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This belongs to you. Take it back...
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Jared Abbruzzese 
Tue Jun 05, 2007 at 10:02:05 AM EDT
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Uncle Joe is getting a little testy.
Bruno says he's yet to be accused
Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno refused Monday to add much insight into new reports on the FBI investigation into his business dealings, saying prosecutors have yet to accuse him of anything.
Asked by reporters about stories that appeared in the Times Union on Sunday, Bruno said he won't discuss matters that appear in the Capital Region daily.
However, he did not deny his acquisition of two mares from politically connected multimillionaire Earle I. Mack, as reported in one of the Times Union articles.
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"I'm not going to comment on any story that gives credibility to the Times Union, because they have no credibility in many peoples' minds," said the Brunswick Republican.
Asked if he is confident he won't face charges in the federal probe involving him, he said: "I've said all that I'm going to say about what's been going on for over a year. I've been accused of nothing. I'm accused of nothing as we speak. And I expect to be accused of nothing, contrary to the speculation of the Times Union and people who don't want to deal in facts."
Uh huh. Just keep those fingers in your ears, Joe. It'll all go away. Best of luck with that.
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Mon Jun 04, 2007 at 11:09:51 AM EDT
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As we learned yesterday, Brunogate is back. Or, perhaps, it never really went anywhere despite concerns about the diligence of the US Attorney handling the case. Today we learn that the feds are very interested in Uncle Joe's literal "horse trading" with a prominent Republican real estate developer and Bruno appointed member of the state's Racing Association. Danny Hakim at the New York Times has the story:
Bruno Inquiry Scrutinizes Thoroughbred Transactions
Federal authorities investigating the business dealings of Joseph L. Bruno, the majority leader of the State Senate, have been examining records related to his purchases and sales of thoroughbred horses.
One series of transactions being scrutinized was between Mr. Bruno, the state’s top Republican, and Earle I. Mack, a real estate developer and former ambassador to Finland.
Citing documents and an interview with Mr. Mack’s lawyer, The Times Union of Albany reported yesterday that Mr. Bruno bought two mares from Mr. Mack in 2005 for $50,000, and that after spending $74,000 to breed them with stud horses, he sold three of their foals at auction for $425,000. Mr. Mack bought one of the foals for $105,000, the newspaper reported.
Mr. Mack once served on the board of the New York Racing Association as a Bruno appointee. The association oversees thoroughbred racetracks at Saratoga, Belmont and Aqueduct and is bidding to keep the franchise, which expires at the end of the year.
Mr. Mack has been a prominent Republican donor for state and national campaigns. In New York, he gained attention in 2003 after he flew Gov. George E. Pataki and his wife to a vacation on the Caribbean island of St. Barts on his private jet.
If any of that sounds fishy to you, worry not. Bruno's spokesman, the ever candid John McArdle has a classic non-denial denial for you.
John McArdle, a spokesman for Mr. Bruno, said that the majority leader “has cooperated fully and believes he has done nothing wrong.” He added that Mr. Bruno “has reported any and all information that he is required to under the law regarding his personal and business dealings.”
You believe him, right?
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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 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 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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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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