ALBANY – During the tail end of his 14 years as Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno often reminded people he had fattened up the Capital Region.

“I was there for 18 years watching dollars flow to New York City and flow to Long Island,” Bruno said about the period before he took control of the Senate. “What did we get here? Pretzels. I sat there in a corner and bided my time.”

Once he seized power, Bruno turned pretzels to pork. And with Bruno giving up his post, some expect the region will be put on a crash diet.

“There’s no question about it,” said Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari, D-Cohoes, who sometimes clashed with Bruno.

The money, some predict, will literally go south.

Assemblyman John McEneny, D-Albany, said Bruno’s successor as Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Centre, will need to spread the wealth around the districts of …

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