A remarkably untimely cloud hangs over Governor David Paterson's apparent selection of Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to replace Hillary Clinton as junior senator of New York.
Federal prosecutors, according to numerous news accounts, are poised to indict former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno and no one knows if that possible indictment will contain allegations about a real estate deal that involved Bruno and Gillibrand's father, Albany lobbyist and power broker Doug Rutnik.
What we do know is that prosecutors subpoenaed all the records of this complex transaction which, at the very least, raise stark ethical questions about Rutnik's awkward business relationship with a powerful public official he lobbied. No one familiar with Gillibrand's rapid political ascent would question the pivotal role that Rutnik has played in it, milking his wide-ranging political connections for his daughter.
The governor's office has made it clear that Caroline Kennedy was submarined by questions she couldn't answer in the vetting process, ostensibly involving taxes and a nanny. But it's unclear if Paterson has even considered the possibility that as he and Gillibrand prepare for their 2010 campaigns, her family could be dogged by conflict of interest allegations.
Let's keep that strong focus on the "culture of corruption" in Albany.
