Assemblyman Vito Lopez, considered by some to be the Darth Vader of Brooklyn politics, is really under fire. He is the subject of two federal investigations and one by the city’s Department of investigation. Here’s an excerpt from an article by William K. Rashbaum in the New York Times:

Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez, a long-serving Brooklyn Democratic leader who is widely viewed as the borough’s patronage king, is at the center of two separate federal investigations, according to several people briefed on the matter. A third inquiry, by the city’s Department of Investigation, those people said, is focused on a network of nonprofit groups Mr. Lopez controls.

All three investigations focus to some extent on the nexus of politics, nonprofit groups and real estate developers in Brooklyn, the people familiar with the inquiries said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.

In more Vito news, the Brooklyn Paper takes on the Brooklyn pol in a recent editorial, Vito Power Play Crosses the Line.