Former New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin says he will never forget the moment his legal nightmare finally came to an end.

After nearly three years, federal prosecutors dropped the corruption and bribery case against him.

“I just started crying,” Benjamin told NY1. “It was such an emotion.”

Before his 2022 indictment, Benjamin was considered a rising star in New York politics. In 2017, the Harlem native became a State Senator, and four years later, Gov. Kathy Hochul named Benjamin as her Lieutenant Governor.

Less than a year into the job, Benjamin was arrested. Federal prosecutors claimed Benjamin steered a $50,000 state grant to a Harlem nonprofit in exchange for illegal campaign contributions.

During his interview with interview with NY1, Benjamin responded to the charges saying “it’s just false, I gave the $50,000 to the to the nonprofit because it was a great nonprofit in the community.”

After resigning from office, Benjamin focused on fighting his case. Benjamin’s bribery charges were thrown out by a federal judge, but later reinstated. The main witness for the prosecution died nearly a year ago.

Now, in a recent letter to the court, federal prosecutors said after reviewing the remaining evidence they “can no longer prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, the charges in the indictment.”

“I was so grateful to the present leadership at the Southern District of New York, because, honestly, they could have dragged this out,” Benjamin said.