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This belongs to you. Take it back...
Brunogate 
Sat Mar 10, 2007 at 11:23:12 AM EST
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Having not heard much about Bruno's BFF Abbruzzese in a bit, I thought we could travel down memory lane and take a peak into the dark underworld that our Senate Majority Leader has dipped his toes into. And when I say underworld, I mean that literally. You see, back in the day, Joe's buddy Mr. Abbruzzese joined forces with Stephen Feinberg of Cerberus Capital Management LP whose "specialty . . . is investing in debt of companies at the gates of bankruptcy." Cerberus emerges from the underworld. Yes, Cerberus - the three-headed dog that guards the gates of hell, the same Cerberus which is now breaking in the news for its connections to the Walter Reed Scandal and much much more! Let's look at how these vultures are tied to our friends Joe and Jerry.
The 3 heads in our much smaller story here is that of Cerberus, Romulus Holdings Inc., and Mr. Abbruzzese's TechOne. This budding partnership was happening about the same time as the more reported Motient/Tejas shenangans - where Mr. Bruno's investment has raised eyebrows. But the stories are somewhat similar, as are the players. In the coverage at that time: "Vultures Circling" we see that "Romulus and Cerberus are known as "vulture funds," or investment banks that specialize in buying the debt of distressed companies at rock-bottom prices." And Romulus is "an investment vehicle of . . . Gary Singer, who was sentenced to 28 months in prison in 1995 as a result of insider-trading violations." (my emphasis)
These three formed CRT Satellite Investors LLC (for Cerberus, Romulus and TechOne), and Digital Satellite Lenders LLC (DST) which invested in WSNet, Inc. We learn in WSNet Bankruptcy Slammed that WSNet filed for Chapter 11 in 2002 after "its primary lender [DST] cleaned out its [WSNet] bank account. Alleged in this article that "Singer and Feinberg fired the company's CEO and replaced him with Abbruzzese" when WSNet tried to acquire 2 cable systems that the partner's in DST were working to acquire the public debt on. The NYT wraps up the affair this way:
In 2000, Cerberus invested $42 million in the debt of WSNet Holdings, a small provider of satellite television programming. Over the next two years, according to shareholder lawsuits, Cerberus forced the company into bankruptcy by secretly buying up the bonds of companies WSNet hoped to acquire and forbidding WSNet executives from pursuing deals. Through bankruptcy proceedings, the fund tried to take control of the company, lawsuits contend. The suits also contend that Cerberus installed directors at WSNet who maximized Cerberus's profits at the expense of other stakeholders. The claims were settled for a relatively small amount [hmmm… does this imply that even though they settled, it wasn't really all that guilty?] in 2005, by which time Cerberus had recouped its initial investment in WSNet, according to the lawsuits.
This is all happening at the same time that Singer's brother Steven is the chair of Motient and Abbruzzese is a director. The connection to Romulus is still strong as we see below the jump. .
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Mon Feb 26, 2007 at 08:18:12 AM EST
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(Shall we open a blog pool to guess the indictment date? - promoted by NYBri)
Joseph Bruno has long been touted for his successful business skills. His story has long been that he took a few thousand dollars and turned it into a fortune with the Coradian company. After selling it he went on to diversify and go into politics.
That may be what he tells his friends up in Albany but the truth sounds more like the business ventures of George Bush. Bruno has overseen many business failures and most of his wealth comes from a consulting firm with and unlisted phone number and un-named clients.
Crossposted from Joshing Politics
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Wed Feb 07, 2007 at 10:57:14 AM EST
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Yet another gracious statement ( via Times Union Capital Connection) from the Senate Majority Leader. I bet these guys are thrilled to be working for Bruno right about now. He also had this to say about about Sen. Robach, "He's staying a Republican for the rest of this life"
Well, that just means we will have to win the Senate Majority by electing good, progressive, reform Democrats! Explanation on the flip:
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Mon Jan 29, 2007 at 08:40:29 AM EST
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Remember that trip my good pal Joe Bruno took down to Florida with his good pal Jared Abruzzese? Ya know, the one with that Bruno's people described as a "private" trip, a "vacation", the one with the freakin' strippers? Well, it appears that the trip was at least partially paid for with campaign funds. According to the Albany Times Union Joe got some 'splainin' to do.
Bruno used campaign cash for hotel on Florida trip
Senator had dubbed it a "vacation," which, watchdogs say, raises questions about the expenditure
Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno used state-regulated campaign funds to pay for his stay at an exclusive south Florida hotel last year, during a three-day trip he has described as "a vacation."
His staff, too, initially insisted the trip was private.
However, state law makes "the personal use of contributions received by a candidate or political committee" a crime "if such personal use is unrelated to a political campaign or the holding of a public office or party position."
Bruno's claim that the trip was a private vacation raises questions about his use of campaign money to help pay for it. Last week, Bruno and his staff refused to answer additional questions or discuss details of the senator's visit to Florida.
Ouch. This one is gonna hurt.
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Wed Jan 17, 2007 at 11:48:07 AM EST
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The state Senate went wild last night makin' all the rules and Joe Bruno doles out some state pension money in today's roundup..
Senate makes a few changes (Syracuse Post-Standard)
Republicans turn aside many ideas promoted by Democratic minority.
In the first 2007 test of legislative reform, the state Senate made only minor changes to its house rules Tuesday.
Majority Republicans rejected the calls of Democrats and reform advocates for everything from equal staff allocations for all senators to the recording of every senator's vote on procedural motions.
Instead, the GOP pushed through a set of rules for 2007 and 2008 with changes Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, called "laughable."
"Every good government group and every major newspaper that has editorialized on the matter agree that the rules of the State Senate make it one of the most undemocratic, dysfunctional and ineffective governmental bodies in the entire nation," Smith added.
... "You clearly saw who was for reform today," Valesky said afterward. "You clearly saw the conference that stands for openness and accountability in government."
Reform vote fails, but minority claims success (Albany Times Union)
Democratic senators say effort shows their party is seeking change
Senate Democrats sought to capitalize on the shrinking margin between themselves and the Senate Republicans Tuesday with an effort to force the majority to vote on rules reforms designed to increase the power of minority lawmakers.
After a more-than-two-hour battle that saw senators fighting over fine points of parliamentary rules, the Democrats settled for a show of hands on their proposals that did not formally record the Republicans in the negative.
Sen. Thomas Duane, D-Manhattan, nonetheless declared that Democrats "got what we wanted."
"We had a recorded vote on the rules," he said. "We showed that we're the party of real reform."
Budget Reform Pact Augurs a More Transparent Albany (New York Times)
Bruno gets frisky with pension funds on the flip...
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Tue Jan 16, 2007 at 11:57:17 AM EST
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Some Tuesday clips just for you...
Racing for commercial appeal (Newsday)
Foes in State Senate special election take to airwaves using political allies to get their messages out
Nassau Legis. Craig Johnson invokes Gov. Eliot Spitzer's name so often, it might seem as if last fall's gubernatorial campaign were still going. And in a television ad set to begin airing today, Spitzer returns the favor.
The ad features Spitzer speaking while a montage of black-and-white images of "Johnson for Senate" yard signs and photographs of the governor and Johnson together flash across the screen.
"On Jan. 1, we offered a new vision of reform outside the state Capitol," Spitzer says to close the commercial. "Now we need the votes in the state Capitol."
Spitzer v. leaders, rounds 1 and 2 (Times Herald-Record)
Bruno & pal went under the radar at Florida flesh club and No joint wilder than Joe & Shelly's (NY Daily News)
Stem cells and silver linings on the flip...
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Mon Jan 15, 2007 at 10:37:45 AM EST
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Some Monday morning clippage just for you...
Long Island race holds implications for Bruno's future, Spitzer's agenda (Albany Times Union)
The outcome of this race, which officials say could cost more than $4
million, making it the most expensive of its kind in New York history, could
determine the future of both Bruno and the shrinking Republican Senate
majority -- the last bastion of GOP power in the state.
But it is also a test of Spitzer's newfound political clout.
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This is very simply a thumbs up or a thumbs down on the reform agenda I
laid out in the State of the State on Jan. 3," Spitzer said last week. "If
you support that agenda, you must vote for Craig Johnson."
Beyond endorsing Johnson, Spitzer is appearing on campaign mailers and will
be in a TV ad with Johnson made by Jimmy Siegel, the creative force behind
Spitzer's own TV spots during the governor's race. Spitzer will headline a
Jan. 18 fundraiser for Johnson, too.
Heh. "fully engaged" indeed. Big shots pull strings in state Sen. turf war (New York Daily News)
Election fundraiser irks GOP (Albany Times Union)Pols campaign, assail Bruno (Newsday)
Today's Brunogate goodness on the flip..
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Sun Jan 14, 2007 at 11:43:03 AM EST
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Brunogate Continues...
On the heals of yesterday's revelations here at TAP about his campaign fund's sidestep of campaign finance laws,it seems that the head of the New York Republican Party, the party of "morals," has a little problem with the feds and, more interestingly, a "stripper" thing going...and, in true JB fashion, a high class stripper thing at that. No truck stop, girlie bars for the Republican State Senate Majority Leader, no sir.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- New York's legislative leaders had been in session only a few days last year when Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno quietly left town for a vacation in Florida.
It was Jan. 11, a Wednesday, and a bitter political debate over sexual offender laws was unfolding as Bruno boarded the private jet of his friend, Jared E. Abbruzzese, a Loudonville multimillionaire.
Italics are mine, of course, because, what would a lawmaker who was dejected over not getting strict sexual offender legislation passed do? Why go to a high class strip joint to take his mind off his troubles.
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Sat Jan 13, 2007 at 16:13:03 PM EST
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(Campaigns can make loans to private businesses and receive interest payments in excess of campaign contribution laws? Quacks like a duck to me - promoted by am)
When is a campaign contribution not a campaign contribution? When it is recast as interest on a loan. Through the magic of legal nuance Capital Center Credit Corp., an entity controlled by David Smith and Timothy McGinn, were able to exceed campaign contribution limits to Joe Bruno by paying Bruno's campaign committee 9% interest on a loan, as reported in the NYTs; which far exceeded the 1 ½ % to 2 ½ % which banks were paying at the time to depositors. NYS Board of Elections Financial Disclosure report, schedule E, July 2002 fillings, shows the Bruno campaign was "earning" interest of $3,918.40 per month from Capital Center Credit Corp. This equals $47,020.80 per year, and is equivalent to 9% interest on approximately $525,000.
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Fri Jan 12, 2007 at 21:47:04 PM EST
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(From the Diaries. Nice. - promoted by lipris)
The Times is reporting that for six years Joseph Bruno has been using campaign funds to prop up public companies in which he also holds personal investments or with whose executives he has financial dealings:
Over the past six years, Joseph L. Bruno, the majority leader of the New York State Senate, has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars from two campaign accounts that he controls in at least four Albany-area firms, all of which have had personal business dealings with him, a review of state campaign finance records shows.
more -->
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Thu Jan 11, 2007 at 10:39:10 AM EST
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The New York Times' Sewell Chan has today's key Brunogate article. It details the FBI's interest in Joe's son Ken as the "nexus" between his father and shady businessman Jared Abbruzzese. It fills in many gaps in our understanding of the complex web of shared interests between the Brunos, the Abbruzzeses, the horse racing folks and Whitewater First Grafton. It's a MUST READ for those following this unfolding story.
Bruno Son Emerges as Key Link in Father's Circle of Connections
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.
The younger Mr. Bruno was instrumental in persuading the wife of Mr. Abbruzzese to pay $90,000 for almost 12 acres on Pond View Way from a partnership involving Senator Bruno, according to an owner of the partnership. Weeks before that November 2004 deal was completed, a Canadian racetrack owner that had hired Kenneth Bruno as a lobbyist formed an advocacy group with Mr. Abbruzzese that would urge an overhaul of the state's horse racing industry, an issue in which Senator Bruno has been playing a major role.
Kenneth Bruno's involvement in recruiting buyers for the partnership's land, including Mr. Abbruzzese's wife, was critical to reviving a moribund project in which Senator Bruno had a 25 percent stake, according to James D. Featherstonhaugh, a lawyer and lobbyist who also owned 25 percent of the partnership, the First Grafton Corporation.
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Tue Jan 09, 2007 at 20:01:51 PM EST
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While most Democrats around the country got on board the 50 state strategy and rode to victory in November, we saw NY State Dems on the platform, with the entrenched senate majority still in place. In fact some Dems helped the Republican Senate Majority Leader coast to an unchallenged victory…and that might have cost the Dems the Senate Majority in 2006.
Challenging this race was important for a couple of reasons. Fielding an opponent in the top-of-the-Senate-race would have invigorated other Democratic challengers as well as focused the press, fundraising efforts and campaign energy on a consistent statewide message of reform and hope. With no challenger, the Majority Leader was free to help beat back the Democratic political tsunami of 2006. If he had been challenged, the Democrats might have been able to capture the Senate majority…and they might have done it for a fraction of the expense it will take in 2008 with anticipated primaries and open seat contests. And the Spitzer administration in its first day would have had the legislative support to really have a true day one "everything changes".
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Tue Jan 09, 2007 at 14:27:08 PM EST
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Joe "Brunogate" Bruno Does NOT Heart the Albany Times Union.
Bruno raises funds, raises voice
Sen. Joseph Bruno had his first fund-raiser for 2007 in Troy Monday night at Franklin Towers. Although he's attended several of Bruno's campaign donation events, particularly the golf outings, Bruno pal Jared Abbruzzese wasn't spotted at this get-together.
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On Tuesday morning he was blasting the Times Union for editorializing about his unwillingness to go along with Gov. Eliot Spitzer's call for an independent redistricting process.
"I wish they would wake up and not print garbage that relates to six years from today,'' Bruno said. "I'm not worried about six years from now.'' He said he'd prefer for the Times Union to get behind his tax cut program for small businesses instead. "For crying out loud, stop trying to make my life miserable."'
--emphasis mine
Too funny.
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Wed Jan 03, 2007 at 16:44:27 PM EST
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As expected, state Senate Republicans re-elected Joe Bruno as their Majority Leader today, thereby once again endorsing the leadership of a man who neglected for 9 months to tell them, or his own constituents for that matter, that he was being investigated by the FBI.
Bruno reelected as state Senate majority leader
Joseph Bruno won reelection to a seventh term as majority leader of the New York state Senate, despite rumbling about an FBI investigation of his outside business dealings and associations.
At least one of Bruno's Republican members, Sen. John Bonacic, whose district includes part of Greene County, went public with his stance that Bruno should step aside until the federal investigation is completed.
But, in the end, no other Republicans were willing to second Bonacic's misgivings in public. During Wednesday's reelection vote, Republicans voted unanimously for a resolution providing Bruno with another term in the 2007-08 session.
Democrats, who failed in an attempt to elect Minority Leader Malcolm Smith as majority leader, stayed silent when members were invited to vote "nay" on Bruno's candidacy for majority leader.
As reported at Capitol Confidential, no "nays" were heard. And then?
The chamber gave him a standing ovation after Wednesday's vote.
Nice. State Senate Republicans have heartily and unanimously endorsed a man under federal investigation and then stood and applauded him and, by extension, themselves.
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Wed Jan 03, 2007 at 11:30:27 AM EST
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Why anyone would ever do business with or even, ya know "consult" for Joe Bruno's BFF, Jared Abbruzzese, is simply beyond me. The Albany Times Union's piece about "Jerry" Abbruzzese that I cited in this post paints a pretty unflattering picture of a man that seems to leave a pretty crowded wake of unhappy and litigious former investors and partners wherever he goes. Many of these former associates feel that Mr. Abbruzzese often neglects the interests of shareholders and the companies themselves in favor of fattening his own bottom line.
Though commenter kashew seems to think that "Jerry" is getting a bum rap, there does seem to be a pattern here. Let's start with Motient, shall we?
Motient Sickness
One of the screens I run regularly in CapitalIQ checks for companies with negative gross margins, negative cash flow, negative earnings--and a stock price that's up 100% or more for the year. I'm always curious when apparent dog stocks have big run-ups. Until recently, the results of this screen regularly included Motient Corp., a Lincolnshire (Ill.)-based provider of two-way wireless communications with a $1.3 billion market cap and a stock that trades on the Pink Sheets (an unusual combination). What knocked the company off the list wasn't an improvement in its fundamentals, which still stink, but rather a mysterious end to its stock rally. When I dug a little deeper, I found a web of intrigue so tangled that Peter Parker couldn't find his way out of it. Even in this scandal-a-day era, the backstage drama at this company is off the charts.
More on the flip...
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Wed Jan 03, 2007 at 03:26:57 AM EST
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Albert Baldeo pulls a Jimmy Dahroug and writes his own open letter to the Republican state Senator who narrowly defeated him just a couple of months ago:
Senator Serf Maltese:
As you return to Albany with a narrow 1% margin of victory over my democratic
candidacy, I urge you to give the following proposal utmost consideration. At
the very least, the Senate majority owes the 51.1% of New Yorkers who voted
for a Democratic Senate the simple assurance that its leader, isn't under FBI
investigation, and possible indictment.
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Tue Jan 02, 2007 at 13:44:07 PM EST
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Bouldin over at Daily Gotham has an open letter to state Senator Caesar Trunzo from his two time Democratic challenger, Jimmy Dahroug.
Senator Trunzo:
I am writing to ask that you vote to replace Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno with a new Temporary Senate President until Mr. Bruno's FBI investigation is resolved.
I understand your friendship and working relationship with Mr. Bruno. At the same time, the interest of our state's residents and a commitment to good government is what takes priority.
It should go without saying that someone is innocent until proven guilty. Yet the appearance of impropriety that an FBI investigation raises about one of our state's top elected officials cannot be taken lightly. It is not unreasonable, or for that matter unfair to Mr. Bruno, to ask that a new leader is elected until this matter is resolved.
Sincerely,
Jimmy Dahroug
Well done, Jimmy. In a normal state this would be a no brainer. This ain't no normal state.
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Tue Jan 02, 2007 at 09:20:59 AM EST
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The Albany Times Union has some answers, lots of 'em, actually. James M. Odato has a fantastic piece from this weekend that fills in many gaps in our knowledge of Bruno's BFF. It ain't pretty.
Bruno friend draws scrutiny from FBI
Senate majority leader, business associate have tangled relationship
But now Abbruzzese, 52, is being scrutinized in an FBI probe that has found he paid Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees. Interviews and a review of court documents reveal that his business dealings have included accusations of fraud and deceit, and even a multimillion-dollar judgment that threatened to take his home until that ruling was reversed.
In recent years the entrepreneur has been dogged by complaints of deceiving stockholders and fleecing investors. None of those complaints has ever been sustained in court.
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Flashy and outspoken, the businessman is described by associates as a "close friend" and business associate of Bruno, the state's most powerful Republican politician. But beyond friendship, their relationship is a tangled web of public money and private enterprise that has now drawn the attention of law enforcement.
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Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 14:36:34 PM EST
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Pretty good deal if your name is Jared Abbruzzese. Get your buddy, who just happens to be the state Senate Majority Leader, to throw a nice chunk of public money at your for profit business and get a little action for yourself. Not bad, eh?
From the New York Times:
Bruno's Friend Was Given Stock Incentive, Document Says
While Joseph L. Bruno, the State Senate's majority leader, was helping to direct state assistance to an upstate technology company, the company was rewarding Mr. Bruno's friend Jared E. Abbruzzese with a stock incentive for his role in securing state aid, according to a company document.
Nice. More crony-licious goodness on the flip....
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Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 14:07:50 PM EST
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Nathaniel Brooks for the New York Times
Perhaps it's his coffee. Joe "Brunogate" Bruno spoke to the New York Times for today's edition and, man, is that guy grumpy! Oh, and his long time chief counsel hit the road Friday afternoon. The guy just can't seem to catch a break.
His Omnipresence May Show His Clout, but Now Bruno Is on the Defensive
But at what should be his crowning moment, Mr. Bruno finds himself on the defensive as never before. The F.B.I. is investigating his business ties, newspapers are exploring his financial relationships with people seeking help from the state, some Republicans are grumbling that he is tarnishing their troubled party, and for the first time, a member of his conference, Senator John J. Bonacic, a Hudson Valley Republican, is calling on Mr. Bruno to step down.
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"I have 33 votes in my conference, as I sit here, out of 34," he said.
And Mr. Bruno bristled at news reports that the federal government was investigating his decision to award a $500,000 member item grant - the type that goes to individual lawmakers' pet projects - to Evident Technologies, a company with a former director, Jared Abbruzzese, who had business dealings with Mr. Bruno. Mr. Bruno said that the state gave aid to Evident before he did, and that the money was intended to keep the company from moving out of state.
"It gets me a little bit excited, because they all want to moan and groan and point to Evident," he said in his office. "Evident is one of the most worthwhile projects to be funded that I have funded. Now the fact that a friend of mine, it turns out, that I had a financial relationship with - too damn bad. What am I, a second-class citizen? Is he a second-class citizen? We vetted that through the whole process, O.K.?"
"I'm getting crucified," he said. "And you know something? Tomorrow, if I had that situation to do over, I'd do exactly what I've done."
More on the flip....
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