And what are they investigating? Well... a trail of money of course.
A knowledgeable source said the FBI inquired about Susan Bruno's fundraising activities on behalf of SUNY's Maritime College in New York City, including donations to the college made by political acquaintances of the former senator.
And indeed, wherever the FBI turns they find something new to investigate.
In recent months, the federal probe has intensified. Numerous people who have had business dealings with Joseph Bruno - including some who hired him as a private consultant during his public career, served with him in the Senate, represented labor unions or were linked to his thoroughbred horse-breeding interests - have been summoned before a grand jury in Albany.
It also appears that you can't get an old dog to learn new tricks either.
The FBI's inquiry has been broad. Recently, investigators have displayed an interest in CMA Consulting in Latham, the company Joseph Bruno joined as CEO after quitting the Senate, according to a grand jury witness. CMA, with tens of millions of dollars in state contracts, has had a long-standing business relationship with the Research Foundation, which has paid the firm more than $1.5 million.
It is a truth of nature though that when you go looking under rocks... you find all sorts of dirt.
Associates of Susan Bruno say privately that during the past five years, she seldom appeared at the office - perhaps once a month, according to one person - and that she was allowed the unusual arrangement of working from her home.
Her long absences from foundation offices at the corner of State Street and Broadway led staffers to use her private office for meetings, according to those who have worked with her.
Nothing wrong with telecommuting arrangements but they are making it sound more like a no-show job.
Which reminds me of the time...
Albany Rents Special Office for Senate Leader's Brother
By MICHAEL COOPER
Published: October 19, 2004
ALBANY, Oct. 18 - State commissioners and their deputies usually work in Albany or New York City. But the deputy commissioner at the state's Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services - who happens to be the brother of Joseph L. Bruno, the powerful Republican majority leader of the State Senate - got a new office this year in Saratoga Springs, closer to his home than Albany, at a cost to the state of $54,400 a year.
Turns out it was a very nicely furnished office as well. As I recall they go on to report it was very tastefully decorated with expensive chandeliers at tax payers expense as well.
When was the last time you were in a state office decorated with expensive chandeliers?
Robert Bruno resigned his state job shortly after that news report.
The Times Union has not discovered much on the details of the investigation into Ms. Susan Bruno and the Research Foundation but they did obtain a copy of her apparently typo ridden resume. I had heard a few years ago that there were issues regarding Sen. Bruno's daughter but never did hear any of the details.
Apparently her resume may not only be short on proper spelling it appears to be short on factual reporting as well. The job description for Ms. Bruno's position with the Research Foundation requires a bachelor's degree or equivalent. Ms. Bruno's resume 'states she attended SUNY Cobleskill for "two full years of college courses" and also holds an "NYS Real Estate License."'
According to the Times Union's research:
"We do not have a Susan Bruno on record, and we've checked all of our records," said Kate Birchenough, a spokeswoman for SUNY Cobleskill. She added that the college's records system would show enrollment and attendance for any student by that name going back to 1916.
And;
"She's not licensed as a real estate broker or salesperson," Moore said, later adding that there was nothing on file for an appraisal license.
However...
Steve Rittner, head of Rittners School of Floral Design, confirmed last week that Bruno attended and completed a floral design course there in the summer of 1981, when she was 20.
And lastly;
From 1991 to 2003, Bruno's resume indicates she was a legislative assistant in the state Assembly. Records on file with the state comptroller place Bruno's pay at $44,563 annually at the time she left the post with the Assembly Republicans.
A former GOP Assembly staff official said Bruno was "autonomous," meaning no one seemed to supervise her during her legislative career, and that she was highly paid for the post she held. Former Assemblywoman Maureen O'Connell recalled Bruno as providing "excellent" support.
"Autonomous?" Floral design? Here is a general description of her responsibilities with the Foundation:
General information provided by the Research Foundation indicates Bruno's duties involve four areas: an effort to accumulate grants for young SUNY faculty researchers; two annual dinners to recognize faculty researchers and those who have patented or licensed inventions; a U.S./Britain community college information exchange; and encouraging SUNY participation in a scholarship program for study in Britain.
Lest we think that this is an anomaly in the life of Bruno...
Bruno Son Emerges as Key Link in Father's Circle of Connections
By SEWELL CHAN
Published: January 11, 2007
GRAFTON, N.Y. - Pond View Way, a dirt road in this town of 2,125 residents, was completed late last year, but it is so new, and in such a remote location - eight miles west of the Vermont-Massachusetts border - that much of it does not appear on local maps.
Living in a large but secluded house on Pond View Way is Kenneth R. Bruno, a lawyer and real estate broker. He was the district attorney for Rensselaer County from 1997 until 2003, when he resigned to become a lobbyist, with clients like Madison Square Garden. He is also the younger son of Joseph L. Bruno, the leader of the Republican majority in the State Senate.
As part of their investigation into the business dealings of Senator Bruno, federal authorities are examining a series of land deals involving Kenneth Bruno, who has emerged as a nexus between his father and a wealthy businessman, Jared E. Abbruzzese, whose financial ties to Senator Bruno are under scrutiny.
Which only scratches the surface of the issues surrounding Ken Bruno.
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." - Lord Acton
In New York politics... Tripartite, dysfunctional power corrupts dysfunctionally to the third degree. |
