whatsoever.

ALBANY -- State Sen. John Sampson, who led the chamber's majority conference from July 2009 until January 2011, was indicted Monday on federal corruption charges.

Sampson (D - Brooklyn) embezzled more than $400,000 from escrow accounts he controlled as a court-appointed referee in Kings County foreclosure proceedings, the indictment alleged.

"In one of the most extreme examples of political hubris that we have yet seen, the defendant... actually used some of the stolen monies to finance his 2005 campaign for Brooklyn District Attorney," Loretta Lynch, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a press conference.