Port Washington legislator expected to be nominated tonight to run for seat vacated by Michael Balboni
A committee of 38 Nassau Democrats is expected to designate Legis. Craig Johnson tonight to be the party's candidate for the state Senate seat vacated by Michael Balboni, several sources said yesterday.
Johnson (D-Port Washington) beat out four other candidates who interviewed Saturday for the nomination, though he was the favorite from the day Balboni announced he was leaving the Senate to become Gov. Eliot Spitzer's homeland security czar.
Johnson will face Republican Maureen O'Connell, the county clerk, in a special election Feb. 6.
Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo said Thursday that his office would review thousands of individual grants known as "member items," the spending Albany lawmakers doled out for pet projects last year, staking out a potentially vast new front in efforts to reform the ways of the state capital.
And moving to confront corruption in the upper echelons of state government, Mr. Cuomo also said he would promote the chief of his office's public integrity unit to special deputy attorney general, and promised a significant increase in the unit's staffing and resources.
In a brief but pointed speech here Thursday at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, Mr. Cuomo assailed the member-item spending as "a visible, graphic illustration" of the profligacy, secrecy and dysfunction that have characterized state government and dismayed voters in recent years.
Last month, federal prosecutors accused State Senator Efrain González Jr., a Bronx Democrat, of stealing more than $400,000 in state money appropriated for charities in his district and using it for personal expenses. Joseph L. Bruno, the Republican majority leader of the State Senate, is facing a federal investigation into some $500,000 in state grants he directed to Evident Technologies, a profit-making technology company in which a close friend of his was an investor.
Gov. Eliot Spitzer proposed overhauling almost every corner of the state's operations and policies in his first address to the Legislature on Wednesday. He said he would move swiftly to guarantee health insurance for all children in the state, toughen campaign finance laws, cut property taxes by $6 billion and draft constitutional amendments to overhaul the state's courts.
The dizzying collection of ambitious proposals reflects how the new governor is moving quickly to capitalize on the momentum of his landslide victory and recent government corruption scandals to push through major initiatives early in his term. While some of the proposals were outlined during his campaign, in his speech to lawmakers he offered several new initiatives and promised to accomplish others during his first year in office.
"Make no mistake, the changes I just described will not be easy, but change rarely is," he said near the end of the speech, in which he used the words "reform" or "reforms" 31 times. "At every major transition point in our history, we have experienced uncertainty and growing pains. We will experience them again."
Federal authorities are examining, among other things, whether substantial payments by Mr. Abbruzzese to Mr. Bruno's private consulting firm were part of an effort to influence the senator, who is likely to have a major say over who gets the racing franchise.
The authorities have also issued a subpoena to Wayne R. Barr Jr., a lawyer and business associate of Mr. Abbruzzese's, who helped arrange Mr. Bruno's trip to Kentucky.
A veterinarian and former chairman of the State Racing and Wagering Board who once jointly owned horses with Joseph L. Bruno, the State Senate majority leader, has received a grand jury subpoena as part of the federal investigation into Mr. Bruno's business activities, according to two people briefed on the investigation.
The veterinarian, Jerry Bilinski, is a close friend of the majority leader. In January 2003, Mr. Bruno appointed him to the Cornell University board. In October 2005, the two men shared a trip on a private plane to Lexington, Ky., to visit a thoroughbred racetrack and auction house. Until June, Dr. Bilinski was a consultant to Mr. Bruno on the future of the racing industry.
Dr. Bilinski, 62, is now an adviser to Excelsior Racing Associates, a consortium of gambling and racing executives who are seeking to gain control of the state racing franchise. Mr. Bruno is expected to play a key role in awarding that franchise next year.
I guess it makes sense that Bruno's "consulting firm" shares an address with his horse farm, dontcha think?
The two most feared corruption-busters at the scandal-scarred Capitol huddled yesterday at a private lunch meeting that's sure to send shivers throughout state government, The Post has learned.
Albany County District Attorney David Soares, a Democrat, and state Lobbying Commission executive director David Grandeau, a Republican, met at an Albany-area restaurant to see how their offices can work more closely together to crack down on corruption.
Junk gerrymandering. Legislative district lines should be drawn, as they are in many other states, by nonpartisan panels. Now the process is controlled by political leaders, who conjure up bizarrely shaped districts - which often divide communities - to create "safe" districts packed with their party's voters. Their goal is consolidating their power and controlling individual lawmakers. Spitzer should seek to increase electoral competition and voter choice.
Publicly finance state races. Spitzer has voluntarily limited how much and from whom he will accept campaign funds. Although his standards are far more restrictive than the state's, they still are obscene. Any individuals or organizations that can contribute $10,000, Spitzer's self-imposed limit, want something for their money. And the appearance of "pay to play" is corrosive. Members of Congress can only collect $2,100 per person per contest, and that's still too high to restore public confidence. Taxpayers fund many causes. What could be a better one than limiting the influence of money on campaigns by publicly financing them, assuring that candidates aren't beholden to political cash cows?
Go on a reduced pork diet. Legislative grants, known in Albany as member items, must be scaled back and the process for awarding them to local groups must be carefully scrutinized. Although the grants often serve useful purposes, they are awarded based on political influence. Majority party lawmakers get far more to dole out than minority, even though they are elected often by voters of both parties and in similar sized districts. Legislative leaders decide which lawmakers to reward. In turn, the legislators pick the groups they want to help - and often, be helped by - in their re-election bids. Spitzer should set a tone by refusing his share of this political slush fund.
Nassau County Clerk Maureen O'Connell will be the Republican nominee to succeed state Sen. Michael Balboni, who is due to take a job in the Spitzer administration, GOP sources said yesterday.
O'Connell, 56, served in the Assembly from 1999 until January, when she left Albany after winning the 2005 county clerk election against Democrat Tricia Farrell. She has also served as a trustee and deputy mayor of East Williston and was a registered nurse and lawyer.
The U.S. grand jury investigating the link between Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno and a suspected lobbyist has been taking testimony since at least April 13, according to a subpoena disclosed Tuesday.
The Temporary State Commission on Lobbying received a notice to provide information to the grand jury in Albany on March 14, giving commission staff a month to provide investigative material it had collected on Bruno, according to a subpoena released by the commission under the state Freedom of Information Law.
Federal authorities investigating the business activities of Joseph L. Bruno, the State Senate majority leader, have issued a subpoena to a lawyer who arranged for Mr. Bruno to fly to Kentucky for a fund-raising reception in October 2005, according to a person who was briefed on the investigation.
The lawyer, Wayne R. Barr Jr., is a friend of Mr. Bruno's and, like the senator, an enthusiast of thoroughbred racing. Mr. Barr is also a longtime business associate of Jared E. Abbruzzese, another friend of Mr. Bruno's whose payments to the senator's private consulting business are being scrutinized as part of the investigation.
Federal authorities issued subpoenas on Wednesday to Evident Technologies as part of their investigation, the company's chief executive said. The executive, Clinton Ballinger, would say little about the inquiry, but acknowledged that investigators were looking into records involving Jared Abbruzzese, a former Evident director who is an investor in a group seeking control of New York's horse-racing franchise.
Federal agents have subpoenaed records from the state lobbying commission, which has been investigating Mr. Bruno's relationship with Mr. Abbruzzese, two government officials who have been briefed on the subpoena revealed on Thursday. Those officials said the commission received the subpoena about seven months ago, around the time Mr. Bruno has said he first learned that the F.B.I. was investigating his outside consulting work. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation.
Authorities examine whether payments to Bruno's consulting firm were bid to gain influence
A federal grand jury investigation of Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno is focusing on hundreds of thousands of dollars funneled by a wealthy businessman into the senator's private consulting company to allegedly influence the powerful Republican lawmaker, the Times Union has learned.
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E. Stewart Jones, an attorney for Abbruzzese and his wife, Sherrie, confirmed Thursday that Abbruzzese paid money to Bruno's consulting company. Bruno has refused to reveal his consulting clients or his consulting income.
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Federal authorities are examining whether mail fraud or money laundering statutes were violated in connection with the business relationship, according to a source familiar with the case.
A provision under federal fraud statutes makes it a crime for a public official or others to "defraud another of the intangible right of honest services." The statute was invoked to prosecute Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who pleaded guilty last January to corruptly providing things of value to public officials, including trips, campaign contributions, and meals and entertainment in order to gain their political influence for clients.
Sounds like Joe just might be on the "naughty" list this year...
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's hold on his leadership post may be slipping.
Privately, Senate officials are beginning to discuss the possibility of a different leader Jan. 3, when the vote on the powerful, $121,000-a-year post is scheduled.
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Friends of Bruno said Bonacic's outburst was outrageous and tied to his friendship with Sen. Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, a front-runner to succeed Bruno.
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Insiders say Skelos might have a substantial number of votes in the Republican conference to oust Bruno. But such a bid could be difficult, GOP insiders say. Bruno's hand-picked leader of the state Republican Party is Joseph Mondello, the Nassau County GOP boss. Upstate senators and county chairmen could resent having two key party leaders based out of Nassau County.
The FBI's corruption probe of New York's most powerful Republican gathered steam as a federal grand jury was going over state Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno's business dealings, the Daily News learned last night.
The grand jury has authorized FBI subpoenas related to Bruno's dealings with Albany-area businessman Jared (Jerry) Abbruzzese, a principal of a Troy, N.Y., high-tech company to which Bruno steered $500,000 in pork-barrel grants over the past four years, sources said.
An FBI investigation of Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's business interests has set off alarms among Senate Republicans who fear their flagbearer has been wounded as Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer, a tenacious Democrat, prepares to take office.
Members of the GOP held out hope Wednesday that Bruno, 77, can withstand the scrutiny of a federal inquiry, but those sentiments were clouded by apprehension, especially at a time when Democratic state Comptroller Alan Hevesi may be hours from indictment.
Hevesi is likely to be indicted today on a felony charge of defrauding the government - punishable by as many as four years in prison - unless he steps down, sources close to Albany County District Attorney David Soares' investigation told the Daily News.
There was a kind of warped justice in that final three-way tango engaged in last week by Gov. George Pataki, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno. After a full day of changing partners, dance steps, demands and concessions on legislation - all behind closed doors, of course - New York's power-brokering troika emerged with ... nothing.
Thank goodness and, we hope, good riddance to this dance of dysfunction. Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer has promised that his administration would be open and accessible and would not engage in the kind of routine backroom-dealing that the above named have substituted for governing in the Empire State. The days of three men in a room deciding the fate of all kinds of important legislation, we are told, are over. OK, we're counting on you, Eliot.
George Washington Plunkitt, the state senator and Democratic Party leader of a century ago, would be proud. Today's Bronx politicos have taken his concept of "honest graft" and kicked it up a notch. As the Bronx continues to deteriorate, seemingly stuck in a permanent mode of decay and depression, political leaders find new ways to line their pockets as their constituents suffer.
This was driven home dramatically this past week with the unsealing of a new indictment against a Bronx state senator, Efrain Gonzalez. His constituents are among the poorest in the most poverty stricken county in the state. Yet when given the opportunity to bring some resources back to his district, Mr. Gonzalez, prosecutors charge, instead stole the money to finance a lavish personal lifestyle.
The state should hold the broadest possible interpretation of the first amendment. The 14th amendment? Not so much. No marriage for queers. Yay charter schools!
Well, about the best that can be said of the abysmal conclusion to the lawmaking year in Albany, and the waning days of Gov. George Pataki's last term, is that they didn't do any damage.
It's been a very busy day behind the scenes here at TAP. We apologize for letting the site go silent for so long. We suck.
On the other hand, look for some really cool new features in the next few days. This one is gonna rock your socks. Anyhoo, here's some linky-loos, some clippage just for you. Feel free to use this thread to tell us how much we suck and how we're, ya know, part of the problem and stuff.
Indicted State Sen. Efrain Gonzalez Jr.'s gal pal - an alleged accomplice in
her beau's purported charity ripoff - is in danger of losing her
$60,000-a-year taxpayer-funded job, sources said yesterday.
State Sen. Minority Leader David Paterson, who becomes lieutenant governor
in January, is considering canning Lucia (Lucy) Sanchez or placing her on
unpaid leave from her post as his special assistant, the sources said.
1. It isn't "pork abuse". It's theft.
2. Why is Paterson even "considering"? Do it. While you're at it, strip Gonzalez of everything. You can't kick his ass out of the Senate, but you can damn sure make it feel that way.
The issue of the day here at the albany project is the pay hike that looks more and more likely to come to pass. Regular readers of this site will know where we stand. No Reform? No Raise!
A pay raise was being discussed behind closed doors and "is going to happen" says a "top Democrat" who was too much of a weasel to be quoted on the record by the PoJo.
The feds are vowing to look into state lawmakers' practice of doling out cash for pork-barrel projects from a $200 million slush fund, U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia told The Post yesterday.
"The federal government has a responsibility here," Garcia told The Post's editorial board. "When we smell something, we'll follow it."
Pataki, former governors haunt ground zero, discuss potential presidential candidacies that excite no one, not even themselves. They then went to see the Broadway adaptation of Pataki's life, "The Drowsy Chaperone". Really. You can't make this stuff up.
