[Updated 8:41 p.m.] The founder of a successful Midtown-based real estate firm is accused of funneling nearly $500,000 in alleged bribes to Brooklyn State Senator Carl Kruger, who in turn took action to benefit that company’s development projects, a complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court says. Prosecutors allege Aaron Malinsky, a principal with PA Associates, made the payments to an entity called Olympian Strategic Development, and that money was used to improperly benefit Kruger (see complaint after the jump). Kruger allegedly received at least $1 million in bribes from Malinsky and others between 2006 and 2011, investigators said. In addition to Malinsky, authorities accused lobbyist Richard Lipsky, a principal with Richard Lipsky Associates, whose clients include Forest City Ratner, of involvement in the alleged bribery schemes. [more]

[Updated at 4:36 p.m.] Big-box retailer Target quietly partnered with two local developers to purchase a 7.9-acre United States Postal Service site in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx, for $35.2 million, where they plan to build a 300,000-square-foot mall. The acquisition of the site at 815 Hutchinson River Parkway at Lafayette Avenue went into contract in November and closed Feb. 11, city property records published last Wednesday show. The owner was listed as Lafayette Nominee Owner LLC, with an address at Target’s corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, Minn. [more]