The cauldron of corruption in Albany continues to bubble.

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Long Island, and his son, Adam, have surrendered to face charges including extortion and soliciting bribes amid a federal investigation into the awarding of a $12 million contract to a company that hired Adam Skelos.

According to court papers, Dean Skelos allegedly used his powerful position as a carrot since at least 2010, taking official actions in return for payments to his son. Authorities said some of the evidence in the case was obtained through court-authorized wiretaps on cellphones used by the father and son. The complaint alleges Dean Skelos monetized his position by extorting money from others, including hundreds of thousands of dollars from a senior executive of a major real estate development firm who was cooperating with the government and that Dean Skelos promoted and voted for real estate legislation sought by the developer, including some pertaining to rent regulation and property tax abatements.

The investigation of Skelos comes three months after former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, was accused of accepting nearly $4 million in payoffs. Silver gave up his leadership post but is keeping his legislative seat as he fights the charges. Earlier this month, Silver’s son-in-law was charged in a $7 million Ponzi scheme. Another top Senate leader, Sen. Thomas Libous, R-Binghamton, has pleaded not guilty to a federal charge that he lied to the FBI about using his clout to arrange a job for his son, who was convicted earlier this year of filing false income tax returns.

For all the bluster ethics reform prompts amongst state legislators, perhaps it would be less expensive and more effective if oversight of state ethics simply fell to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. It was U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, after all, who assembled the cases against Silver and Skelos in schemes that have been ongoing for years under the noses of both the Moreland Commission and the Joint Commission on Public Ethics. It appears the state Legislature and any apparatus created by the legislature are incapable of getting tough on public corruption.

Bharara, through his post as a U.S. attorney, is more than capable. Perhaps Bharara’s dogged work can convince New York’s lawmakers to do what several rounds of ethics reform and public outcry have not – put constituents first and do the job they were elected to do.