[2] Soon after Michael's birth the family moved to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, where his father was relocated with his job at Bank of America.

[4] Benjamin attended New York University where he studied economics and Western literature and was elected president of the student government for his junior and senior years.

He received his Bachelor of Arts in 1992 and shortly thereafter began work as an assistant to the president of Richter & Co., Inc., an investment bank in midtown Manhattan known primarily for launching Cerberus Partners, L.P. a major American hedge fund.

At its height in the late 1990s and early 2000s, NYBC had over 1,000 young professionals serving as volunteer tutors and mentors to public school students, and organizing fund-raising benefits primarily for women and children who were victims of domestic violence.

Whitehead went on to head the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the organization in charge of rebuilding the World Trade Center after September 11 attacks.

[7] In January 2003, Benjamin declared his intentions to run for the United States Senate against incumbent Democrat Chuck Schumer.

[10] Benjamin publicly accused New York GOP Chairman Sandy Treadwell and Governor George Pataki of trying to muscle him out of the Senate race and undermine the democratic process.

[12] He had campaigned throughout New York, visiting all 62 counties on several occasions, and had built strong support among political leaders and community groups.

[15] Benjamin supported banning partial-birth abortion, except for cases where the mother's life is at risk, and abolishing unfunded Medicaid mandates on municipalities.