Some More On Those Bruno Subpoenas

by: phillip anderson

Mon Feb 04, 2008 at 11:04:41 AM EST

Federal agents have demanded business records from several Albany-area labor unions that have sent tens of millions of dollars to investment firms that employed state Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno over the past decade, according to labor representatives and other sources.

FBI agents served subpoenas last week on the unions' pension and welfare fund leaders. The unions include Laborers Local 190 and Teamsters Local 294, among others.

The FBI told the labor organizations to produce records involving Wright Investors Service of Milford, Conn., and its holding company, Winthrop Corp., Bruno's longtime employers before his abrupt resignation in December.

The subpoenas, signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Coombe of the Albany office, also call for any union records involving Bruno and his Brunswick consulting company, Capital Business Consultants. Coombe said Saturday she had no comment.

I think the nature of the relationship between Bruno and Wright/Winthrop can be neatly summed up by this paragraph:

Bruno, the top Republican in the state and majority leader since 1995, served as a business development agent for Wright, or Winthrop Corp., since about the time he took over his leadership post in the Senate.

Nice.