NY Times Finally Does An Editorial on Preet Bharara
New Yorkers, who have had a front-row seat to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s work over the last seven years, know him for his efforts to drain one of the swampiest states in the country of its rampant public corruption and was an equal-opportunity prosecutor, The New York Times reports. Mr. Bharara won convictions of more than a dozen lawmakers, culminating in 2015, when he brought down two of the state’s three most powerful politicians: Sheldon Silver, the Democratic former Assembly speaker, and Dean Skelos, the Republican former Senate majority leader. Both men have appealed their convictions, which included charges of bribery, extortion and money laundering. Mr. Bharara also tangled repeatedly with the other member of that entrenched trio, New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo. He investigated Mr. Cuomo’s suspicious disbanding in 2014 of the Moreland Commission, an anticorruption panel that Mr. Cuomo had established a year earlier to address the epidemic of self-dealing in state politics. Mr. Bharara eventually decided there was not enough evidence to charge the governor with interfering in the commission’s work, but at the time of his firing, Mr. Bharara’s office was prosecuting two of Mr. Cuomo’s former advisers in a bribery and bid-rigging scandal. At the time of his dismissal, his office was in the final stages of a criminal investigation into the campaign fund-raising of New York City’s mayor, Bill de Blasio. It may be a while before the full story comes out, or before the Southern District of New York sees another prosecutor as cleareyed about rooting out public corruption. In the meantime, Mr. Bharara deserves credit for leaving New York a little cleaner than he found it. “We are not trying to criminalize ordinary politics,” he said in a 2015 speech. “Just try not to steal our money.”
Bharara's Tweet Albany Passes Drain the Swap Ethics Reforms APRIL FOOLS
Nearly a month after he was fired by the Trump administration, former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara remains mystified by the circumstances of his ouster, saying he had never been told why Trump changed his mind about wanting him to stay on, the Times reports. *
All Star Prosecutors Like Bharara Only Come By Once in A Generation
New York will be forever grateful for Preet Bharara’s service (NYP ED) President Trump’s dismissal of Preet Bharara as New York’s US attorney leaves a giant hole here. Now the challenge is to find someone who can fill his shoes. But this much is clear: New Yorkers will long be grateful for Bharara’s work — and its impact will be long felt. Start with his Albany house-cleaning. As Assembly speaker, Democrat Sheldon Silverwas a key power player — one of Albany’s “three men in a room” — for more than two decades; his influence on local politics was immeasurable. But Bharara zeroed in on Silver’s corrupt side and got a jury to convict him. Silver’s now out and headed for the Big House. Ditto for another of the three men, Republican stateSenate Majority Leader Dean Skelos. Those two convictions sent tremors throughout New York’s political world. But Preet wasn’t done: His investigation of folks tied to Gov. Cuomo (the third of the three) led to eight indictments. He also launched a multifaceted probe of Mayor de Blasio and his aides. What happens there could determine the city’s next mayor. Bharara put away numerous other lawmakers, too, pursuing them without, as he put it, “fear or favor.” And he didn’t snag just politicians: Since becoming US attorney in 2009, he’s gone after countless bad guys, from terrorists to Wall Street fatcats to gang-bangers and cyber-criminals.*
NY's Camelot Leader Bharara is Gone
The Bad Guys Culture of Corruption Wins . . . There Are No Words
Hey, Mr. President: Don’t fire US Attorney Preet Bharara (NYP Ed) What’s stunning is that Bharara was included in the order. After all, both then-President-elect Trump and Attorney General-designate Jeff Sessions last November specifically asked him to stay on the job, and he agreed. Yet Friday, when asked if there were any exceptions to the order, a Justice Department spokesman said: “Everyone gone.” Trump and Sessions were right the first time, and they need to rescind the order for Bharara, the most successful prosecutor yet when it comes to undoing New York’s culture of political corruption. Indeed, this comes as he’s still investigating the de Blasio administration and other key figures in New York for possible corruption. It’s absolutely the wrong time for him to leave. *
I dreamed a dream in times gone by When hope was high and life worth living . . .
Zephyr Teachout @ZephyrTeachout I dont like to imagine New York politics without Bharara investigating and prosecuting corruption.
Sheldon Silver The longtime head of the state Assembly — considered one of the most powerful people in New York — was hit with public corruption charges by Bharara’s office in 2015. He was convicted of a complex scheme to line his pockets with over $5 million and sentenced to 12 years in prison earlier this year.
Dean Skelos Considered one of the “three men in a room” who ran the state government with Silver and Gov. Cuomo, the former state Senate Majority Leader was successfully prosecuted by Bharara’s office for using his influence to get no-show work for his son. Skelos was sentenced to five years in prison.
Norman Seabrook The NYC corrections officers’ union head who was arrested on federal bribery charges last year. His trial is set to start in October. Seabrook is charged with taking a $60,000 cash bribe plus lavish trips and other luxuries in exchange for steering $20 million in union pension funds to a hedge fund.
de Blasio, His Lawyer Lobbyist Kramer Levin, Cuomo and Albany Lawmakers Celebrate
Gov. Cuomo Bharara’s office investigated the shutdown of the Moreland Commission, Gov. Cuomo’s short-lived anti-corruption committee. A pair of former Cuomo advisers were charged last year in a massive bribery and bid-rigging case related to a criminal investigation into the governor’s much-touted upstate economic development programs, including Buffalo Billions and SUNY Polytechnic.
HIGH NOON The Media Ignores the Real Fact That the Mayor Will Be Interviews By Bharara This Week or Next for Selling His Office
Not Only Has the Media Ignored Bharara Challenged Three Years Ago to Do More Investigating They Have Done All They Can to Cover-Up His Investigations By Limiting the Coverage
Preet Bharara challenged journos to do investigative reporting (CrainsNY) "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," Bharara said. "Groundbreaking corruption coverage is not just good copy, it's a path to good government." Bharara. The press has a role to play. "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," he said The media has not responded to the U.S. Attorney request. Today mostly what you read in newspapers feels like press releases. The former DA of Brooklyn called reporters stenographers. The entire 2013 campaign was full of press release promising more services for NYCHA tenants. The press never asked the candidates with the federal cuts in public housing where the funds were going to come from to repair the building. As recent events have indicated there is no money to fix public housing.
Bharara Slush Funds Invatation to Corruption True News in 2014 Called Campaign for One NY Was A Political Slush Fund
Slush funds are an invitation to corruption: Bharara (NYP) “Slush funds” like the one set up by the City Council nearly a decade ago should set off the alarm bells for all honest elected officials, US Attorney Preet Bharara said Monday. “The public deserves to see where their money is going and for what purpose. Who puts the money in? Are there subcontractors? Shell companies? Be on top of that. Be wary of slush funds for council members,” Bharara told the Association of Towns of the State of New York at the Marriott Marquis in Midtown. During his 13-minute speech, Bharara also bragged about not only bringing cases against “Albany’s bad apples,” but also prosecuting “municipal miscreants.” “They include council members from New York City and Yonkers and elsewhere — municipal workers who decided to defraud the very people they were appointed to serve, party officials that thought nothing of skewing and election and broke the law to do it, Bharara pointed out. “Third-party contractors who saw an opportunity to steal public money without providing the service is paid for.”
Bharara Slush Funds Invatation to Corruption True News in 2014 Called Campaign for One NY Was A Political Slush Fund
Bharara Looking Out For Kyptonite Fromm Albany Mob What About Team de Blasio?
At first, Bharara made light of his Presidents Day speech, joking that the audience members had planted “kryptonite” in anticipation of his arrival due to his take-no-prisoners approach to Albany corruption. “The corruption work I do, the subpoena power I have, why get up early on a holiday, it’s Presidents Day, shave, put on the suit, come all the way to the Marriott Marquis at some risk to myself because I can only imagine that this is some form of kryptonite on the ceiling,” Bharara said to chuckles in the crowd. “Why come to speak to a captive audience of public officials? And the answer is that I have come to really love the sound of nervous laughter,” Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor quipped.
Daily News Says Firing Will Not Derail deB Probe Who Even Has A Clue?
Trump's firing of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara unlikely to derail deBlasio probe (NYDN) President Trump’s firing of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara on Saturday is unlikely to significantly derail the ongoing investigation into de Blasio’s fund-raising — or the political calculations of those considering running against the mayor in November — experts told the Daily News. Under normal circumstances, the assistant U.S. attorneys investigating de Blasio would not be affected by a change in leadership, said Bradley Simon, a criminal defense lawyer and former prosecutor in Brooklyn’s Eastern District. “I don’t think they’re going to be affected at all unless there’s some intervention by the Justice Department,” he said. “With respect to this administration, we’re dealing with uncharted territory.” Simon said the same is true for the case against Gov. Cuomo’s inner circle, which was brought by Bharara. Simon noted that a deputy is generally ideologically similar to the U.S. attorney he or she serves, meaning Kim has little motivation to pump the brakes on an investigation into whether de Blasio donors were promised favors. Kim was reportedly present when de Blasio was questioned by federal prosecutors for several hours last month. Whenever Trump does appoint Bharara’s successor, he or she will have little incentive to go easy on de Blasio, who has been a vocal critic of the President’s policies, said Jeanne Zaino, a political science professor at Iona College. “Everybody assumed Preet Bharara was the worst thing that could happen to Bill de Blasio, but you could imagine a Republican getting in there and being just as tough, if not tougher,” Zaino said. “Certainly there’s a lot of questions coming up as to whether ... President Trump is concerned about the jurisdiction of this U.S. attorney and whether that might affect his future,” Cummings said. “You look at everything surrounding the investigations — there are a lot of questions that need to be asked.”
We Lose
Bharara refused to return phone call from Trump citing DOJ rules (NYP)
Trump's Preet mistake — dismissing New York's topprosecutor (NYDNED) As most New Yorkers know by now, Bharara has done the job impeccably. He has applied the criminal law without fear or favor, whether to corrupt Democrat and Republican politicians, or Wall Street crooks, or terrorists, or gang leaders, or gun traffickers, or those lobbing anti-Semitic bomb threats at JCCs. Now, he happens to be in the thick of a delicate investigation into what laws may have been broken by members of the de Blasio administration, up to and including the mayor himself, to give official favors to big-money campaign donors. *
Fired U.S. attorney appears to slam Trump in tweet invoking shuttered New York corruption panel (Hill)
Both the NYP and Daily News Did Editorials on the Harm to New York That Bharara Being Fired Will Cause to Fighting Corruption The NY Times on Team de Blasio - No Editorial but their News Story Said the Prosecutor Relished the Spotlight
Trump Appointed Bharara and Schneiderman Has Lunch Again Whose Next?
Eric Schneiderman and Preet Bharara power lunch (Page6, NYP) Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and US Attorney Preet Bharara had lunch together at the Odeon late last week. Bharara and Schneiderman’s offices have several overlapping probes and remain in regular contact to ensure they’re not stepping on each other’s toes. But their public lunch has political insiders talking. Bharara is investigating many of Gov. Cuomo’s associates concerning what he calls the “show-the-money culture in Albany,” and he indicted the governor’s closest aide Joe Percoco for alleged bribery and bid-rigging. Meanwhile, Schneiderman has criticized Cuomo’s ethics reform plan as “likely unconstitutional.”
More on JCOPE
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The Same Media Which Was Campaign Out At the Pay to Play Mayor's Lawyers Office is Now Ignoring the Investigation
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The Same Media Which Was Campaign Out At the Pay to Play Mayor's Lawyers Office is Now Ignoring the Investigation
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who has battled insider trading and Albany’s top lawmakers, launched a personal Twitter account on Friday, a rare step for a top federal law enforcement official that prompted a flurry of chatter about his motives, the Journal writes.
U.S. Attorney Bharara Meets With Trump Ask and Agrees to Stay
A shadow government shielded from public scrutiny. To make it worse, Rosen — as The Post has reported — routinely touted his clients to city officials, which might’ve made him an unregistered lobbyist under state law. This week, Hizzoner dismissed any conflict of interest, claiming (misleadingly) that “Rosen’s never talked to me, since I’ve been mayor, about a client.” De Blasio’s arrangements with “outsiders” certainly reek. Did they cross criminal lines? Ask US Attorney Preet Bharara.
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US Attorney Bharara @PreetBharara One year ago today, Sheldon Silver got justice, and at long last, so did the people of New York
True News Wags NYP That the U.S. Attorney Will End the Silly Cuomo vs. de Blasio War That is All About Them and Not the People They Serve
True News Wags NYP That the U.S. Attorney Will End the Silly Cuomo vs. de Blasio War That is All About Them and Not the People They Serve
Cuomo’s campaign to ‘bigfoot’ de Blasio is starting to backfire (NYP Ed) Cuomo seems determined to end the year with a nonstop series of moves to “bigfoot” Mayor de Blasio. If he keeps it up, he’ll wind up making even the mayor’s harshest critics feel sorry for the guy. Round One, the Battle of Lefty the Deer, arguably worked out OK for the gov (though not for the deer): Cuomo scored points with lovers of innocent furry creatures by demanding Lefty’s rescue, even though the city’s “put it to sleep” approach was simply complying with state policy. But the governor’s looking a bit silly with his posturing on the Second Avenue Subway. Fine, he controls the MTA, so he can order it to officially open the new line on New Year’s Day for a fine photo op. But it’s far too late to have the new trains actually running a full schedule that day, no matter how many press releases he issues — and straphangers will notice. As for Cuomo’s order doubling the deployment of state troopers to the city, well: Keeping the streets safe is one thing de Blasio has managed fairly well, by avoiding too much political interference with the NYPD, the best police force in America. Indeed, de Blasio at last came up with a decent zing at Cuomo on the trooper invasion — by suggesting the state cops pitch in on the security detail at Trump Tower. Feuding between New York’s mayor and governor is a decades-old story, for a host of reasons. It often makes for entertainment, at least for political obsessives — and the coming competition to see who wins top status as The Anti-Trump promises to be quite the show (assuming US Attorney Preet Bharara doesn’t sideline either contestant). But the feud stops being amusing if it looks like it’s interfering with no good purpose.
OH DEER HIGH NOON: State Troopers Now Pawns in the Cuomo vs de Blasio War Will A U.S Attorney End the War So Our Elected Leaders Can Serve Us?
‘It’s a pissing match’: Cuomo defies de Blasio — again (NYP) Cuomo plans to double the number of state troopers in New York City, with a law-enforcement source saying the move is part of “a pissing match” between the governor and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
De Blasio fires back at Cuomo over state trooper expansion plan (NYP) Mayor de Blasio’s ongoing sparring match with Gov. Cuomo heated up Monday night with Hizzoner getting territorial and saying the NYPD doesn’t need state troopers crossing into its jurisdiction. “The NYPD is doing an extraordinary job keeping New York City safe … 2016 is about to be one of the greatest years of crime fighting in this city,” said de Blasio in a NY1 interview responding to a Post story about Cuomo planning to double the number of state troopers in the Big Apple. “I assume, and we all believe, certainly [NYPD Commissioner James [O’Neill] believes, there’s a division of labor where the state police work all around the state, including on MTA facilities, for example, owned by the state. Great. And let the NYPD do what it does best.” * De Blasio also continued his sparring match with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, saying the NYPD doesn’t need state troopers crossing into its jurisdiction after reports emerged that Cuomo is planning to double the number of state troopers in New York City, the Post reports. * New Yorkers don’t want Cuomo to run for president (NYP) * In year NY legalizes MMA, UFC parent company gives bigmoney to Cuomo, pols Update Cuomo pledges 150 additional state troopers to patrol city (NYP)
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Trump Finish Cleaning Up NY Govt Corruption By Keeping U.S. Attorney Bharara de Blasio Trump My 2017 LICH Prop
De Blasio is heading into his re-election year, with Cuomo presumably to follow in 2018. For better or worse, each deserves unequivocal conclusions to the investigations and related activities that Bharara has initiated. The prosecutor needs to drop the hammer or lift the cloud, to be blunt. And New Yorkers need a clean resolution also, for otherwise, a restoration of confidence in their government is impossible.
President Trump should let Preet Bharara finish his anti-corruption drive (NYP Ed) United States attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president. Here’s hoping that it is the pleasure of President-elect Donald J. Trump to keep junkyard-dog federal prosecutor Preet Bharara on the job long enough to finish the extraordinary work he has undertaken in New York. Custom has it that US attorneys stand ready to depart when a new president is inaugurated. Bill Clinton, taking office in 1993, demanded — and received — resignation letters from all 93 federal prosecutors. New brooms, as they say, sweep clean. Bharara, if not a new broom, is certainly a big one, and he’s been sweeping clean since President Obama — on the recommendation of Sen. Charles Schumer — appointed him US Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 2009. That’s one of the most challenging prosecutorial posts in the federal government, albeit one that has generally focused on Wall Street and the financial markets. Bharara widened the brief to include New York government at the state and local level — scoring spectacular, if substantially incomplete, results. Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and one-time state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos are on their way to federal prison; former key aides to Gov. Cuomo await formal indictment in separate scandals; and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration has been hamstrung by at least five investigations — most of them conducted, initiated, or materially aided by Bharara. Not since Manhattan District Attorney Thomas Dewey went after Tammany Hall to splendid effect some 80 years ago has a single prosecutor had the effect on political corruption in New York that Bharara has already achieved. Yet for all of that, much remains to be done, with not much time to do it if standard succession conventions are observed. New York will never be free of corruption. Greed, stupidity, and arrogance are part of the human condition — arguably nowhere more acutely than in the Empire State. Bharara’s singular service to date has been to impose a measure of restraint on business as usual.
Who Cares About Mayor's Helicopter Rides When Trump Appoints Apocalpypse Now Bharara to Keep Arresting NY's Political Swamp Class No Editorials On Trump Re-Apointment of Bharara
"President elect Trump after meeting with the fearless United States attorney Preet Bharara, in a move more poignant then any before, declared that America, a nation of laws, will enjoy law enforcement without regard to political party labels: Republican or Democrat. After all, as has been said before, there is no democratic or republican way to lock up a criminal. That Preet shared, within the confines of the law, his areas of interest with POTUS45 resulted in, as I had publicly hoped and urged, Trump offering Preet four more years. To our great benefit, Preet who can do anything he wants and go anywhere he wants, chose to remain the "Horatio Hornblower" of the United States Attorneys for the Southern District of New York and continue to battle against those who play checkers while Preet plays chess. The fumigation and disinfectant of Albany and Cityhall is far from over, because those in dire need of being indicted, convicted and severed from their arrogant corrupt roots of power were playing the "run the clock out game" - suddenly find themselves checkmated by President elect Trump. I know that all hard-working New Yorkers are celebrating with unexpected joy that they have Preet back on their side to eviscerate the casual and comfortable corruption that has taken residence in the great state of New York. Given Preet Bharara's exceptional service to the people of these United States, meeting, and I believe well exceeding, the power that emanates from the chair of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York - I hope that then-president Trump will appoint Preet to become a justice of the United States Supreme Court when the next vacancy occurs - beyond the one created by the untimely demise of the great Nino Scalia. There is inherent greatness and Preet, much like the America we love and the Constitution we cherish and protect from enemies foreign and domestic." Ravi Batra
De Blasio taking significantly more helicopter rides this year (NYP) * Mayor de Blasio’s Trips by Police Helicopter Rise Sharply, Records Show (NYT) Mayor Bill de Blasio has taken 10 rides by police chopper in the last three months. Before that, he had traveled that way a total of eight times since taking office.* Over the last three months, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has taken 10 trips by police helicopter to various parts of the city – a sharp increase from his travel patterns earlier in his mayoralty, according to Police Department logs, The New York Times writes. * Albany has repeatedly demonstrated its unwillingness to change on its own, and it’s a relief that U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara will continue his essential work in the Trump administration after January, the Buffalo News writes.
Federal Investigation Upstate Updates
In court filings, attorneys for G. Steven Pigeon, a Buffalo political operative indicted on nine counts of bribery and extortion, argue the case should be dismissed because evidence was illegally collected during a 2015 raid on his home, The Buffalo News reports. * COR Development, a firm reportedly at the center of a federal investigation involving Cuomo development projects, is suing Todd Howe, a former lobbyist who is part of the probe, over an $85,000 loan the company says it made Howe, The Syracuse Post-Standard reports. * * In the ongoing court battle over “pay to play” allegations by a Cleveland developer, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown is shaking up his legal defense team, replacing one big name with another, apparently to avoid a conflict of interest, The Buffalo News reports.
Schumer Hillary Not Clear on Political Corruption Fighter Bharara's Future
Chuck Schumer says Preet Bharara is doing a great job,but won’t reveal if he wants the prosecutor back under next President (NYDN) *
Time For Preet to Clear His Plate (Manhattan Institute) The multiplying investigations of the de Blasio administration need resolution.
Hillary Clinton won’t commit to reappointing U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara (NYDN) b Clinton during an appearance before the Daily News Editorial Board on Saturday would not commit to re-appointing Bharara should she win "I will take all that into account if I'm lucky enough to be elected President," Clinton said when asked about Bharara's performance in cracking down on government corruption. "I obviously want the very best people to be U.S. attorneys," she said. "I want them to give no favor to anybody. If there are cases to be investigated and made, they should do it." But she quickly added that "I'm not going to comment on any particular personnel decision."
Time For Preet to Clear His Plate (Manhattan Institute) The multiplying investigations of the de Blasio administration need resolution.
Hillary Clinton won’t commit to reappointing U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara (NYDN) b Clinton during an appearance before the Daily News Editorial Board on Saturday would not commit to re-appointing Bharara should she win "I will take all that into account if I'm lucky enough to be elected President," Clinton said when asked about Bharara's performance in cracking down on government corruption. "I obviously want the very best people to be U.S. attorneys," she said. "I want them to give no favor to anybody. If there are cases to be investigated and made, they should do it." But she quickly added that "I'm not going to comment on any particular personnel decision."
Trump Appointed Bharara and Schneiderman Has Lunch Again Whose Next?
Eric Schneiderman and Preet Bharara power lunch (Page6, NYP) Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and US Attorney Preet Bharara had lunch together at the Odeon late last week. Bharara and Schneiderman’s offices have several overlapping probes and remain in regular contact to ensure they’re not stepping on each other’s toes. But their public lunch has political insiders talking. Bharara is investigating many of Gov. Cuomo’s associates concerning what he calls the “show-the-money culture in Albany,” and he indicted the governor’s closest aide Joe Percoco for alleged bribery and bid-rigging. Meanwhile, Schneiderman has criticized Cuomo’s ethics reform plan as “likely unconstitutional.”
Scared Pols Want Bharara Too Do Their Job of Bring Down de Blasio True News Wags WSJ On Federal Investigation Will Shape the Mayor's Race
Is JCOPE Moving Against de Blasio's Campaign for One NY Because the Feds are Ready to Pounce?
The inquiry by the ethics panel, which has the authority to bring administrative actions and seek fines, is separate from more than a half-dozen federal and state criminal investigations that in recent months have examined various aspects of the mayor’s political fund-raising. One of those, being conducted by federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has also focused in some measure on the Campaign for One New York, according to people briefed on the matter.
JCOPE is A Joke: Outside Income Law Rarely Enforce Ignored Mostly
From the conviction of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to the recent federal charges against former top Cuomo administration official Joe Percoco, the issue of state officials' outside jobs — and the potential for graft created — has sparked calls for reform. But there is already law on the books that would shine substantial sunlight on such arrangements. Yet it doesn't appear to be enforced very well. The law, passed in 2011 as part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's first ethics reform bill, requires lobbyists or their clients who pay a state employee more than $1,000 in a year to submit a form detailing the exact amount every six months. It also requires a description of the nature of the state employee's outside work. Since the law was passed, only 24 lobbying clients and 11 lobbyists have submitted paperwork detailing the hiring of state officials, according to the website of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, the state's lobbying watchdog agency. The law was passed in the wake of the 2009 trial of ex-Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, in which federal prosecutors charged the Brunswick Republican with using his position to enrich himself through a business he operated on the side. He was convicted on two federal charges, which were later overturned because of a U.S. Supreme Court decision. In a second trial, he was acquitted.Disclosure law for outside income often ignored, rarely enforced (TU) State officials take side jobs, but their employers fail to tell JCOPE about it
New JCOPE Subpoenas Fly At de Blasio's Campaign For One NY PAC As Federal and Manhattan DA Investigation Continues
Ethics Panel Investigating de Blasio’s Nonprofit Is Said to Issue Broad Subpoena (NYT) A state ethics panel investigating Mayor Bill de Blasio’s political nonprofit organization has served a sweeping subpoena on City Hall seeking communications among the mayor, his aides, the nonprofit, its donors and consulting firms that worked for it, people with knowledge of the matter said. The scope of the subpoena suggests a widening of the investigation by the State Joint Commission on Public Ethics, which enforces state lobbying laws and has been focused on whether the group, the Campaign for One New York, illegally lobbied the city in 2015. At the same time, several lawyers representing donors to the group who have been contacted by the panel said the inquiry also appeared to be focused on whether some donations from lobbyists or their clients who have business before the city actually constituted undisclosed gifts to the mayor. Any such undisclosed gifts would violate state lobbying laws. The subpoena was served on Sept. 14, just four days after a State Supreme Court judge in Albany rejected the group’s effort to quash two earlier subpoenas from the panel. The judge ordered the nonprofit and several consulting companies that had done work for it and for Mr. de Blasio’s mayoral campaign to provide almost all of the documents sought by the panel, also known as Jcope. In doing so, the judge rejected arguments from the group and the mayor that the panel’s inquiry was politically motivated. The ruling limited the group’s efforts to stop disclosure of communications with the consulting companies and their employees. Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, had contended that such communications were privileged and should be kept confidential. The new subpoena, according to people familiar with it, seeks a broad range of documents and communications from the mayor, his senior aides and anyone in City Hall assigned to do work related to the nonprofit, which shut down in March. It also seeks emails from the mayor and his staff to donors, lobbyists, consultants and reporters, as well as any telephone logs, calendars or schedules relating to the mayor and the nonprofit, the people said.
JCOPE is A Joke: Outside Income Law Rarely Enforce Ignored Mostly
From the conviction of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to the recent federal charges against former top Cuomo administration official Joe Percoco, the issue of state officials' outside jobs — and the potential for graft created — has sparked calls for reform. But there is already law on the books that would shine substantial sunlight on such arrangements. Yet it doesn't appear to be enforced very well. The law, passed in 2011 as part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's first ethics reform bill, requires lobbyists or their clients who pay a state employee more than $1,000 in a year to submit a form detailing the exact amount every six months. It also requires a description of the nature of the state employee's outside work. Since the law was passed, only 24 lobbying clients and 11 lobbyists have submitted paperwork detailing the hiring of state officials, according to the website of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, the state's lobbying watchdog agency. The law was passed in the wake of the 2009 trial of ex-Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, in which federal prosecutors charged the Brunswick Republican with using his position to enrich himself through a business he operated on the side. He was convicted on two federal charges, which were later overturned because of a U.S. Supreme Court decision. In a second trial, he was acquitted.Disclosure law for outside income often ignored, rarely enforced (TU) State officials take side jobs, but their employers fail to tell JCOPE about it
New JCOPE Subpoenas Fly At de Blasio's Campaign For One NY PAC As Federal and Manhattan DA Investigation Continues
de Blasio One NY PACInterlocking-directorates Slush Fund, Berlin Rosen, Bill Hyers, Red Horse
Bharara: Not a Problem That Can Be Solved by Prosecution the Media and Other Politicians Need Help Fight The Culture of Corruption in Albany
This week NY Nowhas an exclusive sit-down interview with U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. The man who famously took down the two former legislative leaders in the same year has not slowed down in bringing forward cases of public corruption, as evidenced by the latest charges brought up last month against former Cuomo aide Joe Percoco among others. Listen to Preet Bharara explain why the SCOTUS 'McDonnell' decision has no impact on the Silver and Skelos corruption convictions. [Note: Fmr state senator John Sampson was the first to have his McDonnell appeal rejected by a federal appeal court.
SHOCK POLL: 94% say Cuomo bears at least some responsibility for allegedcorruption...
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara
Bharara: Not a Problem That Can Be Solved by Prosecution the Media and Other Politicians Need Help Fight The Culture of Corruption in Albany
SHOCK POLL: 94% say Cuomo bears at least some responsibility for allegedcorruption...
Several lawmakers are calling for broad reform of the State University system’s contract procurement process, following charges against SUNY Polytechnic Institute president Alain Kaloyeros for alleged bid rigging, Politico New York reports.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara
US Attorney Bharara: Contribute to Investigative Journalism
Bharara: Yep. Too many PR people who spin and not nearly enough reporters who report.
Bharara: “I would encourage anyone who is in a position to fund investigative journalism to fund it. … It is money well spent."
Bharara told the audience at the gala that he was perplexed as to why no one asked him at the press conference where he announced the charges how his office started the investigation in the first place. “That case got started because journalists in Buffalo and elsewhere started to write that there were shenanigans they believe that were going on with the bidding of contracts in Buffalo,” Bharara said. “And you know what we did? We started to investigate.” “A lot of the greatest work that prosecutors and watchdogs do comes from the work that journalists do and I would encourage anyone who’s able to fund investigative journalism to spend money on it because it’s money well-spent and it’s good for the cause,” he added.
@SquarePegDem Apr 22 Gary Tilzer (@unitedNYblogs) warned that BdB circle of friends, lobbyists & PACs were up to no good. Like #Cassandra, he was ignored.
IN INTERVIEW, BHARARA SAYS "PUTTING CORRUPT POLITICIANS IN JAIL MAY BE NECESSARY, BUT IT’S NOT SUFFICIENT"
C&S: What impact do you think your office has had onthe culture of Albany or the culture of politics?
PB: I don’t know how much impact it’s had yet on culture. The first and most important effect I think it’s had is it’s held people accountable, over a dozen people accountable just in the state Legislature, approximately. Just that alone I think is significant, and it sends a message to everyone in the public that this kind of conduct is not going to be tolerated. And people are paying attention and people are taking it seriously. And people are not afraid to go after folks who have power and have standing, and it doesn’t matter because no one is above the law. And I think, eventually, that has an effect on the people and the institutions that we’re looking at and investigating over time, and people get the message, I think. Particularly, there are a lot of smart people who are in politics and realize it’s not worth losing your liberty over, it’s not worth losing your reputation over, to engage in that conduct and conduct that they know is bad and unlawful. And I think over time that causes the situation to get better. But we can’t do it alone, and nobody here pretends that simply bringing a series of prosecutions is enough. I often say putting corrupt politicians in jail may be necessary, but it’s not sufficient.
Chartock Yes Albany is Rigged and Losing Bharara Make Me Queasy
ALAN CHARTOCK: Yes, Donald, the political system is rigged (Daily Freeman) Donald Trump suggests that the system is “rigged.” He should know — he’s been playing the system for years, as giant real estate developers are known to do. Let’s stop for a moment and examine whether New York’s political system is rigged. It is, of course, and I can prove it. Take, for example, the gerrymander that goes on when we draw the districts from which the legislators run. We all know that the majority party in each house draws the district lines to give themselves maximum advantage. They use complex computers to help them in this evil work which really does subvert democracy. They shove as many bodies as they can into one district so that the surrounding districts have a better chance of going their way. We send our kids to foreign countries to “fight for democracy” yet we rig elections right here at home. As my son often says to me, “That ain’t right.”
Then, too, the system is rigged in favor of those people who have the most money. Big corporations and well-heeled people invest millions to make things come out the way they want them too. It’s not surprising some of these people can invest hundreds of thousands of dollars or more to lobby the Legislature. They know that the money they invest in campaigns will bring them a great return on their “investment” into controlling the way things go. That’s a pretty good investment — a lot better than your stock broker can get. The rigging goes even further when we consider the fact that so few politicians in both houses ever lose their seats. Once the gerrymander and the money kick in, there is little or no chance that anyone will be defeated. Now they want a whopping pay raise when so many of them work so little. Not only that, they make a lot of money on the outside because of their legislative titles. We all know it and the time has come to put a stop to it by limiting outside income. Hey, they even do that in the United States Congress. Voters know when they are being had but they opt out because of sheer frustration. My students tell me that their parents often say, “They’re all crooks.” They may not be but they sure rig the system. That’s why, whenever New York City residents have had the opportunity to vote for term limits, they’ve done so overwhelmingly. If the rest of the state was ever given a chance to vote on term limits, they would, too, despite the fact most people like their own representatives. Now they want to saddle us with a constitutional convention that will be controlled by the same people who bring us the New York State Legislature. If people vote for that pig in a poke they ought to have their heads examined. Politicians tend to speak with forked tongues and that’s a big problem. Take Governor Andrew Cuomo, who always insists that he wants to reform the system. Now he is surrounded by aides, including his so-called best friends, who are under investigation. He claims to be a Democrat but insiders have known for years that he is very comfortable with having Republicans in control of the State Senate. This year he knows he’ll face a primary if he continues to do that so there are signs that his duplicity in this area will have to be modified. What are you going to do when a guy says one thing and does another? There is so much rigging in our state system that it will take more like Preet Bharara to put Humpty back together again. Not surprisingly, the big fish pols, including Hillary Clinton, seem disinclined to reappoint him as prosecutor. I am going to vote for Hillary Clinton as the lesser of two evils. The whole thing makes me queasy.* * Contributing to political nonprofits through a law firm or other entity allows donors to hide their identities, and the Legislature that ought to be closing such loopholes as quickly as lawyers find them instead leaves them gaping for years, the Times Union writes.
Bharara Send Silver to Jail Now
Preet Bharara wants Sheldon Silver to go straight to jail (NYP) Convicted former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver should go straight to jail, Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara argued in a letter to a federal judge. The filing late Wednesday by Bharara’s prosecutors cited an appeals court’s action hours earlier in upholding the punishment to one of Silver’s corrupt* Convicted former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver should go straight to jail, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara argued in a letter to a federal judge citing an appeals court ruling in the case of former Assemblyman Eric Stevenson, the Post reports.
Sheldon Silver's $80K Yearly Pension Could Be Up For Grabs By Feds(DNAINFO)
A new court ruling could stop corrupt New York politicians from keeping their pensions.
Sheldon Silver's $80K Yearly Pension Could Be Up For Grabs By Feds(DNAINFO)
A new court ruling could stop corrupt New York politicians from keeping their pensions.
The Courts & Bharara Took Away Corrupt Pols Pension Which Albany Would Not Do
Court’s ruling on corrupt NY pols’ pensions is long overdue (NYP) Corrupt New York pols who dream of retiring with fat, taxpayer-provided pensions just took a big hit in court. Score one for justice and common sense. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the 2d US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that pensions of convicted lawmakers can be seized — even though the state Constitution prevents those egg nests from being “diminished or impaired.” US Attorney Preet Bharara has been targeting the retirement pay of legislators he’s convicted, rightly calling it a “galling injustice” that crooked pols continue to collect cushy pensions until “their dying day.” The two corrupt former legislative leaders, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, are in line for $80,000 and $96,000 respectively. But the judges said disgraced former Assemblyman Eric Stevenson must surrender the $22,000 he paid into the system because the state Constitution is “pre-empted” by federal law, which allows “forfeiture” of property derived from a crime “irrespective of any provision of State law.” In 2011, Albany stripped newly elected legislators of their pensions if convicted. But they couldn’t touch those already in office, like Silver and Skelos, because of the state Constitution. This year, after much kicking and screaming, the Legislature OK’d a constitutional amendment to allow the pensions of corrupt veteran pols to be seized retroactively. But it wouldn’t take effect for at least several years. Which makes the 2d Circuit’s ruling all that more important. Crooked pols have long rested easy knowing they had a taxpayer-funded cushion to fall back on if they got caught. That cushion was just yanked from under them.*
* A federal Court of Appeals ruled that disgraced former Assemblyman Eric Stevenson’s pension contributions are available to the feds as they seek to recoup $22,000 in ill-gotten gains, the Times Union reports.
A New President Could End the Era of Bharara Corruption Fighting in NY
There's a reason Preet Bharara may feel pressure to finish politician investigations (NYDN)With time possibly running out on crusading U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's term, many in New York's political and legal circles are bracing for a frenzy of activity as his office works to finish up ongoing cases into the Cuomo and de Blasio administrations before the next President takes office. "When a U.S. Attorney is about to leave office, there's a lot of pressure on the assistants to finalize cases and indictments and bring them to fruition," former federal prosecutor Bradley Simon said. "In this case, he's concerned about his legacy and he's going to want all unfinished business completed." Simon said there's always a concern the next U.S. attorney may not place the same emphasis on particular cases. "The existing U.S. attorney doesn't want to take chances or see all their hard work going out the window," he said. "Once there is an indictment, a new US attorney can't go and pull it.
Bharara Declines Assembly GOP Invite To Albany (YNN)The 3 Men in A Room Avoided U.S. Attorney Bharara in Albany Today
Cuomo Sidesteps Bharara’s Presence(YNN) Over the course of his first gaggle with reporters in Albany since October, Gov. Andrew Cuomo was asked at least multiple times about the appearance of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in the state’s capital city on Monday. And each time, Cuomo for the most part demurred. “I went in, I did the event,” Cuomo said when asked about Bharara. “This was a major gathering for law enforcement people — judges, colleagues from all across the state. I think the turnout was magnificent. I think that was an endorsement of the selection.” * Flanagan, At NYCOM, Avoids Bharara (YNN) Assembly Majority Leader Joe Morelle, representing the Democratic conference in the Assembly, stood in for Speaker Carl Heastie. * Albany joked that, unlike Bruce Springsteen’s hit song, he’s not looking to run for anything anytime soon. “Given that Bruce Springsteen is in town: I was not born to run,” said Bharara, an affirmed Springsteen fan, said to the audience groaning at the pun.
Ravi Batra @RaviBatra
Bharara: I Am Not Done With Albany's Culture of Corruption
Bharara warns Albany he’s not done targeting corruption (NYP) “We’re not closing up shop any time soon,” Bharara said on WAMC radio. He opened the broadcast with a blast at the culture of corruption in Albany that enabled Silver, the Democratic former Assembly speaker, and Skelos, the Republican ex-Senate majority leader. “People knew — people knew before the prosecutors showed up, before the FBI showed up,” Bharara said. “People always know. You think no one knew Sheldon Silver was corrupt before he was put in handcuffs? Not a chance.”* Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney, Takes a Victory Lap in Albany After Winning Corruption Cases (NYT) The prosecutor visited New York ’s state capital on Monday, where he received an admiring reception. * During his first visit to Albany since taking office in 2009, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara saidthere was a common thread to the public corruption cases he has pursued to conviction: “People knew.” * Bharara called on everyone from the public to rank-and-file legislators to get involved in reducing Albany ’s “crisis of corruption” that has produced a culture of bribery, kickbacks and a “rancid” environment. “It calls for a re-examination of the culture of our public institutions,” he said. “It’s not just the corrupt actors themselves who bear responsibility.”* The US attorney repeatedly hammered the complacency and implicit collaboration of other lawmakers, whom he called “enablers” in Albany ’s corrupt culture. “What’s been going on in New York State Albany , saying: “We’re not closing up shop anytime soon.”* Both the governor and Bharara attended DiFiore’s swearing-in ceremony, but did not speak to one another. Bharara had his eyes closed on repeated occasions during Cuomo’s speech — maybe resting up for the Bruce Springsteen show he was set to attend last night in Albany .* Flanagan: Banning Outside Income Not A Priority For Voters (YNN)* Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and the Working Families Party are pushing back against Cuomo’s assertion that there’s “no reason or appetite” for a tax hike on the rich this year.
Daily News Says Useless For Bharara to lecture Albany About Reform
In broad daylightthe Albany gangkeeps its dirty ways (NYDN) Visiting Albany to speak about corruption, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara decried the “array of enablers who seem to lurk in this town.” As the prosecutor who convicted former bosses Speaker Sheldon and Dean Skelos, Bharara has been unerringly on target — until now. He is wrong because there’s no need to lurk in Albany . Openly, the Legislature has written rules to give money free rein over policy, end accountability and ensure lifetime tenure once elected. Every level of government in New York , from the governor’s office to the tiniest town clerk, must open its records for public under the Freedom of Information Law — except the Legislature. Every policy-setting level of government in New York , from local library boards to the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, must do business in public — except the Legislature. No one in Albany lurked in blanketing the Legislature from public view. Lawmakers openly voted to shield their business from public view. No one in Albany lurked in writing campaign finance regulations that allow monied interests to donate virtually unlimited sums of money. No one in Albany lurks as lawmakers pressure lobbyists for money in and around the Capitol. No one in Albany lurks as the bosses buy the loyalty of lawmakers with thousands of dollars on top of their salaries . And — a particularly timely example — no one lurked in writing rules that give party bosses power to hand-pick loyalists for vacated seats, relieving them of having to compete for voter approval.* The Times Union writes that U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’sspeech in Albany did not offer specific ethics suggestions but served as a reminder to legislators that “there is a cop on the beat, ready to clean house if they don’t:” * The Daily News writes that contrary to Bharara’s statement that enablers seem to lurk in Albany, the Legislature has openly written rules that give “money free rein over policy, end accountability and ensure lifetime tenure once elected:” Q&A: Preet Bharara on Glenwood, quid pro quo, lack of Wall St. jailings and more @PreetBharara met with the TimesUnion ed board while he was in Albanyon Monday.
Can we try tools of drug war to corruption? Give amnesty to Pols & jail all those greedy Corrupters & crooked lobbyists
Bharara: I Am Not Done With Albany's Culture of Corruption
.@PreetBharara says both Silver and Skelos “marginalized” and “some might say, infantilized” their caucuses. #nyassembly #nysenate
"A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves."-- Edward R. Murrow
Bharara Going to Albany to Meet With Mayors
Feb. 8 promises to be a very busy day in Albany for US Attorney Preet Bharara. On top of speaking to the state Conference of Mayors in the morning and attending an already sold-out talk with WAMC in the later afternoon, Bharara plans to attend the swearing-in ceremony for the state’s new chief judge, Janet DiFiore.* Crusading US Attorney Preet Bharara took a sharp dig at former U.S Attorney General Eric Holder, under whom he served from 2009 until Holder stepped down in last year, for how he handled the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis.
Bharara Coming To Albany (YNN) U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is heading to
NYP's Dicker Winners and Losers in 2015
The biggest winners and losers in New York politics this year ( NYP) ’Tis the season . . . to name the winners and losers in New York politics in 2015. And while losers have dominated the state political scene for years, nothing compares to the slate that emerged in the top ranks of our electoral system this year. A year ago, Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) was the Assembly speaker and the second-most- powerful Democrat in the state, while Dean Skelos (R-Nassau) was the Senate majority leader and the most powerful Republican in New York . Today, they’ve been ousted from office as convicted felons guilty of public corruption and on a fast track to federal prison. A year ago, Gov. Cuomo was just off a re-election victory and there was talk around that he might yet be a contender for the 2016 Democratic presidential or vice-presidential nomination. Today, Cuomo is polling at his lowest public-approval ratings ever, has flip-flopped on what he once claimed were core policy issues, and is, most ominously, in the cross hairs of the continuing corruption probe being led by hard-charging US Attorney Preet “Stay tuned’’
Bharara. Silver and Skelos are, of course, the biggest Losers of the Year for 2015 — perhaps, as a pair, even the biggest losers in New York political history. And Cuomo, who still hasn’t told the public about what he knew of Silver’s and Skelos’ illegal activities as he shuttered the doors on the corruption-fighting Moreland Commission, is clearly the runner-up as Loser of the Year — with talk increasing that he’ll face a challenge in the Democratic primary should he seek re-election in 2018.
As with the biggest losers, the Winner of the Year — the biggest winner since a then-little-known prosecutor named Rudolph Giuliani declared war on another set of corrupt politicians in the mid-1980s — isn’t hard to choose. He’s clearly Bharara, who initiated the successful prosecutions of Silver and Skelos as well as of former Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens), former Senate Deputy Majority Leader Tom Libous (R-Binghamton) and a long roster of other crooked pols. And he’s done anything but rest on his laurels. Bharara has emerged as the public’s avenging angel against those who have corrupted our democratic system in Albany . and he has clearly chosen the role of the crusader who is determined to set things right. That’s why Albany now shudders each time Bharara utters the ominous words, “Stay tuned.’’
90% of New Yorkers Think Corruption is A Problem in Albany
Only 20% of New Yorkers Know About U.S. Attorney Brahara, The Man Who Has Already Gotten 2 of the 3 Men in the Room and Says Stay Tuned
New Yorkers Want New Ethics Laws to Clean Up Albany, Poll Finds (NYT) In a new poll conducted by Siena College after the conviction of Sheldon Silver, the former Assembly speaker, about nine in 10 New York voters say corruption is a serious problem. The picture is unambiguously grim for the state’s lawmakers: About nine in 10 New York voters say corruption is a serious problem in Albany , including a majority who say it is a very serious problem. Nearly half of the state’s voters say recent corruption scandals have made them less likely to re-elect their own members of the Legislature. ynicism prevails about the prospects for change: Sixty-one percent of voters agreed with the statement, “Silver got caught, the next guy will do the same just more carefully.” Around two-thirds of voters said it would take new laws to prevent another scandal like the one that brought down Mr. Silver. If the recent series of corruption trials has made Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, into something of a celebrity among political elites, he remains mostly unknown to voters. Just a under a fifth of New York voters had a favorable view of Mr. Bharara, but three-quarters had no opinion of him at all.* While 83 percent of voters statewide say the conviction of former Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver is an important step toward cleaning up Albany , only 22 percent say the conviction will convince lawmakers to act more ethically and honestly on their own. Sixty-four percent say new laws are needed to prevent unethical and illegal behavior. Sixty-one percent of voters statewide say that while Silver got caught engaging in illegal behavior, “the next guy will do the same just more carefully.” * Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s favorable-unfavorable number is largely unchanged at 51-38.* U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s favorable-unfavorable is 18-9, with 73 percent of all voters saying they don’t know who he is or have no opinion of him.* Many New Yorkers have lost faith in a state government that’s been embroiled in one corruption scandal after another. But instead of merely complaining, they’ll soon have a chance to tear it all down and start over. Voters will be asked in 2017 whether the state should hold a constitutional convention to consider fundamental changes to its 121-year-old state constitution. * Cuomo: Legislature Needs To Heal Itself (YNN) * Stewart-Cousins: Poll Shows NYers Want Change In Albany (YNN) * @PreetBharara on @NYGovCuomo: "I'm notgoing to talk about any investigations that we have open" (PoliticoNY) * Bharara on pension claw backs: "We will be looking at all the ways justice can be done." * A Siena poll finds that a strong majority of New Yorkers want new ethics laws passed to clean up state government, and few of them believe corruption in Albany can be stopped by prosecutors alone, theTimes reports: * Who’s next? Bharara won’t disclose corruption probes
Nicole Malliotakis @NMalliotakis
Not Being Charged By Bharara for Killing Moreland Does Not Clear Cuomo of Betrayal of His Pledge to Clean Up Albany
The Post writes that Cuomo should be ashamed of how he handled the Moreland Commission he convened to probe corruption, despite the fact that U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara announced he won’t bring charges against the governor
‘No indictment’ hardly clears Cuomo for his betrayal of anti-corruption (NYP) Preet Bharara’s announcement Monday surely brought one big sigh of relief: The US Attorney won’t bring charges in Gov. Cuomo’s handling of the anti-corruption Moreland Commission. Such is Albany ’s perpetual dysfunction that “insufficient evidence to prove a federal crime” in the “interference with the operation of the Moreland Commission and its premature closing” is good news. Still, Cuomo should be ashamed of his Moreland record. He shut the commission down even as it was developing key evidence against Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos, the two leaders of the state Legislature — and it’s obvious he did it at their request, in exchange for other concessions in Albany’s endless bargaining.Bharara then swooped in, grabbed the Moreland files — and proceeded to arrest, indict and convict both men.“Stay tuned,” Bharara has said repeatedly, and by his account more cases may yet come from the Moreland evidence. Plus, his no-charges decision came with a key caveat: “absent any additional proof that may develop.” And he reportedly has an active investigation into a Buffalo construction project run by a Cuomo donor. But it’s hard to think of anything Cuomo might have done that’s more pro-corruption than his stifling of the Moreland probe. Again, the commission’s work helped Bharara land the biggest anti-Albany-corruption one-two punch in living memory. How many more heads might have rolled had the governor stood behind his investigators? Andrew Cuomo rode into office on a “clean up Albany ” platform — then trampled on his best chance to deliver. * With Bharara’s Moreland investigation over, Cuomo should push for stronger ethics reforms, and it will also be to Western New York ’s advantage if Bharara’s probe into the Buffalo Billion ends the same way, The Buffalo News writes:
NY's Man of the Year U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara
.@fud31 says the big winner of 2015 was Preet Bharara. "Wehaven't seen a prosecutor like this since Rudy Giuliani or Tom Dewey."
Bharara Asks: Were Is New Yorkers Outrage As Its To Top Lawmakers Going to Jail? . . . Where is the Pressure To Change Albany?
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.@PreetBharara on @WNYC: "More whisperedwhining" from legislators than focus on fixing corruption via @Newsday * Two Silver JCOPE picks reappointed by Heastie, though one'transitioning off' (TU) * Liz Benjamin writes in Politico New York that Bharara has established himself the predominant force for the reshaping
Not Being Charged By Bharara for Killing Moreland Does Not Clear Cuomo of Betrayal of His Pledge to Clean Up Albany
The Post writes that Cuomo should be ashamed of how he handled the Moreland Commission he convened to probe corruption, despite the fact that U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara announced he won’t bring charges against the governor
‘No indictment’ hardly clears Cuomo for his betrayal of anti-corruption (NYP) Preet Bharara’s announcement Monday surely brought one big sigh of relief: The US Attorney won’t bring charges in Gov. Cuomo’s handling of the anti-corruption Moreland Commission. Such is Albany ’s perpetual dysfunction that “insufficient evidence to prove a federal crime” in the “interference with the operation of the Moreland Commission and its premature closing” is good news. Still, Cuomo should be ashamed of his Moreland record. He shut the commission down even as it was developing key evidence against Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos, the two leaders of the state Legislature — and it’s obvious he did it at their request, in exchange for other concessions in Albany’s endless bargaining.Bharara then swooped in, grabbed the Moreland files — and proceeded to arrest, indict and convict both men.“Stay tuned,” Bharara has said repeatedly, and by his account more cases may yet come from the Moreland evidence. Plus, his no-charges decision came with a key caveat: “absent any additional proof that may develop.” And he reportedly has an active investigation into a Buffalo construction project run by a Cuomo donor. But it’s hard to think of anything Cuomo might have done that’s more pro-corruption than his stifling of the Moreland probe. Again, the commission’s work helped Bharara land the biggest anti-Albany-corruption one-two punch in living memory. How many more heads might have rolled had the governor stood behind his investigators? Andrew Cuomo rode into office on a “clean up Albany ” platform — then trampled on his best chance to deliver. * With Bharara’s Moreland investigation over, Cuomo should push for stronger ethics reforms, and it will also be to Western New York ’s advantage if Bharara’s probe into the Buffalo Billion ends the same way, The Buffalo News writes:
Bharara Moreland Shutdown Not Criminal Does Not Mean That There Not An Ethics Political Problem
BHARARA ENDS MORELAND PROBE
Cuomo just dodged a bullet http://nyp.st/1Q0ogNE via @nypost - Stay Tuned remains mesmerizing
Why Does the NYT Boycott Coverage of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara Message of Corruption
The NY Times has nothing in today's paper about Bharara important ethics speech yesterday in Kentucky
The Daily News also has no coverage of Bharara Kentucky Speech and not of the newspaper editorials have any editorials on the U.S. Attorney important message that "Good People" who look the other way are just as corrupt as the people he sent to jail.
New York Legislative Session Opens in Albany With Eye on Ethics (NYT) Two empty seats reminded lawmakers that last year’s leaders of the New York State Senate and Assembly had both been convicted on corruption charges.* Albany lawmakers still can’t agree on tougher ethic laws (NYP) * Preet Bharara warns lawmakers about enabling corruption
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who secured the convictions of two top state lawmakers, while visiting Kentucky said the blame for corruption lies not only with bad actors but also with the “good people” who don’t try to stop it
Bharara Responsibility for Corruption Lies Not Only With Bad Actors, But Also With the "Good People" Who Don't Try to Stop It
Preet Bharara SpeaksAbout Corruption in Kentucky (WSJ) FRANKFORT , Ky. —Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan whose office recently secured convictions of two of New York state’s most powerful lawmakers, told the Kentucky Legislature Wednesday that responsibility for corruption lies not only with bad actors but also with the “good people” who don’t try to stop it. “People knew, and did nothing,” said Mr. Bharara, referring to the corruption cases in Albany . “This, perhaps, is the most unfortunate feature of the status quo in my home state—the deafening silence of the many individuals who…saw something and said nothing.” Kentucky state officials. His speech was partly instructive. He told the legislators that federal law doesn’t require an explicit quid-pro-quo, that it doesn’t matter if the official act was good for the community, or if it was done for a friend.
Mr. Bharara also defended his office’s work. Responding to lawmakers who said prosecutors didn’t understand or like politics, Mr. Bharara said: “It’s not politics that prosecutors don’t like. It’s corrupt politics.” In Kentucky in the early 1990s, more than a dozen lawmakers and lobbyists were convicted on an array of charges stemming from a wide-ranging federal probe into bribery and extortion in connection with horse-racing legislation and hospital regulations.In response to the charges, Kentucky passed a package of ethics laws and restrictions on lobbying, rules that continue to be refined. Officials here pride themselves on having some of the strictest lobbying rules in the country, including what is known as a “no cup of coffee” rule—lobbyists aren’t allowed to buy a cup of coffee for a lawmaker. New York has taken steps toward addressing what critics have called loopholes and leniencies in its ethics laws. On Wednesday, Mr. Bharara said he hoped the legislature would improve its internal policing efforts, in part because of the “embarrassment” of the recent prosecutions. * Bharara To State Lawmakers: Stop Whining And Take Action(YNN) “It’s not for me to really lecture a room full of elected leaders, a subpoena-wielding prosecutor from up north,” Bharara said. “You know your oath, you know your duty, you know your privileged position. I just have a fairly simply point to make this morning: If you want to prevent corruption, don’t enable it. If you want to deter corrupt members, don’t become their willing accomplices.” He added: “It is not just the corrupt actors that bear responsibility, but every enabler too.” He quoted transcripts from the Skelos case, in which his son Adam Skelos complained that it was like “f-ing Preet Bharara is listening to every phone call.” “Well, we were listening to that call, too — as it turned out,” Bharara quipped. He quoted transcripts from the Skelos case, in which his son Adam Skelos complained that it was like “f-ing Preet Bharara is listening to every phone call.” Well, we were listening to that call, too — as it turned out,” Bharara quipped. He quoted transcripts from the Skelos case, in which his son Adam Skelos complained that it was like “f-ing Preet Bharara is listening to every phone call.” “Well, we were listening to that call, too — as it turned out,” Bharara quipped. WATCH Bharara’s entire speech here. *“If you want to prevent corruption, don’t enable it,” Bharara said.
Bluegrass state lawmakers. New York ’s own statehouse has been invaded a “rancid culture” of bribery and kickbacks, said Bharara, who recently won corruption convictions against former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos.He blamed a lack of action by the “good people” who witnessed abuses of power, but did nothing. “Looking the other way is not leadership,” Bharara said in his speech to the Kentucky pols. “Blaming the prosecutors is not leadership.” Asked why Bharara hasn’t addressed his own legislators, some local pols insisted he’d be welcome. Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin (R-Rensselaer) said he raised the idea of inviting Bharara with Assembly Republican Minority Leader Brian Kolb. “[Senate Majority Leader John] Flanagan won’t do it, [Assembly Speaker Carl] Heastie won’t do it and [Gov. Andrew] Cuomo won’t do it,” McLaughlin said. “So, I said, ‘Why don’t we do it?’” More Deeper Investigations A federal grand jury is investigating Christopher McPartland, the top corruption prosecutor in the Suffolk County district attorney’s office, for possible obstruction of justice charges as an outgrowth of the case against former Suffolk police chief James Burke.
A Manhattan federal judge has scheduled former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s sentencing on corruption charges for April 13
“If you want to deter corrupt members, don’t become their willing accomplices.” * Preet Bharara warns lawmakers aboutenabling corruption (NYP) * He has sent chills down the spines of a few Albany legislators, but US Attorney Preet Bharara was warmly welcomed Wednesday in Kentucky‘s state house, where he addressed pols on the importance of clean ethics. “If you want to prevent corruption, don’t enable it,” he advised 
New Hartford NY GOP Assemblywoman Tenney Invites Bharara to Sit Next to Her
@fud31 @PreetBharara I officially invite you to address the NYS legislature. You are welcome to sit next to me on the floor
It is Time to Call and Email the Media and Demand That They Demand That Albany Lawmakers Invite U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara to Address Them in A Joint Session Including the Governor, AG, Comptroller and Every DA in the State
Call the Editorial Board: Daily News 212- 210-2100, NY Times 212-566-1234, NY Post (212) 930- 8288, News Tips: tips@nypost.com,
Call the Fake Good Govt Groups Tell Them to Pressure Albany to Allow Preet to Speak
Citizens Union: 212-227-0342, 212-463-7308 Common Cause 212-691-6421
- better to face Preet as teacher than prosecutor!
Will NY1 Hardt Cover Bharara Ethic Speech in Kentucky?
Is There Not One NYS Lawmakers Who Thinks the Prosecutor Who Put Both of Their Leaders in Jail Should Address Them?
The Kentucky state legislature wants to hear ethics reform ideas from corruption-busting U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who got convictions against former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos this year.* Kentucky pols want ethic reform ideas from Preet Bharara New York Daily News * Preet Bharara: The man behind NY corruption busting Press & Sun-Bulletin * More rogues join Capitol gallery Albany Times Union * Corruption cases stunned state in 2015 The Daily Star * 2015 was a disastrous year for the leaders of the NY legislature North Country Public Radio * 2015 A Very Bad Year For New York Legislative Leaders WSKG News * Year in review: Corruption reigned in NY Poughkeepsie Journal * Bratton On Kelly’s Crime Stat Allegations: He’s ‘EngagingIn Politics’ (WCBS)* Gannett takes a look at how U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara supplanted Andrew Cuomo as the new sheriff of State Street .
More on US Attorney Preet Bharara
"The Culture of Corruption Is Systemic, Deep and Matter-Of-Fact With Barely A Thought" Bharara
Bharara Said His Investigation of Albany Continuing Mr. Bharara, whose office has won the convictions of about a dozen current and former state legislators in his six-year tenure, said his public corruption investigations were continuing, but he would not discuss them. He also declined to discuss what kind of sentence his office would seek for the two former lawmakers, who forfeited their seats upon conviction.* .@PreetBharara on @BrianLehrer: I'm not saying every state legislator is bad. But there's serious problems w the way
The Jury Rejected Both Silver and Skelos Lawyers Argument That the Corruption Was Legal, Normal the Way the Founding Fathers Wanted It to Function
Mr. Bharara, in the interview, also recalled another moment in the trials, when Mr. Silver’s defense lawyer, Steven F. Molo, accused prosecutors of effectively criminalizing conduct that was legal, normal and that allowed “government to function consistent with the way that our founding fathers of the State of New York wanted it to function. Mr. Bharara cited the strong response made by one of his prosecutors, Andrew D. Goldstein, who told the jury that such an argument tainted the democratic process by calling corruption “politics as usual. The juries “rejected that sorry excuse twice,” Mr. Bharara said.
Expect New Twitter Preet Bharara To Say After the Jury Decision
It is Up to the Media and the Public to Change the Culture of Corruption in Albany
Dorego arranged the payment and the job after "incessant" requests from the senator that he help his son financially, the prosecutor said. Glenwood had crucial tax legislation pending before the legislature at the time. "This $20,000 was an illegal payoff. It was an extortion, a bribe and a kickback all wrapped up in one," Mukhi said. Skelos then "abused his office" by using his power to help AbTech - an Arizona company - get payments from Nassau County
How many prosecutions will it take before Albany gives the people of New York
The Winds of Preet Major Statement Expected On NY Corruption
Preet Tweets A Message Stay Tuned
As alleged, this is my official Twitter account. And this, allegedly, is my first tweet. Stay tuned. . .
Liz Benjamin @CTLizB
Wait, in the middle of @nygovcuomo's presentation, did @PreetBharara just tweet his first ever tweet???
NYT and NY1 Leading From Behind Tell Us What We Already Know About the Power of Corrupt Glenwood Reality
Albany Trials Exposed the Power of a Real Estate Firm (NYT) A key player in two recent corruption cases never appeared in court: Leonard Litwin, the 101-year-old owner of Glenwood Management, an influential developer of luxury high-rise apartment buildings in Manhattan . a key player in both cases — and identified by the government as a co-conspirator at the trial of Mr. Skelos, the former Republican majority leader of the State Senate, and his son, Adam — never appeared in the courtroom. That man was Leonard Litwin, the 101-year-old owner of Glenwood Management, an influential developer of luxury high-rise apartment buildings in Manhattan that is among the state’s most prodigious political donors. Prosecutors named Glenwood Management owner Leonard Litwin a co-conspirator in the federal corruption case of ex-state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and his son, which elicited testimony from an executive at the firm
The Only Reason Albany Renews 421-a Every Two Years or So is to Milk the Real Estate Contributions
Keeping the Senate in Control of the GOP Was Needed By Glenwood RE to Keep Making Millions With the 421-a Tax Break Program
Mr. Dorego testified that the law’s continued renewal was an “absolute necessity” for Glenwood. Without it, he said, the cost of city real estate taxes — the largest component of a luxury high-rise’s operating budget — would make building such towers unfeasible, in part because lenders would not finance them. For that reason, Mr. Dorego told the jury, keeping the State Senate in the control of Republicans — who, in his words, “were more business-oriented and had more of an interest in making sure business thrived in the city” — was “the No. 1 priority” for Glenwood’s political strategy and “Mr. Litwin’s No. 1 concern.”
The NYT Covers-Up The Fact That Lobbyists Runes and Meara Were At the Center of Silver and Skelos's Corruption
In one email, Glenwood’s chief political strategist, Richard Runes, who testified at Mr. Silver’s trial, wrote to a lobbyist for Glenwood, “Please send me the list of senators Dean asked us yesterday to help before the next filing date.” The lobbyist wrote back with the names of seven candidates and the amounts to be donated, totaling $92,300. The names were forwarded to Mr. Dorego
The Media Ha Not Done One Story That Bharara Went After Silver and Skelos Shut Down Moreland
Cuomo vs de Blasio is Now All About the 2016 Fight for Control of the State Senate
With the state Board of Elections deadlocked on a decision to close the LLC loophole, the issue will probably be taken up in the state Legislature, where state Senate Republicans and big money will do everything they can to buy the outcome, theTime Union writes: * As the battle for control of the state Senate heats up, the chamber’s Democrats have filed a formal complaint over a $1 million contribution to the Republicans from their former leader Joseph Bruno, the Daily News’reports: * As the battle for control of the state Senate heats up, the chamber’s Democrats have fileda formal complaint with the state Board of Elections over a $1 million contribution to the Republicans from their former leader, ex-Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.
Wait, in the middle of @nygovcuomo's presentation, did @PreetBharara just tweet his first ever tweet???
Prosecutors named Mr. Litwin as a co-conspirator during a sidebar conference with the judge and defense lawyers that went largely unnoticed. In addition to its role at the heart of the government’s case against the Skeloses, both of whom were convicted of bribery, extortion and conspiracy this month, Glenwood also figured prominently in the federal corruption trial of Sheldon Silver, The name of Mr. Litwin was just one example of the way the two corruption trials revealed how entwined the interests of Glenwood and other developers are with the business of the state. Testimony, documents, emails and other evidence provided the most detailed look to date at the ways in which Glenwood and others deftly worked the levers of power to marshal tens of millions of dollars in campaign contributions through a maze of limited-liability companies, trade associations and political groups, with Senator Skelos himself soliciting and directing the money at times.
NY Times Failed Kingdom
In NYT's 10,000 Word Story On Corrupt Glenwood RE Not One Mention of U.S. Attorney Bharara
Glenwood’s entanglement in the Skelos case was so pronounced that a senior executive with the company, Charles C. Dorego, testified under a non-prosecution agreement. Testimony and company records presented at trial showed Glenwood had sought and received favored treatment in Albany by spending more than $10 million on campaign donations since 2005 alone. Few pockets were spared: Glenwood’s largess was documented in a 54-page printout admitted as evidence that covered the developer’s political contributions over the last 10 years, funneled through 26 different limited liability companies. The money, according to Mr. Dorego, Glenwood’s senior vice president and general counsel, was used to ensure the developer would continue to benefit from tax breaks, government financing and favorable rent laws. One program alone saved them as much as $100 million, he said.
NYT Last To Realize Three Men In A Room Has Ruled Albany For Decades
In NYT's 10,000 Word Story On Corrupt Glenwood RE Not One Mention of U.S. Attorney Bharara
NYT Last To Realize Three Men In A Room Has Ruled Albany For Decades
Taken together, the two trials also brought into sharp relief a view of the broader Albany landscape, where critics say a thin veil of representative democracy had obscured the unchallenged exercise of power by the state capital’s ruling triumvirate: Mr. Skelos and Mr. Silver, until their arrests earlier this year, and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat.
The Only Reason Albany Renews 421-a Every Two Years or So is to Milk the Real Estate Contributions
Both the Skelos and Silver trials underscored Glenwood’s philosophy that its generous political support was a minor cost of doing business. Mr. Dorego told the jury the company reaped an estimated $50 million to $100 million in savings over an unspecified period from one state program alone, a real estate tax-abatement law called 421-a. The State Legislature must renew the law periodically through a process essentially controlled by the two legislative leaders and the governor.
Keeping the Senate in Control of the GOP Was Needed By Glenwood RE to Keep Making Millions With the 421-a Tax Break Program
The NYT Covers-Up The Fact That Lobbyists Runes and Meara Were At the Center of Silver and Skelos's Corruption
The Media Ha Not Done One Story That Bharara Went After Silver and Skelos Shut Down Moreland
One of Cuomo’s bold moves was creating another Moreland Commission designed to weed out all aspects of wrong doing. That grandiose plan faded within months, when the governor suddenly decided to shut down the panel. As a result, Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, had sufficient grounds to probe into that decision too. Some critics on Capitol Hill are still convinced that the governor may have felt intimidated by what direction the commission seemed to pursue. Was the investigation perhaps moving too close to the Governor’s Office? Albany , especially reform advocates, were calling for a special legislative session focusing on ethics and changes required to restore the public confidence in government. Cuomo, never keen on calling back the lawmakers for that reason, said he could not legislate morality or intelligence and that his administration had already proposed every ethics law imaginable.* Asked about Moreland commiss in light of Silver, Skelos convictions, @NYGovCuomo says, "It was a temporary process. ... It did its job."
Media and Good Govt Groups Cover Up How Lobbyists Were at the Center Of Corruption In Both Silver and Skelos Convictions
Lobbyist Cites Unease Over Payments to Sheldon Silver (NYT) The meeting at the State Capitol in Albany took place nearly four years ago, but Richard Runes, a lobbyist who oversees government relations for Glenwood Management, a major real estate developer in New York, recalled his unease at what he had discussed with Sheldon Silver, then the speaker of the Assembly. The two men had spoken about an agreement between Mr. Silver and Glenwood, in which Mr. Silver received undisclosed payments from a law firm to which Mr. Silver had allegedly pushed Glenwood to refer some of its tax business. Mr. Runes, testifying on Monday in Mr. Silver’s federal corruption trial in Manhattan , said he felt “shock and surprise” at the news of the payments. Mr. Runes’s testimony, which began on Friday, is part of the second prong of the government’s case, in which prosecutors say Mr. Silver received about $700,000 in illegal payments from the law firm Goldberg & Iryami in return for having referred it certain tax business from Glenwood and a second developer, the Witkoff Group.
For Months True News Has Been Reporting the Interlocking-Directorates of the Corrupt Shadow Govt That Controls NY
On Friday, another Glenwood lobbyist, Brian Meara, testified that while vacationing in Florida in 2011, he received a call from Mr. Silver, who mentioned how he might need to file new forms disclosing certain fees he had received. Mr. Meara said he was “surprised and concerned” and called either Mr. Runes or Charles C. Dorego, a Glenwood executive. Mr. Runes testified that he spoke with Glenwood’s owner, Leonard Litwin, and Mr. Dorego. Yet Mr. Runes said he remained “uncomfortable with the arrangement,” and did not discuss it with anyone else. “It was too hot,” he said. Ultimately, Mr. Silver’s fee-sharing arrangement was described in a side letter that the speaker signed, but it was omitted from the retainer agreement between Glenwood and the law firm. Mr. Runes, asked by the judge, Valerie E. Caproni, what he thought was being accomplished by putting the agreement in a separate letter, said he believed that retainer documents were filed publicly, “whereas the side letter would not be.” * Albany lobbyist Richard Rune said he felt uneasy over payments to then-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for referring tax business to a firm and for outlining related terms outside of the main retainer, The New York Times reports:
Cuomo vs de Blasio is Now All About the 2016 Fight for Control of the State Senate
Feds Have Discovered that Political Corruption in NY Made Up of Interconnected Families Like the Mobs Organized Crime Commission
On Eve of Silver Trial Only Newsday Is Only Paper Took Bharara Advice to Investigate Corruption
Newsday Report Thrown Out of Public Building Asking for Public Records About
True News Wags the Daily News to Show Outrage Against Silver, But Paper Still Not Investigating and Connect More Corruption Dots
Sheldon Silver'scrimes against New York (NYDN Ed) Federal prosecutors appear poised to give New Yorkers a civics lesson in how their state government has really been working. Silver rigged financial disclosure rules so as to hide the sources of his income, thus facilitating a hidden flow of money while brazenly claiming that he was living up to the letter of the law. He controlled internal Assembly ethics investigations, and perverted outside probes by maintaining secret sway over supposed watchdogs. And he perfected one-person rule of the Assembly so that he could decide which bills passed and on what terms
Insiders are Are Saying It is A Miracle
That Developers Who Paid the Bribe, Lobbyists Who Arranged the Deal and Law Firms That Made Money Where Not Charged
“As the U.S. attorney has clearly outlined, Weitz & Luxenberg had no knowledge of the alleged scheme described by prosecutors,” a spokeswoman for the firm said. Both Litwin Glenwood's Charles Dorego and Glenwood's Lobbyist and Silver Pal Brian Meara were not charged with a crime in exchange for become a federal rat.* Last Week • As Assemblyman Silver and Skelos head to trial, lawmakers, lobbyists, aides and others involved in state politics are bracing For A Proctology Exam of Albany’s culture and Corruption
For Some Reason the NYT Does Not Give the Name of the Govt Witnesses Litwin Glenwood's Charles Dorego and Glenwood's Lobbyist and Silver Pal Brian Meara
True News Wags the NYP On the On the Only Man Reforming Albany BHARARA
"Sorry..there’s only one truly effective weapon against Albany
New teeth for New York’s ethics watchmouse (NYP Ed) Good-government groups hail it as a major step forward, but the reforms offered in a 307-page report on the state’s ethics “watchdog” amount to little more than lipstick on a pig. They’re fine — as far as they go. But they don’t come close to addressing the core reason the Joint Commission on Public Ethics has become a joke. Simply put, JCOPE has no real independence. Its members are appointed by the very people it’s supposed to investigate — Gov. Cuomo and the Legislature. Even the folks on the “reform” panel were chosen by those very same people — including a governor who doesn’t hesitate to insert his heavy hand on investigative bodies like the late Moreland Commission. Consider: JCOPE’s first executive director, Ellen Biben, had been Cuomo’s inspector general and earlier a special deputy when he was attorney general. Replacing her was Letizia Tagliafierro, another ex-Cuomo aide — who on the eve of her own exit last summer hired three former Cuomo staffers to top posts without the commissioners’ OK. One of the three now wants to be the next executive director. The reform ideas aim to fix some of JCOPE’s inherent weaknesses — like the fact that a minority of members can block investigations of a political ally, and its secretive, closed-door mentality. But they’re only recommendations — and some can’t go through unless the Legislature agrees. Good luck there. Sorry: As things stand these days, there’s only one truly effective weapon against Albany ’s culture of corruption — and his name is Preet Bharara.* Cox: Bharara ‘Right On Target’ (YNN)
True News Last Week
Why Are Good Govt Groups Ignoring That It Is A Prosecutor That Is Reforming Albany?
For example, most pols get to keep their state pensions even if they’re convicted. Fixing that requires amending the state Constitution — and the Assembly somehow keeps failing to fulfill its promise to get that ball rolling. Some insist that most lawmakers are clean. If so, they’re awfully blind to the shenanigans of the “few bad apples.” In fact, any truly honest politician has an obvious way to help clean up Albany : Just volunteer to wear a wire for Preet.* Jury selection is underway in Sheldon Silver's corruptiontrial (YNN) * The high-profile corruption scandals of Skelos and Silver have put unlikely state legislative races in play this year.* NY’s Corruption Report Card: “D-“ (YNN) * According to a new report from the Center for Public Integrity, New York ’s state government is “beset” by corruption and earns a “D-” when it comes to its public integrity index and ranked in a tie for 30th place, State of Politicsreports:
Albany Kills Moreland Bharara's Brings It Back to Life
Killing Moreland Revenge
NY Your About to Get Schooled On Albany's Corruption Culture of Kickbacks and Bribes
A New Apalachin Deal to Divide the Look Exposed Inside Albany - Bipartisan Gangs
Bipartisan Corruption: Silver, Skelos Head to Court in Coming Weeks
TNPM Jury selection underway in Sheldon Silver corruption trial * 7 questions about the trial of Sheldon Silver,starting with, Who is Sheldon Silver? ***
On the eve of the Sheldon Silver trial, here's video of theBharara presser on the day the Capitol stood still: * Monday In Two CorruptionCases, the Culture of AlbanyWill Go on Trial (NYT) * Albanyon trial: Shelly Silver's trial starts Monday; Dean Skelos' two weeks later. (loHud)*
Sheldon Silver's high-stakes corruption trial startssoon. It will, in a word, be a show (Newsday) * Jury selection begins today in the trial of former stateassembly speaker (NY1) * Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos cases appear in culturalcontrast: The U.S. government's separate corruption cases… * Federal trial of ex-Speaker Sheldon Silver starts today Trial of ex-Majority Leader Dean Skelos on deck (TU) * If Silver is convicted, he will have to vacate hisAssembly seat, months after he resigned the speakership: (YNN) * New York Magazine writes that the real drama instate Sen. Dean Skelos’ and Assemblyman Sheldon Silver’s upcoming corruption trials will occur “off in the wings” between the governor and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara: * New York Magazine writes that the real drama in state Sen. Dean Skelos’ and Assemblyman Sheldon Silver’s upcoming corruption trials will occur “off in the wings” between the governor and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara:
Book 'Em Bharara
New Yorkers want Preet Bharara to keep fighting corruption: poll (NYP) A Quinnipiac University New York ’s now nearing three dozen state legislators recently convicted or awaiting trial for corruption — with no end in sight. Corruption-busting US Attorney Preet Bharara has said prosecutors alone can’t end political venality. But they’ll have to do for now.
. Albany
NYT Reports on the Crowds At Belmont Not the NYRA Boss That Connects to the Heart of Corruption In Albany
For the New York Racing Association and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, this year’s Belmont Stakes proved a success after contending with crowds, insufficient food supplies and train delays last year, The New York Times reports:
Bharara Trying to Repair New York's Broken Democracy While Silver Lawyers and the Media Tried and Failed to Stop Him
Preet Coyote Blows Up Wolfs
ProsecutorDenies Creating a ‘Media Firestorm’ Over Sheldon Silver’s Arrest (NYT) * Preet Bharara DefendsHis Public Appearances at Zephyr Teachout Forum (NYO) Mr. Bharara told the filled room at the law school’s Lincoln Center campus that his public denunciations of Albany ’s “culture of corruption” are intended to raise awareness of the ethics dilemmas facing the state government, to deter potential bad actors and to encourage well-intentioned public officials to push back against the problem.“Part of your job as a law enforcement official, whether you’re a prosecutor, or the Attorney General, or the FBI director, is to help prevent crime and deter crime.” * “It’s not enough to simply make sure we’re getting rid of the bad folks,” the US attorney said. “We want to make sure we are empowering, or sometimes embarrassing, good folks at any institution that exists to do something when they see something.”
Bharara Puts the Pay to Play Culture of Corruption Government On Trial
Preet Bharara focuses on political favors in New Yorkstate government probe (csmonitor.com) With a widening probe of New York state government, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara appears to be taking aim at the nebulous relationship between money and politics itself — a long and murky association in Albany and in capitals across the nation. U.S.
A former high-ranking Suffolk County Board of Elections employee’s time-sheet and personnel records have been subpoenaed by the FBI, county sources said.
Updated Buffalo Billion diversity numbers Investigative Post
Bharara blasted for Libous prosecution: * Howard Zemsky, a Buffalo businessman who runs the state’s Empire State Development Corp., maintained the Cuomo administration’s no-comment policy after repeated questions surrounding a federal probe of the Buffalo Billion program, the Buffalo News reports: * Howard Zemsky, the leader of New York’s economic development agency, maintained the Cuomo administration’s no-comment policy with regards to questions surrounding a probe by federal prosecutors of the Buffalo Buffalo – the biggest economic development effort he has undertaken in his five years as governor – a project that isn’t without risk, and not the first time he has bet on a high-risk company as part of an economic development push. * Right From the Reporter: Buffalo Billion
SolarCity's Buffalo Billion Fed Investigation Target Stocks Crash Mayday!
SolarCity: Mayday! Mayday! (Investigative Post) For starters, the company disclosed it posted a net loss of $234 million in the third quarter. That’s the biggest quarterly loss in the history of the company and brings the year-to-date losses to a staggering $537 million. That puts SolarCity on track to lose more than $700 million for 2015, compared with net losses of $375 million in 2014, $152 million in 2013 and $92 million in 2012.
See a pattern there? SolarCity stock prices also took a nasty tumble Thursday, prompting Business Insider to declare “SolarCity is getting nuked.” The bad news on earnings drove the company’s stock down to $31.15 in after-hours trading. A day earlier, the stock closed at $38.34. That’s down from a peak of $84.96 in February 2014. The stock price is continuing to drop today.* More bad news for SolarCity – and the governor’s investment in the company’s Western New York project.
New FBI Tapes of Albany Pols and Their Lobbyists
New Targets for Bharara Stay Tuned
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Sheldon Silver Probe Prompts Wiretaps on New Targets,Sources Say (DNAINFO) Albany , where dozens of lawmakers have been convicted on corruption charges, many of them secretly caught on tape. In recent years, secret recordings and wiretaps have helped nail lawmakers on corruption-related charges including state Sen. Malcolm Smith, Councilman Daniel Halloran, Assemblyman Eric Stevenson and Assemblyman Nelson Castro. “Stay tuned,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara warned state legislators after announcing Silver’s indictment in February. * Federal investigators reportedly have begun wiretapping a new set of potential targets as a result of the probe that led to the indictment off former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
Mukhi said prosecutors will turn over “millions of pages” of discovery to defense lawyers – mostly e-mails – as well as 2,400 recorded audio files and additional text messages. * * Former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and his son Adam Skelos pleaded not guilty to a six-count federal indictment, setting up a trial that may not come until next year due to volume of evidence, State of Politics reports: * Federal prosecutors revealed they were tapping Sen. Dean Skelos’ cellphone for two and a half months before he was charged with using his office to score his son, Adam, cushy jobs. * Skelos, Son Plead Not Guilty to Corruption Charges(NY1) * A top donor to the political action committee run by Buffalo political operative Steve Pigeon is a Seneca Nation businessman who took a corporate guilty plea to felony crimes in Missouri last year, TheBuffalo News reports * The Buffalo News writes that the raid of political operatives’ homes by the state attorney general’s office, even if the men are innocent, shows an interest in enforcing election law that is long overdue: *Two months after his appointment by Cuomo as chairman of NYRA’s board of directors, a medical malpractice insurance magnate, Anthony Bonomo, has become entangled in the criminal case involving the former Republican leader of the state Senate. Neither Bonomo nor his firm have been charged with wrongdoing. * The feds tapped state Sen. Dean Skelos’ cellphone for more than two months before busting him and his son, Adam, in a pay-to-play scheme. Both pleaded not guilty yesterday. * All told, federal investigators intercepted 2,400 audio files — and an unspecified amount of text messages — in the Skelos case that will be turned over to the defense in advance of the trial. Given the volume of evidence, it’s possible there won’t be a trial until next year, though the judge didn’t seem happy about that. * One of the top donors to the political action committee run by Steve Pigeon is a Seneca Nation businessman who took a corporate guilty plea to felony crimes in Missouri last year. Aaron Pierce admitted that one of his companies illegally bought and sold contraband cigarettes and agreed to pay $1 million in fines, forfeitures and judgements. * * The Seneca Nation of Indians, which operates three casinos, severed ties with Steve Pigeon’s lobbying firm after state and federal authorities raided his home last week, Gannett Albany reports: * Seneca Nation Backs Away From Pigeon (YNN) * PREET BHARARA: NEW YORK’S HONEY BADGER *An AbTech official will remain as chair of the Waterkeeper board despite the firm’s involvement in Sen. Dean Skelos’ federal corruption scandal, according to the environmental organization’s founder, RFK Jr. * The Seneca Nation has terminated its contract with the lobbying firm run by G. Steven Pigeon, the Erie County political operative whose fundraising activities are under investigation by several law enforcement agencies. * George Marlin:Investigate Skelos/Nassau County contract connections. * Steven Pigeon, who for years has hobnobbed with billionaires and trumpeted his own status among the elite of New York ’s political donors, suddenly finds himself owing more than $244,000 to the federal government, thanks to a new tax lien filed against him by the Internal Revenue Service for more than $126,000.
Skelos' Son $100,000 From Medical Firm That Does State Business and Ties to New State Racing Boss
Skelos indictment points to medical malpractice firm (Capital) The federal indictment handed up Thursday against former Senate majority leader Dean Skelos and his son, Adam, alleges Adam Skelos earned $100,000 in payments and health benefits from a no-show job at a medical malpractice insurance firm that was simultaneously lobbying the state. Multiple sources told Capital the unnamed firm cited in the six-count indictment is likely the politically connected Physicians Reciprocal Insurers, the second-largest medical malpractice firm in the state. P.R.I., based in Nassau County , Long Island , counts one of the state’s most prolific donors, Anthony J. Bonomo, as its C.E.O. Bonomo's brother, Carl sits on the company’s board. In April, Governor Andrew Cuomo appointed Anthony Bonomo, a former a board member, chairman of the New York Racing Association. * New racing boss has ties to Skelos corruption scheme(NYP) Anthony Bonomo, the new chairman of the New York Racing Association, is suddenly in the middle of the Dean Skelos corruption scandal. A federal indictment handed down on Thursday alleged former state Senate Majority Leader Skelos strong-armed a medical malpractice insurance firm to provide his son, Adam, with more than $100,000 in payments and health benefits through a no-show job while the firm lobbied Skelos on legislative matters. The firm was later identified as Roslyn, L.I.-based Physicians Reciprocal Insurers, which is run by Bonomo and his brother, Carl. Last month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed Bonomo as chairman of NYRA.
Besides the payment for title work that was never performed, Mr. Dorego also arranged for a consulting job for Adam Skelos at an environmental firm in which Glenwood had investment ties, and which eventually paid him a total of $200,000, according to the complaint. Prosecutors say his father used his powerful position to help the firm win a government contract. A lawyer for Glenwood declined to comment. The federal charges against Mr. Silver include accusations that he steered Glenwood and another developer — Mr. Witkoff — to a law firm that gave Mr. Silver hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees. * Glenwood uses loopholes in the law to keep its politicaldonations anonymous
Who Watchers the Watchman, Lobbyists, Grand Jury, AG - DAs Conflict of Interests
Tuesday Update Shooting fish in the barrel: Federal prosecutors clean house in Albany with the conviction of two morecorrupt legislators (NYDN Ed)
Feds Investigation Cuomo Connection
Andrew Cuomo’s Administration Involved in Federal CorruptionProbe of Real Estate Industry(IBT) The New York State Housing Finance Agency, whose chair is appointed by the governor,rejected an IBTimes FOIL request because it is “cooperating” with a federal prosecutor’s probe of state lawmakers’ relationship with campaign donors in the real estate industry. * The Cuomo administration cited its cooperation with a federal probe in blocking the release of documents about transactions between the state and the governor’s top donor, the International Business Times Reports:
Sen. Dean Skelos and his son pleaded not guilty tocorruption charges (Newsday) Feds tapped Dean Skelos’ phone for months (NYP) The feds tapped state Sen. Dean Skelos’ cell phone for two-and-a-half months before busting him and his son in an alleged pay-to-play scheme, prosecutors revealed at the pair’s arraignment Monday — and the news is sure to make at least some Albany lawmakers squirm. “There were four months of wiretaps on the primary cellphone of Adam Skelos,” said Assistant US Attorney Rahul Muki, adding that investigators also tapped another of the boneheaded son’s phones for one month and that the tap on his dad’s phone ran for two-and-a-half months.
More Rats 4 Bharara . . . Gets Closer to Cuomo's Circle
Preet Bharara creeps closer to Cuomo with latest indictment (NYP, Dicker) Attorney Preet Bharara moved “a giant step closer” to Gov. Cuomo late last week with an indictment that alleges insurance exec Anthony Bonomo, a top Cuomo contributor whom the governor made chairman of the New York Racing Association, gave a lucrative no-show job to state Sen. Dean Skelos’ son, sources have told The Post. “Bonomo is Cuomo’s guy, and he wouldn’t offer anything to Skelos’ kid without first making sure it was OK with the governor or his people,’’ said a senior state Democrat. “The fact that Bonomo, like Dorego, is cooperating with Bharara brings the whole investigation a giant step closer to Cuomo,’’ the Democrat added, referring to Charles Dorego, a top official at Cuomo megacontributor Leonard Litwin’s Glenwood Management.
“This is a drip by drip that’s getting closer and closer to Cuomo, with Bonomo and Dorego providing prosecutors with an inside look at how the corrupt Albany system works,’’ explained a second senior state political figure. Four major political insiders now in feds' crosshairs (NYDN) Anthony Bonomo, a big time donor to Gov. Cuomo and other state politicians in both parties and who was recently named by the governor as chairman of the New York Racing Association, last week was referenced (not by name) in the indictment against now former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Suffolk County) for allegedly giving the senator’s son a $100,000 no-show job. And Steve Pigeon, a registered lobbyist and longtime Democratic operative from western New York who has done work for Cuomo, had his home raided by state and federal investigators as part of a probe into his fundraising activities. Meanwhile, Charles Dorego, a top executive at Glenwood Management, has been cooperating with the feds in separate cases against Skelos and now former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Influential lobbyist Brian Meara, who has close ties to Silver, has also been cooperating in the probe against the Manhattan Democrat. * Whether a coincidence or not, the timing of AG Eric Schneiderman’s trip to push ethics reform in Buffalo today is certain to raise eyebrows in the area’s political community, which is already on edge following the ratcheting up of the probe by the state and federal investigators of G. Steven Pigeon, Steven Casey and Christopher Grant. * U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr., husband of LG Kathy Hochul, has reportedly recusedhimself from an investigation into the political activities of G. Steven Pigeon, due to the potential political ramifications of the case. * Because of such little info on probes into western New York's Steve Pigeonand others, theories abound:
Moreland Investigation Ends, Media Cover-Up
Skelos' Son $100,000 From Medical Firm That Does State Business and Ties to New State Racing Boss
Top Real Estate Hooker Already A Rat for the Feds
No Charges Against the Real Estate Robber Barons While Dorego Rats
Daily News Copies True News In Feds Putting Albany Pols in Jail
Unlike True News the DN Never Connects the Failure of JCOPE, DAs and AG To Stop the Albany Crime Wave
More JCOPE Control Shades of Moreland Control Four state Joint Commission on Public Ethics commissioners said the hiring of Kevin Gagan as chief of staff is “plainly invalid” and an example of the “incessant interference” JCOPE faces as it tries to fill its watchdog role, the Times Union reports: * SHARKNADO ALBANY Starring Attorney General Loretta Lynch and US Attorney Preet Bharara * In a letter to the editor at the Times Union, four JCOPE commissioners write that Cuomo’s midnight appointment of State Police First Deputy Superintendent Kevin Gagan is invalid and foretells more bad news for the ethics commission:" * If JCOPE’s own commissioners don’t have faith in it,it’s hard to see how the public can."A watchdog bites itself (TU) * A growing group of legislators and government watchdogs this year have questioned the independence of the state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics. Now some of its own commissioners are, too.
Why Are NYC's DAs Not Indicting Pols?
Insiders describe it as an inherently “political animal” that can often have trouble indicting members of the party—which in New York City is the old Democratic Party leaders and the New Privatized Lobbyists Machine —that controls who serves in the local legal system. To some extent, every Democratic district attorney has close relationships with Democratic Party leadership. With the singular exception of then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s takedown of Hevesi in a pension-fund scam, virtually all the New York anti-corruption action since 2006 has been undertaken by federal prosecutors and the FBI. Local DAs remain as quiet as the proverbial church mouse. And that’s especially true of Albany County DA David Soares, who by virtue of geography and the law is particularly well-positioned to pursue corruption. Albany Corruption
Saturday True News Sharknado Corrupt Albany Sunday the Daily News Quotes Bharara That Albany is Corrupt
Albany politicians are corrupt, Manhattan U.S. Attorney says (NYDN) Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has said there is a “certain percentage” of politicians in Albany who are corrupt, which is underscored by the more than two dozen officials elected in the state who have been arrested or convicted since 2008. Bharara has taken the lead among all prosecutors by turning up the heat on Albany after Gov. Cuomo shut down the Moreland Commission, which was investigating a wide range of corruption cases. Add to that rotten core state Sen. Thomas Libous (R-Binghamton), who was found guilty of lying to FBI agents, and state Sen. John Sampson (D-Brooklyn), who was convicted of obstructing a federal investigation. Libous was the No. 2 Republican in the state Senate. His longtime boss, state Sen. Dean Skelos, was the majority leader for six years before his indictment in May on corruption charges. Sampson once headed the Democratic Conference when the party was in the majority in the Senate. Bharara’s office recently won the conviction of former state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Queens), a one-time Senate president who was sentenced to seven years in prison last month, and the indictment of longtime Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan), both very high on the food chain of bottom feeders in the Albany trough. Silver has since resigned his leadership post, but continues to represent the Lower East Side . * Gregory Meeks wants to delay his financial-disclosure report again (NYP) * State senator removed for #corruption, butdon't expect big #ethicschanges: on @StateOfPolitics
Will One Man In A Room Block End of Session Pay to Play Corruption?
Senate Republicans wary of deal-making under the watchfuleye of crusading U.S.Attorney Preet Bharara (NYDN) R-Nassau County ) and Assemblyman Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) - both of whom subsequently gave up their leadership posts - and with Bharara openly criticizing how Albany does business, many Senate Republicans are in no mood to take chances, two GOP senators said. One noted that much of the Republican conference received campaign contributions from influential real estate developers, including Leonard Litwin, who has been linked to the cases Bharara brought against Skelos and Silver.*New York City ’s commercial rent tax is a heavy burden on many of the city’s small business owners and according to critics is one factor that contributes to many businesses closing each year, the Post writes:
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The One Man In the Room Are the DAs and AG Jealous? ,
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Albany and City Hall Corruption
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Silver's Friends Attack Bharara In Slate
The preliminary budget also didn’t set aside any of the $100 million sought by the City Council to hire roughly 1,000 extra cops. Yesterday Insiders say Cuomo is rattled by Silver corruption case (Dicker, NYP) * NY prosecutor PreetBharara disputes Gov. Cuomo’s corruption claim (WNBC) New York ’s top federal prosecutor, is rejecting claims by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo that a federal review of corruption investigations has muzzled the governor’s office. In an MSNBC interview airing Tuesday, Bharara says Cuomo’s assertion that he cannot discuss the ongoing investigation is simply not true. “People are able to exercise their public role in the way that they see fit,” Bharara says. “I don’t think I, or anyone else, has ever said that any particular person shouldn’t be talking about how he or she made decisions publicly,” he added. Cuomo set up a commission to investigate political corruption in New York , the Moreland Commission, and then disbanded it in March 2014. Bharara seized its files and began a review of its closure, setting off a clash between two of the most powerful Democrats in New York . * Bharara Criticizes Albany in TV Interview (WSJ) The Comptroller Smells Blood DiNapoli: Cuomo budget boostsreserves, lowers transparency (TU) * Klein Defends ‘Three Men In A Room’(YNN) * Cuomo’s administration contended state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s math was faulty after he released a report questioning aspects of the executive’s proposed budget, the Daily News reports: * State Sen. Joe Griffo is sponsoring a bill that would place eight-year term limits on the Assembly speaker, temporary Senate president, both houses’ minority leaders and committee chair positions, theTimes Union reports: * One Ban Fits All (YNN) Unlike his GOP colleague, IDC Leader Jeff Klein is all for a full ban on outside income – as he demonstrated by announcing this week he’ll divest entirely from his private practice law firm.
Bharara Responds to Silver
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Preet Bharara’s comments on Sheldon Silver’s allegedcorruption were within the law: prosecutors (NYDN) Prosecutors on Thursday defended Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s public statements slamming former State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver as “entirely proper.” The documents filed in Manhattan Federal Court came in response to a motion by Silver's attorneys seeking to have the case against the disgraced pol tossed due to Bharara's comments, which they said ruined his chance at a fair trial. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Cohen said Bharara had done everything by the book. Cohen noted that Bharara — who gave a speech at New York Law School and a lengthy MSNBC interview in the wake of Silver’s bombshell arrest — had always spoken in general terms about corruption in Albany , or referred specifically to the criminal complaint against the Assemblyman. “At the end of the day, the defendant is left to complain, not about substance, but about the language the U.S. Attorney used when describing the complaint’s allegations to the public,” Cohen wrote.
Silver's Friends Attack Bharara In Slate
A Pace Law School professor who has been critical of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s speech-making and TV appearances in the wake of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s arrest has ties to Silver’s lawyer, the Daily News has learned. Prof. Bennett Gershman and veteran attorney Joel Cohen are longtime friends and occasional co-authors. Gershman, a former prosecutor, recently wrote an online article for Slate that took Bharara to task for what Gershman characterized as grandstanding with inappropriate comments about the speaker and Albany corruption. The article, though, had no mention or editor’s note that Gershman has collaborated on a number of times in the past with Cohen, one of Silver’s lawyers. * Bharara says he cut Silver a break, ‘spared him perp walk’ (NYP) * Federal prosecutors filed a memo opposing Assemblyman Sheldon Silver’s motion to dismiss the corruption charges against him, dismissing a claim of “improper statements,” The Wall Street Journal reports: *The office of Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, asked a federal judge to deny a motion by Assemblyman Sheldon Silver to dismiss his indictment on grounds that Bharara orchestrated a “media firestorm” around the arrest of the former speaker. Bharara maintains he actually went out of his way to spare Silver undue embarrassment by having him surrender in the basement of the Javits Federal Building before being driven to the courthouse rather than subjecting him to a typical “perp walk.”* Heastie on Silver: "We speak. I've always had a great relationship with him and I don't see why it would change. I consider him a friend."Preet Bharara critic is friend, collaborator of SheldonSilver's attorney (NYDN)
Bharara to Cuomo: Free to Speak On Morland
Given U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s considerable power, and the respect and acclaim he enjoys with the public, he ought to be especially careful when expressing his opinions, former prosecutor Bennett Gershman writes in Slate:
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True News Wrote This A Day Before the NYT
Will Real Estate Baron's Face Any Legal Charges for Corruption Albany?
Is Rob Speyer “Developer 2” in Skelos case? (Real Dean) Description of unnamed developer in federal case against Senate leader matches a top RE player. Tishman Speyer President Robert Speyer — the chairman of the Real Estate Board of New York, the city’s most powerful industry lobby — appears to be the unnamed “Developer 2” in the criminal complaint filed yesterday in the case against Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos. The complaint, which was filed by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, seems to use the high-profile Tishman Speyer executive as an example of how Skelos and his son, who were both arrested Monday, allegedly leveraged their power for personal gain. Neither “Developer 1,” which has already been publicly reported as Leonard Litwin’s Glenwood Management, nor “Developer 2” has been charged with any wrongdoing. * Skelos' Corruption Mostly About Real Estate Tax Breaks and Regulations That Fuel Corruption *Skelos' Corruption Mostly About Real Estate Tax Breaks and Regulations That Fuel Corruption
According to the complaint, Adam Skelos, 32, allegedly used his father’s powerful state position to win business for the East Coast Abstract Group, a Long Island-based title insurance agency where he serves as vice president. The 43-page complaint points to a January 2011 email between Adam Skelos and his supervisor discussing an upcoming lunch meeting he had scheduled with “the president of a major commercial real estate developer based in New York, New York” that owned the Chrysler Building complex. In 2011 Tishman Speyer, the largest family-owned firm in New York City, controlled both the land under the Chrysler Building and a 10 percent stake in the complex after the Abu Dhabi government bought a 90 percent stake in the complex in 2008 for $720 million. The lunch meeting, page nine of the complaint says, was on Dean Skelos’ calendar as well and was scheduled to take place at Developer 2’s office on February 10. The younger Skelos emailed his supervisor to say the developer “wants to start giving me his work,” according to the complaint. A month later, the managing director from Developer 2’s firm wrote to Adam Skelos asking him to generate a title report for a $250 million mortgage on the Chrysler Building Speyer is also chairman of REBNY. REBNY did not immediately to a request for comment. * It emerged that the Tishman Speyer development firm is the company identified as “Developer-2” in the criminal complaint against the Skeloses. The company said it is cooperating with the feds. Real Estate Lobbyists The influence traders (Real Deal) A look at some of the biggest lobbying firms representing real estate players in City Hall and Albany.
7 Days Ago True News Said the U.S. Attorney Was Target Silver's Kids to Pressure the Speaker, Skelos Daily News Copies Today
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Feds Pressure Silver's Daughter to Talk By Leaking She is A Is A Target . . . Will the Speaker Rat on Member and Developers?
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Look What the Media Controlled by Old Guard Lobbyists Have Done to NY
U.S. Attorney Over A Year Ago Beg the Press to Help Him Clean Up NY . . . They Turn Their Back to Him, Even Attack Him, Now He is Doing It Himself
One Year Ago Preet challenges journos to do investigative reporting (CrainsNY) "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," Bharara said. "Groundbreaking corruption coverage is not just good copy, it's a path to good government." Bharara. The press has a role to play. "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," he said
His crusade to “clean up government” is particularly essential because Albany has so much power over local municipalities, including New York City Albany Albany
Feds Bang Silver's Family . . . The Soldiers in Mob Families
Sheldon Silver son-in-law busted by FBI in alleged Ponzi scheme (NYP) A son-in-law of disgraced former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was busted by the feds Monday on charges he ran a $7 million Ponzi scheme. Marcello Trebitsch, who’s married to Silver’s daughter, Michelle Trebitsch, allegedly promised his victims double-digit returns with very low risk before the scam collapsed. Trebistch claimed he would use investors’ money to buy large-cap stocks through Allese Capital LLC, a firm he co-owns with his wife, who is a certified public accountant, according to the feds. But he only actually invested a portion of the funds — and racked up “enormous trading losses” he kept secret — and spent the rest on himself and to pay back other investors.* Sheldon Silver’s Son-in-Law Is Arrested and Charged With Securities Fraud (NYT)Marcello Trebitsch is accused of defrauding investors out of $7 million, according to a criminal complaint.* Sheldon Silver’s son-in-law arrested, accused of defrauding investors with $7M Ponzi scheme (NYDN) * Former NYS Assembly Speaker's son-in-law facing federalfraud charges.(CBS6) *Assemblyman Sheldon Silver’s son-in-law was arrested and accused of defrauding investors out of $7 million. Silver’s daughter is co-owner and managing partner of her husband’s investment fund, but she was not charged.
This Arrests of Silver's Son-In-Law Comes After the Former Speakers Lawyers Failed to Get His Case Dismissed On the Grounds Prejudicial Statements They Claimed My By Bharara
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s children moved away from father’s Lower East Side district — but still vote in dad’s elections * Brooklyn Man Arrested and Charged in Manhattan Federal Court in Connection withMulti-Million-Dollar Fraudulent Investment Scheme
Grand Jury Targeting Skelos Though his Son
Dean Skelos, New York Senate Leader,and His Son Are Said to Be Focus of Corruption Inquiry (NYT) Long Island , and his son, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Investigators have served a number of subpoenas in recent weeks, including several to state senators on Long Island , and federal prosecutors have interviewed people who have had dealings with Adam Skelos, the Republican senator’s son. One focal point has been Adam Skelos’s hiring by an Arizona company, AbTech Industries, as well as a storm-water treatment contract that AbTech was awarded by Nassau County — the senator’s political backyard — even though the company was not the low bidder. Another area of inquiry has been a $20,000 payment to Adam Skelos from a title insurance company that he never worked for. Feds are also examining whether his son’s hiring as a consultant was part of a scheme in which the senator, in exchange, would take official action that would benefit AbTech or another company, Glenwood Management, a politically influential real estate developer that has had ties to AbTech.
What Does Schneiderman Know About the U.S. Attorney's Case Against Cuomo
Daily News Crap
Preet Bharara Speaks
Republicans might accept Preet Bharara as attorney general(NYP) * #PreetBharara: institutional "culture" is key re corruption. Must be culture where ppl see bad action & blow whistle, ppl willing to listen. * #PreetBharara: seemed #Moreland was heading right direction. When being disbanded, felt must ensure work not lost to "dust bins of history" * US Atty Bharara at @CrainsNewYork forum on Astorino ad: "people try to use the work they presume my office is doing for their own purposes" * Preet Bharara keeps mum on whether he's up for AttorneyGeneral Job (NYO)* Preet vows Rikers reforms 'one way or another' (Capital) * Bharara: elections won'taffect timing of his Moreland probe - Newsday @Newsday * JCOPE lost another commissioner*Bharara explainsabsence of Wall St.prosecutions(CrainsNY)
Preet Bharara Speaks
| US Attorney Preet Bharara |
What Does Schneiderman Know About the U.S. Attorney's Case Against Cuomo
Public Education is Part of U.S. Attorney's War On Political Corruption
“Prosecution of crime generally is not just an end of itself,” Mr. Bharara told a packed ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria “The point is not just to punish a politician that has broken the law but to help spur the improvement of a political system that has broken down.” He added: “The problem of corruption in New York
One Year Ago Preet challenges journos to do investigative reporting (CrainsNY) "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," Bharara said. "Groundbreaking corruption coverage is not just good copy, it's a path to good government." Bharara. The press has a role to play. "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," he said
His crusade to “clean up government” is particularly essential because Albany has so much power over local municipalities, including New York City Albany Albany
ProsecutorDenies Creating a ‘Media Firestorm’ Over Sheldon Silver’s Arrest (NYT) * Preet Bharara DefendsHis Public Appearances at Zephyr Teachout Forum (NYO) Mr. Bharara told the filled room at the law school’s Lincoln Center campus that his public denunciations of Albany ’s “culture of corruption” are intended to raise awareness of the ethics dilemmas facing the state government, to deter potential bad actors and to encourage well-intentioned public officials to push back against the problem.“Part of your job as a law enforcement official, whether you’re a prosecutor, or the Attorney General, or the FBI director, is to help prevent crime and deter crime.” * “It’s not enough to simply make sure we’re getting rid of the bad folks,” the US attorney said. “We want to make sure we are empowering, or sometimes embarrassing, good folks at any institution that exists to do something when they see something.”
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New FBI Tapes of Albany Pols and Their Lobbyists
New Targets for Bharara Stay Tuned
Sheldon Silver Probe Prompts Wiretaps on New Targets,Sources Say (DNAINFO) Albany , where dozens of lawmakers have been convicted on corruption charges, many of them secretly caught on tape. In recent years, secret recordings and wiretaps have helped nail lawmakers on corruption-related charges including state Sen. Malcolm Smith, Councilman Daniel Halloran, Assemblyman Eric Stevenson and Assemblyman Nelson Castro. “Stay tuned,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara warned state legislators after announcing Silver’s indictment in February. * Federal investigators reportedly have begun wiretapping a new set of potential targets as a result of the probe that led to the indictment off former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
The U.S. Attorney's is Fighting A Culture Of Acceptence of Corruption By the Public and the Media
“Prosecution of crime generally is not just an end of itself,” Mr. Bharara told a packed ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria “The point is not just to punish a politician that has broken the law but to help spur the improvement of a political system that has broken down.” He added: “The problem of corruption in New York
Bharara Trying to Repair New York's Broken Democracy Does the Job of the Press and the Missing Reform Political Leaders
ProsecutorDenies Creating a ‘Media Firestorm’ Over Sheldon Silver’s Arrest (NYT) * Preet Bharara DefendsHis Public Appearances at Zephyr Teachout Forum (NYO) Mr. Bharara told the filled room at the law school’s Lincoln Center campus that his public denunciations of Albany ’s “culture of corruption” are intended to raise awareness of the ethics dilemmas facing the state government, to deter potential bad actors and to encourage well-intentioned public officials to push back against the problem.“Part of your job as a law enforcement official, whether you’re a prosecutor, or the Attorney General, or the FBI director, is to help prevent crime and deter crime.” * “It’s not enough to simply make sure we’re getting rid of the bad folks,” the US attorney said. “We want to make sure we are empowering, or sometimes embarrassing, good folks at any institution that exists to do something when they see something.” Skelos U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara asked a federal judge not to dismiss corruption charges against state Sen. Dean Skelos, who was arrested last May and lost his leadership position in the Senate, saying the senator had no legal grounds to have the charges dropped, Newsday reports:
Bharara Not Only Fighting Albany Corruption He is Fighting A Culture Defining Deviancy Down
Bharara defending his mission as crucial to bringing true democracy to a state hobbled by a history of graft
Anti-corruption crusader Preet Bharara took his clean-up-Albany message to Fordham Law School a few weeks ago Albany is off base," he said. The day he was formally indicted, Silver filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that Bharara’s speechifying was tainting his ability to get an unbiased jury. On Thursday Bharara's office fired back, noting that since 2007 at least 18 current or former Albany pols have been convicted of corruption charges and stating that Bharara has an obligation to speak out. In his speech Friday, Bharara did not mention Silver's name even once. * Prosecutors Hit Back at Sheldon Silver Dismissal Motion (WSJ) * Bharara rebuts Silver’s dismissal bid (Real Deal) US Albany ?" * Bharara Defends Himself from Criticism that He's Politicizing Prosecution ofSilver (NY1) * Politics was once about beliefs and society. Now it’s aworship of money (Guardian) * Bharara Calls for Heightened Awareness of Public Corruption via @NYLawJournal
The NYT and DN Should take the Blinders off and Investigate Who Next for the Feds
Bharara creates a grim guessing game in Albany(Capital)Albany 's elite. Not just lawmakers, but also interest groups and lobbyists.” On Friday, lawmakers buzzed over a report that Bharara was looking at Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos, another third of the governing troika. Skelos' aidesquickly questioned the report and said he had not retained a criminal defense attorney or been contacted by prosecutors. * Shaken by the corruption charges against Silver as well as other high-profile arrests in recent years, many lawmakers have become critical of JCOPE, questioning whether it has been effective or independent.
Moreland Was Killed to Protect Silver's Real Estate Conspiracy That Made Him Millions
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Governor Cuomo’s top real estate donor is Glenwood Management, with $800,000 contributed through 19 LLCs, according to ProPublica * Of the LLCs giving to Cuomo, the most generous are controlled by Glenwood Management, a real estate development company headquartered on Long Island. * Gov. Cuomo received $76,000 from real estate investors weeks before giving their property a tax break on bill (NYDN) * At least 6 citywide candidates got the loot from the buildings developers.(NYDN) Extell contributions to city officials were designed to take advantage of the public matching fund program.
Bharara Not Only Fighting Albany Corruption He is Fighting A Culture Defining Deviancy Down
Bharara defending his mission as crucial to bringing true democracy to a state hobbled by a history of graft
Anti-corruption crusader Preet Bharara took his clean-up-Albany message to Fordham Law School Albany is off base," he said. The day he was formally indicted, Silver filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that Bharara’s speechifying was tainting his ability to get an unbiased jury. On Thursday Bharara's office fired back, noting that since 2007 at least 18 current or former Albany pols have been convicted of corruption charges and stating that Bharara has an obligation to speak out. In his speech Friday, Bharara did not mention Silver's name even once. * Prosecutors Hit Back at Sheldon Silver Dismissal Motion (WSJ) * Bharara rebuts Silver’s dismissal bid (Real Deal) US Albany ?" * Bharara Defends Himself from Criticism that He's Politicizing Prosecution ofSilver (NY1) * Politics was once about beliefs and society. Now it’s aworship of money (Guardian) * Bharara Calls for Heightened Awareness of Public Corruption via @NYLawJournal
Press Ignoring Bharara Pleas to Investigate Corruption Opens Door for Silver Lawyers to Blame the U.S. Attorney
Bharara to Journalist Investigate Stop Copying My Press Releases do Investigative Reporting
One Year Ago
Preet challenges journos to do investigative reporting (CrainsNY) "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," Bharara said. "Groundbreaking corruption coverage is not just good copy, it's a path to good government." Bharara. The press has a role to play. "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," he said
Bharara Trying to Repair New York's Broken Democracy Does the Job of the Press and the Missing Reform Political Leaders
ProsecutorDenies Creating a ‘Media Firestorm’ Over Sheldon Silver’s Arrest (NYT) * Preet Bharara DefendsHis Public Appearances at Zephyr Teachout Forum (NYO) Mr. Bharara told the filled room at the law school’s Lincoln Center campus that his public denunciations of Albany ’s “culture of corruption” are intended to raise awareness of the ethics dilemmas facing the state government, to deter potential bad actors and to encourage well-intentioned public officials to push back against the problem.“Part of your job as a law enforcement official, whether you’re a prosecutor, or the Attorney General, or the FBI director, is to help prevent crime and deter crime.” * “It’s not enough to simply make sure we’re getting rid of the bad folks,” the US attorney said. “We want to make sure we are empowering, or sometimes embarrassing, good folks at any institution that exists to do something when they see something.”
More on Sheldon Silver and His Indictment
Bharara Arrests of Silver and Skelos Shuts Down Litwin's Glenwood Campaign Funding for Albany
Filings show Glenwood no longer a major donor (Capital) Preet Bharara has made actual, tangible results in getting money out of NY politics * Glenwood Management, perennially the state’s largest campaign contributor, has drastically reduced its campaign donations in the wake of federal investigations in which company officials are reportedly embroiled, Capital New York reports: * The Real Estate Board of New York spent $3 million opposing a prevailing wage provisionin the renewal of the 421a tax abatement.
Developers Tied to Skelos and Silver Cases Funded 421-a Lobbyists Effort
Developers tied to Skelos and Silver cases funded lobbying effort (TU) In the wake of two high-profile political corruption cases allegedly involving major New York City real estate developers, some of those same developers helped fund a $1.9 million Albany lobbying effort this year for a lucrative tax break. A lobbying disclosure filing provided Friday by the group Putting New Yorkers to Work, a nonprofit run by leadership of the real estate trade group the Real Estate Board of New York, reported the group taking in $200,000 in May from eight limited liability companies controlled by Glenwood Management.
That’s the Long Island luxury residential developer that played a supporting role in the federal corruption charges against ex-Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and former Republican Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos. Silver stepped down from his legislative leadership post in January and Skelos in May. Glenwood’s donations to the lobbying group are listed as coming in on May 8 – four days after Skelos was arrested and charged. Glenwood has long been the state’s biggest political donor, including to its three statewide Democrats – Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli – but appears to have tamped down its campaign spending in light of the federal scrutiny. Last Wednesday, Cuomo reported no political donations from the company the past six months. The company did, however, make the $200,000 lobbying contribution, which was part of nearly $1.9 million in total spending by Putting New Yorkers To Work in May and June.
The spending went to television and radio ads, digital media, and polling. Charles Dorego, a top Glenwood official, was given a non-prosecution agreement in conjunction with his assistance in the Skelos case. In both the Silver and Skelos cases, the lawmakers are accused of concocting schemes in which Glenwood would enrich them, or their families, in exchange for favorable treatment on one or several of the key issues Glenwood has before the Legislature, from rent regulation to tax breaks for developers. Skelos allegedly threatened to stop helping the industry if he didn’t get its support. A developer that had a cameo role in the complaint against Skelos, Tishman Speyer, also gave $250,000 to the lobbying effort, the disclosure shows. According to the complaint against Skelos, Skelos’ son, Adam, who is also facing charges, sought title insurance work from the developer. Neither Glenwood Management nor Tishman Speyer has been charged with wrongdoing. Putting New Yorkers to Work was formed to push for the interests of big real estate and affordable housing developers in the battle over the extension of the 421-a tax abatement, which expired in June and gives lucrative tax breaks to developers in exchange for their building affordable housing. Of the $3.1 in contributions collected by Putting New Yorkers to Work, the biggest donor was the New York State Association for Affordable Housing, a trade association for affordable housing developers that gave $500,000. Many of New York City ’s biggest developers gave, from the Durst Organization to The Related Companies. The group was aligned with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has made building affordable housing a priority for his administration, but was at odds with a group funded by buildings trades unions, UP4NYC, that itself engaged in a well-funded push for a new prevailing wage mandate for construction workers at 421-a projects. * "Neither Glenwood Management nor Tishman Speyer hasbeen charged with wrongdoing". (TU)
"Defining Deviancy Down” Newspapers No Longer Attack the Political Bosses That Control City's Elections
From 1939 to 1976 Former NY Post Owner Dorothy Schiff Challenged Carmine De Sapio head of Manhattan ’s Tammany Hall as well as the entrenched bosses in Brooklyn and the Bronx . Schiff was even active in the anit Tammany Lexington Democratic Club. The Post editorials went after the bosses whenever an opportunity arose. Dolly and Jimmy Wechsler were close to the leadership of the Liberal party. The Liberal Party was part of the Democratic Party, but outside the party. If there was a liberal Republic running for office, or a n undesirable Democrat, the Liberal Party would go to the Democratic bosses an say, you know if you have a liberal guy, we’ll endorse him, and if you don’t we’ll run an independent candidate. That was the game. The New York City newspaper tradition of going after the bosses that control the city's elections goes back over 100 years before Schiff sold the Post to Murdoch. In the 1870's Thomas Nass published weekly attacks on boss tweed in the Harpers Weekly magazine. In 1871 the Times expose the crooked dealings of Tammany Hall's William Marcy Tweed, or "Boss Tweed", who, along with others, had been stealing millions from the New York City Treasury. In 1965 the NY Times supported John Lindsay over Abe Beame because Beame would owe a very great deal to some of the worst machine elements in the city, and anyone who hopes that he will be caught dissociating himself from the old-style bosses of the Democratic party is living in a fool’s paradise.
"Defining Deviancy Down"
Part 1. Unlike the Prosecutors of New York's Past Today the Law and the Press Pushed Out Political Boss de Sapio Part 2. Today Campaign Consultant Lobbyists Openly Bribe Elected Officials to Get Government Contracts While the Prosecutors and Press Give Them A Pass
Today Lobbyists Have Gotten Away With the Pay to Play Corruption That Sent Boss de Sapio to Jail
DeSapio reached a low point in 1969 when he was convicted in a Federal Court of conspiracy and bribery after it was acknowledged that he conspired to bribe the former New York City water commissioner, James L. Marcus, and extort contracts from Consolidated Edison that would result in kickbacks.[2] He served two years in federal prison (1971–1973). After his release, he never re-entered politics. Today campaign consultant run campaigns and raise money to elected puppets that will cater to their lobbyists clients
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Bharara Not Only Fighting Albany Corruption He is Fighting A Culture Defining Deviancy Down
Bharara defending his mission as crucial to bringing true democracy to a state hobbled by a history of graft
Anti-corruption crusader Preet Bharara took his clean-up-Albany message to Fordham Law School Albany is off base," he said. The day he was formally indicted, Silver filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that Bharara’s speechifying was tainting his ability to get an unbiased jury. On Thursday Bharara's office fired back, noting that since 2007 at least 18 current or former Albany pols have been convicted of corruption charges and stating that Bharara has an obligation to speak out. In his speech Friday, Bharara did not mention Silver's name even once. * Prosecutors Hit Back at Sheldon Silver Dismissal Motion (WSJ) * Bharara rebuts Silver’s dismissal bid (Real Deal) US Albany ?" * Bharara Defends Himself from Criticism that He's Politicizing Prosecution ofSilver (NY1) * Politics was once about beliefs and society. Now it’s aworship of money (Guardian) * Bharara Calls for Heightened Awareness of Public Corruption via @NYLawJournal
A City of Sheep Have Not Demanded That Political Corruption Be Stopped
U.S. Attorney Criticizes Albany’s ‘Three Men in a Room’ Culture(NYT) Preet Bharara, speaking at the New York Law School
Why Are the DAs Not Finding Corrupt Pols?
Bharara has argued that prosecutors to take policy positionson criminal justice reform, why not corruption?(TU)* Why Are NYC's DAs Not Indicting Pols?
Why Are the DAs Not Finding Corrupt Pols?
Press Ignoring Bharara Pleas to Investigate Corruption Opens Door for Silver Lawyers to Blame the U.S. Attorney
Bharara to Journalist Investigate Stop Copying My Press Releases do Investigative Reporting
One Year Ago
Preet challenges journos to do investigative reporting (CrainsNY) "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," Bharara said. "Groundbreaking corruption coverage is not just good copy, it's a path to good government." Bharara. The press has a role to play. "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," he said
Bharara Trying to Repair New York's Broken Democracy Does the Job of the Press and the Missing Reform Political Leaders
ProsecutorDenies Creating a ‘Media Firestorm’ Over Sheldon Silver’s Arrest (NYT) * Preet Bharara DefendsHis Public Appearances at Zephyr Teachout Forum (NYO) Mr. Bharara told the filled room at the law school’s Lincoln Center campus that his public denunciations of Albany ’s “culture of corruption” are intended to raise awareness of the ethics dilemmas facing the state government, to deter potential bad actors and to encourage well-intentioned public officials to push back against the problem.“Part of your job as a law enforcement official, whether you’re a prosecutor, or the Attorney General, or the FBI director, is to help prevent crime and deter crime.” * “It’s not enough to simply make sure we’re getting rid of the bad folks,” the US attorney said. “We want to make sure we are empowering, or sometimes embarrassing, good folks at any institution that exists to do something when they see something.”
U.S. Attorney Keeps Talking, but Leaves Out Sheldon Silver (NYT) Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in Manhattan , offered a notable silence on a corruption case involving the speaker of the New York Assembly after his public remarks became part of it. Silver's lawyers recently asked a federal judge, Valerie E. Caproni, to dismiss the indictment against Mr. Silver on grounds of “improper extrajudicial” comments by Mr. Bharara. They cited a news conference he held on Jan. 22 to announce the charges, the speech the next day at New York Law School United States attorney had taken a different approach in his speech on Friday because Mr. Silver’s pending motion, a spokesman for Mr. Bharara declined to comment.
NY's Real Estate Industrial Legal Complex Tries to Shut US Attorney Bharara Up
Mr. Bharara’s speech, atFordham University School of Law, was the keynote address of a symposium, “Fighting Corruption in America and Abroad.” But in his talk, Mr. Bharara returned several times to why he believed it was crucial for a law enforcement official like himself to publicly address corruption. He has noted that more than 18 New York State U.S. attorney, he cannot answer any questions about ongoing prosecutions.” Mr. Bharara also indicated that he did not intend to discuss pending cases. In the talk, Mr. Bharara raised the question of what kind of government people actually wanted, and seemed to veer at times into an almost philosophical discussion, with references to Archimedes and John Rawls, the noted theorist on justice who had been Mr. Bharara’s professor at Harvard College
NY's Real Estate Industrial Legal Complex Already Controls the Media and Elected Officials
Mr. Bharara asked. “Would you desire a system in which an individual representative has some power, or one in which all power is concentrated in a single leader?” Mr. Bharara did refer to a closed case involving Eric A. Stevenson, a former Democratic state assemblyman from the Bronx who was convicted in a corruption case and sentenced to three years in prison. Mr. Bharara cited Mr. Stevenson’s now infamous statement, recorded secretly by the government during its investigation, in which he said, “Bottom line, if half of the people up here in Albany was ever caught for what they do,” they would wind up in prison.
NY's Real Estate Industrial Legal Complex Tries to Shut US Attorney Bharara Up
NY's Real Estate Industrial Legal Complex Already Controls the Media and Elected Officials
Lawmakers Who Have Done Nothing to Clean-Up Albany Upset With the One Man Who Has
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WHAT THE MUCK? Albany lawmakers cry foul over Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's tactics, say he's overstepping (NYDN) More than a dozen state legislators, legislative officials and other insiders interviewed by the Daily News give credit to Preet Bharara for targeting Albany wrongdoing but are fuming over what they say is the powerful prosecutor’s publicity seeking, tarring of the entire Legislature, and wading into governance issues far beyond the scope of his office.
Bharara "If You Got Them By the Balls Their Hearts and Minds Will Follow" John Wayne
Gov. Cuomo Talks Reform(NYT Ed) Gov. Andrew Cuomo sounded this week a lot like the candidate he was in 2010, when he promised that his first job as governor would be “restoring public trust and accountability” in state government. He has done little to fulfill that pledge, and worse, he canceled the Moreland Commission midway through its investigation of ethical lapses by lawmakers last year. With the arrest of the former Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, on corruption charges, Governor Cuomo, the reformer, has reappeared on the scene. Mr. Cuomo said he was prepared to allow this year’s budget to go into overtime, if necessary, unless the reforms are passed. That is a credible threat; legislators’ paychecks are withheld until a budget passes. The governor can also include his reforms in temporary spending bills that keep the government going until a permanent budget is approved. His obligation now is to maintain his resolve and not collapse when back-room trading to produce a budget begins.
The NYT hopes Cuomo “might actually put some political power” behind the effort this time
Mr. Cuomo’s reawakened interest in a cleaner Albany was clearly inspired by revelations surrounding the once-powerful speaker. Mr. Cuomo’s reawakened interest in a cleaner Albany was clearly inspired by revelations surrounding the once-powerful speaker. * The Imperfect Messenger Background Will Give Him Little Ability to Fight Against Real Reforms The scoop on Heastie: Background from The Bronx(NYP). The Bronx seems to have been corruption central since 2002. Wags wondered what was in the water. The shameful rogues gallery of Bronx wrongdoers include state legislators Gloria Davis, Guy Velella, Pedro Espada, Nelson Castro and Eric Stevenson, as well as City Councilman Larry Seabrook, whom Heastie years ago once served as campaign treasurer.* The speaker from Baychester(Capital) * Michael Benjamin in the Post writes he has “some hope” for the promises of transparency and reform made by newly-elected Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, despite his questionable background: * Bharara: NY is the 'show me the money' state(LoHud)
You Cannot Cure A Culture of Corruption By Appealing to Albany's Better Angels
Former Sen. George Maziarz directed aides to destroy old campaign-related bills and receipts last spring, just before federal prosecutors ramped up a probe into Albany corruption and the misuse of political donations for personal use. In his push for greater disclosure of outside income by state lawmakers, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he expects his proposed ethics reforms will be rejected because many in the Legislature cannot comply. * The Buffalo News says: “Lawmakers are tone-deaf. They were tone-deaf in the way they went about electing a new speaker. They were tone-deaf in 2013 when they initially shunned any ethics reform, leading to Cuomo’s creation of a short-lived, if ultimately productive, Moreland Commission on public corruption. There is little reason to believe they have suddenly learned to sing.”* Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was arrested on a series of corruption charges a few weeks ago. Check our timeline of New York politician behaving badly.
#PreetBharara just compared Albany
So they found a sneaky way to avoid voting no that has exactly the same result — nothing changes. Meanwhile, the governor has no qualms about taking LLC money — which accounted for fully one-quarter of the $20 million raised for his reelection campaign last year. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and his majority Democrats pay lip service to LLC reform, too. Yet they package it with more controversial measures — such as taxpayer financing of elections — that they know to be dead on arrival in the Senate.* Cuomo said he will use executive powers to enable a special prosecutor to pursue charges against police officers who kill civilians if lawmakers don’t approve his related plan, the Times Union reports: The Daily News’ Bill Hammond writes that Republicans’ want to block attempts to reform the campaign finance system’s treatment of limited liability companies, but Democrats are paying “lip service” to such efforts, too: * State Senate GOP kills bill that would have prohibited state from reimbursing lawyer fees to campaign funds (NYDN) GOP Boss and Silver Agree Cox: Bharara Trying Cases In Press (YNN) New York Republican Chairman Ed Cox on Wednesday in a radio interview criticized U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office for leaking the details of an investigation of the state’s highest-ranking GOP elected official. Klein Ethics Up to GOP Not Me Klein Leaves Skelos Up To The Republicans (YNN) JCOPE Corruption JCOPE Commissioner Gary Lavine denied there was a conflict of interest from his work at a prominent central New York firm, Bousquet Holstein, on its “government relations” team, the Times Union writes:
- Savino Calls Mark-Viverito an "Idiot" but Wants Bharara Not to Cast Aspersions
Lawmakers Blame the Prosecutor Not Themselves for Albany Corruption
“You want to target corruption? God bless you,” said state Sen. Diane Savino (D-S.I.). “That’s what you’re supposed to do. But the fact there’s some corruption in the Legislature does not mean we all are corrupt. And the rest of us don’t appreciate the comparison.” Assemblyman Nick Perry (D-Brooklyn) is one of many who agreed. * In Federal Indictment ScarboroughAccused Of Misusing Reimbursement Money(YNN)* "Huntley said .. Sampson had warned her earlier to get rid of her phone because the feds were 'on my wire.' " (NYDN) * Huntley’s Colleagues Caught On Wiretap(YNN) * After Helping The FBI, Former State Senator Shirley Huntley Still Gets Slapped With A Year In Prison(Village Voice)
“It’s totally unfair to sort of cast a wide net of mud and dirt across the whole spectrum of elected officials that serve New York” Assemblyman Perry
Bharara sees corruption “all over” New York State - The Buffalo News. Stay Tuned “He’s nothing but a politician with a badge,” said one Assembly Democrat. “He should be doing everything he can to root out corruption, but he should not be threatening and grandstanding, telling the world to ‘stay tuned’ and tarring everybody with a criminal brush. It’s inappropriate.” Three Men in A Room is None of Bharara Business “He’s going far beyond the role of a prosecutor,” said a Senate Republican. “If you find people having a conflict of interest or making money illegally, go for it. But ‘three men in a room’? It’s not for a U.S. attorney to be commenting on a system of government.” * Assemblyman-turned-convict Boyland denied bail(NYP) * Prosecutors say Boyland ‘sold his office’ in closing arguments(NYP)
The Elected Officials Who Did Not Speak Out Against Moreland Being Closed Down are Upset Castro Wore A Wire
HEAR NO EVIL, SEE NO EVIL: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, the Democrats in the state Legislature are all performing the same duck-and-cover routine when it comes to commenting on Moreland Commission interference, writes City & State’s Morgan Pehme in his latest column: * Even some of Bharara’s investigative tactics have come under fire from lawmakers. Perry is critical of the decision to allow then-Bronx Assembly Democrat Nelson Castro to twice run for reelection while secretly under indictment. Flashback Bribery conviction lands former assemblyman 3 years in prison(NYP)
Most people don't recall abt 30 yr ago 3 reformers took on political power structure in Albany
Killing Moreland Killing 3 Men in A Room And Others in Albany
Speak up, Gov (NYP Ed) With the arrests of top Albany pols, and with Bharara having taken up the work Moreland wasn’t allowed to finish, New Yorkers would surely love to hear Cuomo explain why he did what he did. Then again, he’s already talked about Moreland. Actually, double-talked: Once he said he shut the panel to save money; another time, that it was only meant as a way to pass an ethics bill. This week’s excuse? The probers got “stuck.” Cuomo has also claimed the panel was independent — except when he was insisting it was “my commission, so he could “appoint” or “unappoint” members as he pleased. In a New Yorker piece this week, he offers a gem to defend shutting the panel even though Bharara used its work to indict then-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver: “If [former Rep.] Anthony Weiner shows his private parts, do you blame Obama?” New York state legislators open to unveiling their outside income
Hours after the Daily News published the names of 16 lawmakers who made more than $100,000 in outside income, state Senate GOP Leader Dean Skelos issued a statement saying he was 'actively engaged in discussions' with Gov. Cuomo on a package of ethics reforms.* The Post urges Cuomo to speak up about his dealings with the Moreland Commission, an anticorruption panel he convened and shut, now that U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said he is free to discuss his role in the probe * De Blasio demands more MTA funding in $77.7B budget plan (NYP)
Green Shoots of Democracy In Reforming Albany Caused by the Law Not Daily News
It's Not the Daily News that is forcing Albany's Hand by publishing the names off the anti-reforms, it's the fear of jail. It is a good thing that the News is publishing the names of the bastards, but that is their job and should have always be putting pressure on our elected officials They should also listen to all of the U.S. Attorney's message to the media last year. "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," Bharara said. "Groundbreaking corruption coverage is not just good copy, it's a path to good government." Bharara * Dean Skelos feels the heat (NYDN) New York 's State Senate leader, who shields up to $250,000 in annual income from outside scrutiny, finds a sudden passion for transparency in state legislators' business affairs * Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos said he’s “actively engaged” in talks with Gov. Andrew Cuomo to enact ethics reforms because “we need full transparency…to restore the public’s trust.” But the Long Island Republican has balked at providing a public list of his outside law clients.* NY State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos probed by feds (NYDN) Someone is Watching the AG Bharara and Schneiderman Do Lunch (YNN) * Schneiderman: No Comment On Moreland * Schneiderman Breaks Silence on Moreland Commission(NY1)
Moreland Investigation Ends, Media Cover-Up
Albany: Pay Raise, 2014 Budget , 2015 Session, Three Men inthe Room Again
Daily News Crap
Albany: Pay Raise, 2014 Budget , 2015 Session, Three Men inthe Room Again
Daily News Crap
Ruben Diaz Defends Bharara, Says He is Cleaning-Up Albany
Former Democratic Assemblyman Eric Stevenson is heading to prison after being sentenced Wednesday to three years behind bars for pocketing more than $22,000 in bribes as part of a scheme... “Mr. Bharara is doing a great job,” said Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. (D-Bronx). “He’s the only one who could clean up the mess in Albany .” Added an Assembly Democrat: “He’s building his yellow brick road and we’ll see where that leads. If there’s something wrong, it’s not a bad thing. If there isn’t something wrong, it will turn around and bite him in the butt.”* Two-thirds of New York's voters think Albany lawmakers are corrupt(NYDN) * * Report: State Lawmakers Spending Heavily On Legal Fees(YNN)
U.S. Attorney Pushing Reforms In Albany Someone Should Tell the Daily News and NYP
The Daily News Credit Cuomo With Taking A Stand and Do Not Include the U.S. Attorney Investigations of Albany, Convictions of Elected Officials or the Speakers Arrest
Gov. Cuomo takes a smart stand on ethics andeducation (NYDN Ed) Albany . Under Mr. Cuomo’s change, lawmakers would be reimbursed only for their costs and only if they had complied with proposed new disclosure rules. Those would force them to disclose the source of outside income above $1,000 and the identity of any clients for whom they personally have done work who compensated them more than $5,000. Lawmakers also would need to disclose whether services they provided “were related to pending legislation governmental action.”* Cuomo Takes Budget Message to Brooklyn(NY1)
Bharara's Seabury Commission With A Twist
In 1931 the State Legislature Empowered the Seabury Commission to Go After Corruption in the Courts and NYPD, In 2015 the U.S. Attorney Could Be Using A Grand Jury Report to Go After Corruption in the Legislature
The Seabury investigations, was a joint legislative committee formed by the New York State Legislature to probe into corruption in New York City, especially the magistrate's courts and police department in 1931. It led to major changes in the method of arrest, bail and litigation of suspects in New York City. * Federal Prosecutors Launch Assault on Public Corruption in New York State (WSJ) Albany politicians one by one, taking on lawmakers such as Pedro Espada, Carl Kruger and, most recently, Malcolm Smith.Now, federal prosecutors in New York ’s Southern District are pursuing a broader strategy—“an assault on the criminal opacity of Albany ,” in the words of one Justice Department official. As part of that approach, prosecutors could take the unusual step of producing a grand-jury report on systemic public corruption in the state capital. The broad reach of prosecutors’ interest was evident in the development of the case against former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and the scope of their investigation is likely to unfurl in coming months—in the form of a report or, more likely, a series of cases.* Preet Bharara's office has at least a dozen prosecutors working on Albany-related public corruption probes(WSJ) * MSNBC's Ari Melber Nabs First Interview with U.S. AttorneyPreet Bharara (Video)* Federal prosecutors have launched “an assault on the criminal opacity of Albany ,” in the words of one Justice Department official, and could take the unusual step of producing a grand-jury report on systemic public corruption in the state Capitol.* Bharara: Cuomo Can Talk About Moreland Probe * Preet Bharara Says ‘Unfortunate Percentage’ ofAlbany Politicians Are Corrupt (NYO)* Preet Bharara promises more corruption probes(NYP)“We have a number of investigations going on. And we’ve had them for a long time,”Bharara said.
High Noon The Sheriff Rounds Up the Dark Master of NY Politics
Bharara Speaks to NY's Sheep (Us) Get Mad As Hell And Don't Take It Anymore
Preet Bharara, speaking at the New York Law School
People need to demand more, Bharara says before quoting Edward R Murrow: 'a nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves'*
People need to demand more, Bharara says before quoting Edward R Murrow: 'a nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves'*
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We Fought the Law and the Law Won
They’re running scared in Albany because New Yorkers have had enough of their rigged games and thievery. Faster than you can say “Sheldon Silver in handcuffs,” the ladies and gentlemen of the state Legislature on Tuesday proclaimed their ardent desire for squeaky-clean government. That’s what happened after the Daily News named 16 members of the Assembly and Senate as pulling down more than $100,000 a year without fully disclosing the sources of their incomes — and this page dubbed them Enemies of Reform. Almost immediately, Senate Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos declared: “We need full transparency and strong ethics laws that are modeled off of the best practices of 49 other states* #Albany considersa full-time Legislature(Capital)
Skelos the Third Amigo Under Fed Investigation . . . Shocking Feds Looking at Ties to Real Estate Industry
Albany Outside Income Targets
The Daily News calls “enemies of reform” the minority of state legislators that make more than $100,000 from private work and refuse to say who is paying them to do what
Thursday Update
Over A Year Before the Charges Against Silver The U.S. Attorney Bharara Ask the Press to Do More Investigative Reporting
The Press Missed the Speaker Silver Corruption Story
Bharara to Journalist
Investigate Stop Copying My Press Releases
Preet challenges journos to do investigative reporting (CrainsNY) "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," Bharara said. "Groundbreaking corruption coverage is not just good copy, it's a path to good government." Bharara. The press has a role to play. "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," he said
Sheldon Silver, officially under indictment (YNN) * The Associated Press reports Silver has been indicted on three charges. More from AP: "Silver was indicted Thursday (today) by a grand jury in
\NY Corruption, INC
Bharara's Trifecta: Investigating the Lawmakers, Courts and Governor Same Time
At least three judges at
Bharara: The Man Who Got Silver, What is Next?
Saturday Night Massacre Destroyed Nixon, Killing Moreland Took Down Silver
Stranger Cuomo insisted again that his Moreland Commission was a success, despite the fact that he disbanded it and would have let Silver off the hook.
Federal case againstSilver has something Bruno case lacked: cooperating witnesses. * The bribery case against Silver raises questions about whether he pulled his punches in 2011 negotiations on rent regulations at the expense of New Yorkers in rent stabilized apartments, ProPublica’s Justin Elliott: * Former AG Vacco takes twitter shot at current AG Schneiderman:"Was big wig on Moreland but despite all his rhetoric-he takes no action."
Preet nabs state senator’s son on tax cheating(NYP) Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara has carved another notch on his belt in his ongoing quest to weed corruption out of
Some staff members who work for Silver, who faces corruption charges, have been subpoenaed by federal prosecutors, a source told Newsday, but it wasn’t clear how many * Silver’s decision to quit — amid calls from fellow Democrats to do so — came less than a week after being busted by the feds for allegedly using his public office to amass millions of dollars in kickbacks and no-show jobs.
Looks Like Bharara Wanted to Make A Statement About Moreland Before the Debate
“The important thing here is that thatwe have the files.” @sarbetter @WCNY *Bharara: “When you're trying to solve a problem, you need a certain amount of longevity and you need ... some independence.”* Bharara: "I have joked .. that
'Sopranos' actor backs Astorino, calls Cuomo a'big pussy' * Here's my full write-up of Preet Bharara's interview on@CapPressRoom Bharara says there is "precious little disclosure" that leads to corruption and conflicts of interest. Bharara says "unfettered outside income" is a "recipe for what we have in NY which is a little bit of a corruption disaster" Bharara says anti-corruption commissions, generally, need "longevity" and a degree of independence. Bharara won't comment on question regarding whether Cuomo's use of political leverage via Moreland Commission constitutes a crime. * With Cuomo about to debate his opponents, Bharara talksMoreland in a radio interview * Before Cuomo's debate, Bharara hints at many probes (CrainsNY) * Cuomo's post-Moreland reforms, so far, are a bust (Capital)
Zephyr Teachout @ZephyrTeachout
New Yorkers shouldn't respond to Cuomo's mismanagement of Ebola, Moreland, testing, etc by staying out. We need a Dem Senate. 9 close races.
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Bharara Pushes City Hall to Fix Rikers
Moving the Media Aways From Moreland During the Cuomo Campaign
Preet Bharara, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, questioned the commitment of New York City officials to make meaningful reforms at Rikers Island, which has come under scrutiny for a “culture of violence,” The New York Times reports: http://goo.gl/yHgwDU * As New York City’s Department of Corrections seeks to beat back controversy, Commissioner Joseph Ponte is replacing a top staffer—Chief of Staff Sara Taylor—who is a holdover from the Bloomberg administration, the Observer reports: http://goo.gl/U8j6WC Preet Bharara threatens legal action over jail conditions(NYP)* Prosecutor Warns That Rikers Island Problems May Prompt U.S. Lawsuit (NYT) The New York Jail Scandal Continues (NYT) News that city officials sanitized a report about Rikers Island
Bharara: Consultants Needs to Be Held Accountable
“As the jury found, Lowe participated in a series of back-room deals in which the bridge of corruption extended between the world of elected officials and their complicit consultants,” he said. “Consultants, like elected officials, need to be held accountable." Preet Bharara, the United States attorney* Prosecutor Preet Bharara prepares for the spotlight(CrainsNY)Later this month, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara will do a series of live interviews at events in New York City , a new setting for the high profile prosecutor who doesn’t shy away from the press
More On US Attorney Preet Bharara
New York City federal prosecutor Preet Bharara not exactly discouraging attorney general buzz | Fox News http://fxn.ws/1rWVGAD vi
U.S Attorney Bharara Kills Pension of Corrupt Pol
Mr. Martinez, who was convicted in a federal corruption case, made the agreement under a new policy of the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan. * Convicted councilman to forfeit pension in new push from U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara(NYDN) * Sampson unfit for office because of corruption charges: rivals(NYP)
Sweet, Preet (NYDN)
Bharara wins a fight to claw back criminal politicians' pensions
A century of Moreland (TU) As some New York governors have found, investigations don't always go as planned
The NYT is Counting On an Un-Elected Prosecutor to Clean Up Albany
It’s not just Mr. Bharara’s job to clean up Albany. It is up to the voters to decide whether to go on endorsing business as usual. As the indictments and embarrassments continue (26 at latest count since 1999), New Yorkers will have to decide if their representatives are politicians they can trust, including Mr. Cuomo. * U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara appeared on PBS’ “Charlie Rose” and said his office will succeed in cleaning up corruption in Albany where the Moreland Commission failed “because if other people aren’t going to do it, then we’re going to do it,” Gannett Albany reports
* Bharara: “We are the people who do our jobs" (LoHud) * Bharara and Schneiderman Do Lunch(YNN)
The Only Man Who Can Clean Up Albany
Why Cleaning Up Albany Keeps Being Left to Bharara(Gotham Gazette)
When U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara was asked about his investigation into Governor Andrew Cuomo's now-defunct Moreland Commission on Public Corruption last month on The Charlie Rose Show, he gave what can be seen as a stern assessment of good governance efforts in New York."Our interest above all other interests is to make sure that the job is getting done - because we are the people who do our jobs," said Bharara of rooting out corruption.Bharara's comments could be taken as a critique of ethics enforcement and reform in Albany as a whole as all of the state's agencies and other entities that can police political corruption appear restrained or restricted from actually doing the job. Thus, Bharara's federal office enters yet again to pick up the slack.* The real Moreland takeaway (NYDN Ed) We need public campaign financing* US Attorney Preet Bharara told the New York Times: “I have no interest and desire to seek political office…Now or ever.” In Five Years, a Federal Prosecutor Has Taken On Terrorism, Corruption and Cuomo(NYT) During his tenure as the United States attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara has embraced the media spotlight while fighting attempts to politicize justice.
WSJ Says Bharara Goes Rogue Over Cuomo's Moreland Corruption
POLITICO’s Jeff Smith says the Moreland mess has Cuomo in “serious trouble” and is “far more serious than some people believe.” CUOMO’S GIFT TO BHARARA -- Capital’s Blake Zeff: “The governor may have given a gift to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara when he and his top staff engineered positive statements from former Moreland Commission members, a move that could be construed as witness-tampering, a crime under federal law. “When the feds have expressed an interest in a matter, circling back and trying to get people to change or clarify their accounts really is a dangerous move,” Columbia Law professor Daniel Richman, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District,told Business Week last week. “Corporate counsels are generally careful about this, and one would have thought that the governor’s office would be too.”
Prosecutor Plays Hardball in Cuomo Inquiry(WSJ) Bharara Publicly Criticizes New York Governor, Keeps Justice Department Out of Loop. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has charted a confrontational and independent course in his investigation of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's disbanding of an anticorruption commission, former prosecutors and political observers said. Mr. Bharara has launched a broad inquiry, including publicly criticizing the governor's dissolution of the commission and using tough prosecutorial tactics, all without seeking approval from the Justice Department in Washington, according to people familiar with the matter. Prosecutors customarily inform the department of matters of national importance, current and former federal officials say, though the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office, arguably the most powerful of the 93 nationwide, is given more free rein.
Prosecutor Plays Hardball in Cuomo Inquiry(WSJ) Bharara Publicly Criticizes New York Governor, Keeps Justice Department Out of Loop. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has charted a confrontational and independent course in his investigation of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's disbanding of an anticorruption commission, former prosecutors and political observers said. Mr. Bharara has launched a broad inquiry, including publicly criticizing the governor's dissolution of the commission and using tough prosecutorial tactics, all without seeking approval from the Justice Department in Washington, according to people familiar with the matter. Prosecutors customarily inform the department of matters of national importance, current and former federal officials say, though the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office, arguably the most powerful of the 93 nationwide, is given more free rein.
Prosecutors are investigating allegations that the governor's aides sought to influence the commission's investigations, including whether they tried to stop it from referring some cases for prosecution, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Bharara's tactics have included criticizing Mr. Cuomo during a radio interview in April for agreeing to disband the commission in exchange for lawmakers passing the ethics-overhaul bill that he sought. Mr. Cuomo has defended the deal. Mr. Bharara also issued preservation notices to state lawmakers and to the governor's office, instructing them to retain all records and documents related to the Moreland Commission. Generally, former federal prosecutors said, U.S. attorneys simply issue subpoenas. He took what former prosecutors called a rare step when he sent letters to Mr. Cuomo's office and the commission, saying the administration's contact with commissioners could represent witness tampering or obstruction of justice. Prosecutors generally don't give warning that actions could constitute crimes in the midst of continuing investigations. * The Moreland Commission controversy may be starting to drain Gov. Cuomo's campaign acct according to the Daily News.(NYDN)
As Cuomo's Moreland Shut Down Scandal Rages the U.S. Attorney Takes Credit for Cleaning Up Corruption in the Courtroom
Dan Halloran guilty of masterminding failed $200K bribery scheme(NYP)
Ex-New York Councilman Is Convicted in Corruption Case(NYT)
Ex-Queens City Councilman Daniel Halloran convicted on corruption, bribery ...(NYDN)
Former Councilman Found Guilty of Bribery(WSJ)
US Attorney Preet Bharara issued the following statement:
“With today’s verdict of guilty reached by an impartial and independent jury, the clean-up of corruption in New York continues in courtrooms.
 |
| Malcolm Smith or Vinny Tabone? |
“Dan Halloran was the lone defendant in the trial that just ended in his conviction, but he is unfortunately not alone in a crowded field of New York officials who are willing to sell out their offices for self-enrichment.”
“This Office will continue the vigorous prosecution of political corruption to secure for the people of New York – regardless of party affiliation – what they deserve: the honest labors of their elected representatives. And we will continue to partner with the FBI, whose outstanding investigative work in this case
US Attorney Seeks Pension of Former Councilman Convicted of Stealing Public Cash
Former City Councilman Miguel Martinez, who was serving a federal sentence for stealing public cash, appeared in federal court in Manhattan Wednesday, as the U.S. attorney wants something else from him: his pension. Former City Councilman Miguel Martinez, who was serving a federal sentence for stealing public cash, appeared in federal court in Manhattan Wednesday, as the U.S. attorney wants something else from him: his pension. Martinez is one of the first former elected officials to face that question after spending years behind bars. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has a long list of public officials he has put in cuffs. In the last week alone, he brought charges against upstate state Senator Thomas Libous and now-former Assemblywoman Gabriela Rosa. That lengthy resume of catching so-called corruption, though, is not enough. Bharara wants their pensions, too. On top of Martinez, Bharara is going after former City Councilman Larry Seabrook's pension. Seabrook is serving time for directing public cash to his friends and family. The U.S. attorney also has also his eye on state Senator Malcolm Smith, who will be facing a public corruption trial next year. If convicted, Smith's pension could be on the line, too. (Video NY1)
NYT Says Only Hope to Clean Up Corruption In Albany is U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara
Why Does the NYT Ignore Bharara Plea to Help Him Clean Up Corruption?
Media Ignores U.S. Attorney Plea to Investigate Corruption to Improve Govt
Bharara: No Investigative Reporting Equals More Corruption
Bharara to Journalist
Investigate Stop Copying My Press Releases
"Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other
offices
are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover
new stories," Bharara said. "Groundbreaking corruption coverage is not
just good copy, it's a path to good government." Bharara
zephyrteachout @zephyrteachout
The New York Times editorial joins @NYDNHammond's commentary
last week, blaming Gov. Cuomo for his failures in addressing corruption.
JCOPE Designed to Fail
JCOPE Designed to Fail
Charmian Neary @CharmianNeary
@CTLizB Like when Shelly was caught lying to them and they
punted?…
Bharara to Journalist: Stop Copying My Press Releases; No Investigative Reporting Equals More Corruption
Preet challenges journos to do investigative reporting (CrainsNY) "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," Bharara said. "Groundbreaking corruption coverage is not just good copy, it's a path to good government." Bharara. The press has a role to play. "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," he said
* Even if U.S. District Attorney Preet Bharara were to find that the Cuomo administration interfered with the recently disbanded Moreland Commission, some legal experts doubt a federal prosecution would be possible, Crain’s reports: http://goo.gl/SFUSGD
EXCLUSIVE:
FBI investigating donations to NYCLASS from men close to Mayor de
Blasio that may have been used toward anti-Christine Quinn campaigners
(NYDN) Two
men with strong ties to Mayor de Blasio donated cash to the NYCLASS
animal rights group leading the crusade to ban carriage horses. The
animal rights group then donated identical amounts to anti-Christine
Quinn campaigners. The transactions are now under FBI investigation. The
mayoral race had not yet come to a boil, but Democrat Christine Quinn
was already feeling the heat.A political action committee called New
York City Is Not for Sale had
spent most of April and May 2013 bashing Quinn in television ads. Her
poll numbers were sliding, but the anti-Quinn campaign wanted to rough
her up even more. That’s when a curious set of financial transactions
quietly took place —
transactions that are now being investigated by the FBI. On May 21,
lawyer Jay Eisenhofer gave $50,000 to NYCLASS, the animal
rights group leading the crusade to ban carriage horses. Ten days later,
on May 31, NYCLASS gave an equal amount — $50,000, to the anti-Quinn
group. On June 1, NYCLASS received another large donation, this time for
$175,000. It came from UNITE HERE! — a labor union headed by John
Wilhelm. Two days after that, on June 3, NYCLASS sent the same amount,
$175,000, to the anti-Quinn campaign. Both Wilhelm and Eisenhofer have
long-standing ties to Bill de Blasio, one of Quinn’s Democratic rivals
in the mayoral campaign.
Has Bharara Investigation of Moreland Empowed the WFP in State Government?
A Criminal Investigation of Moreland?
Now Cuomo's Pushing for Full public campaign finance
Team Cuomo's Secret emails
Good government group calls for investigation of Cuomo administration's emails(NYDN)A Washington, D.C-based good government group is calling for an
investigation of the Cuomo administration’s use of private emails and
BlackBerry PIN messages to conduct official business.In a letter to state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman,
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Executive Director
Melanie Sloan said the administration’s use of private emails and
untraceable text messages appears shields the contents from public
disclosure and may violate state law.* CREW called on AG Eric Schneiderman to investigate Cuomo and his aides for using private email accounts to conduct government business.* After Pledge Of Sunlight, Gov. Cuomo Officials Keep Their Email In The Shadows
Thursday Even if Southern District U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara were to find Cuomo’s administration interfered with the recently disbanded Moreland Commission, some legal experts doubt a federal prosecution would be possible.
Wednesday Cuomo Update
Cuomo's Two Front War
Federal prosecutors issued a grand jury subpoena for emails, text messages and other records from all members of the Moreland Commission, seeking information about the panel’s formation, how it was run, overseen and closed
U.S. Said to Seek Records From Anticorruption Panel’s Members(NYT) Prosecutors have issued a grand jury subpoena related to the so-called Moreland Commission that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo abruptly shut down in March, people briefed on the matter said. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have issued a grand jury subpoena seeking emails, text messages and other records from all the members of the anticorruption commission that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo abruptly shut down in March, three people briefed on the matter said on Monday.* NYT: Preet Bharara is just starting with Moreland Commission (LoHud)
More on the Moreland Investigation
A Tale of Two Media Coverages
NYC's Stepford Wives Silence About Election Tampering . . .
Media NY & Pols We Don't Want to Know
Where the Call for An Investigation By the Media of HorseGate?
Where is the Outrage Over the Possible Attempt to Steal NY Democracy?
De Blasio says he’s unfamiliar with investigation into NYCLASS(Capital) "I am not," the mayor said when two reporters asked him, on his way into City Hall Friday afternoon, if he is familiar with the cover story of Friday's Daily News, which first reported on the probe. Asked whether anyone in his administration or political campaign has been called, he simply answered. * This court decision takes the hinges off the already wide-open campaign finance floodgates (Poughkeepsie Journal)
Bharara Who Already Has the Closed Moreland Files, Just Subpoenaed JCOPE
DavidGrandeau&Asoc
JJOKE commissioners should be burning up the phone lines to get answers to Preet's questions
More About the Moreland Commission
More About the Moreland Commission
NYT: Albany Will Never Clean Itself Up
Well, Mr. Cuomo stopped fighting. He has pulled the plug on the
commission. Its website still promises the delivery of a report or
reports by next January, but that’s not going to happen. Whatever
records, files and leads it has accumulated over nine months have been
taken away in trucks sent by the United States attorney for the Southern
District of New York, Preet Bharara. Well, Mr. Cuomo stopped fighting. He has pulled the plug on the
commission. Its website still promises the delivery of a report or
reports by next January, but that’s not going to happen. Whatever
records, files and leads it has accumulated over nine months have been
taken away in trucks sent by the United States attorney for the Southern
District of New York, Preet Bharara.
The Governor Used Moreland As A bargaining Chip To Pass His Budget
Mr. Cuomo’s aides dismissed reports of interference in the Moreland Commission by the governor as “fiction.”
Last Week True News Said Albany Kills the Investigator, Friday the NYT, NYP, DN Agrees
But the changes — like tougher penalties for bribery — don’t come close to the large-scale reforms Albany needs. They don’t fix New York’s notoriously weak campaign-finance laws, reduce contribution limits or close loopholes that leave the capital awash in money, the fuel for its corrupt pay-to-play culture. Instead of enacting statewide public campaign financing, the package created a pilot program that provides public funds for one office, state comptroller, just for this year. Mr. Cuomo calls this a victory, but it only proves cynics right: Albany will never clean itself up. The commission should have been given the time it needed to complete its daunting task, wherever it led. It should have been allowed to put cases before prosecutors and a spotlight on the many rotten and entirely legal practices used by Albany politicians and lobbyists for their own gain. That job was abandoned. We’re still waiting for a government we can trust, but Mr. Cuomo has moved on.
NY Government Officials Fear Emails, Misread Bharara Warning . . . Albany Ignored Bharara Warning
Sunday Update
Members of Gov. Cuomo’s anti-corruption commission detail frustrating environment curbed by administration (NYDN) The Daily News spoke with close to 10 sources tied to the soon-to-be-defunct panel, and a number of them denounced what they said was interference from Cuomo's office. One commission member was so angry that he wouldn't take a call from The News, signaling through a secretary that he was afraid of what he might say.Another source called it the worst time in her professional career."It was an exercise in frustration," said a third source.
The
commission formed to root out corruption in state government was
often divided, with the investigators on one side and Cuomo's
$175,000-a-year executive director Regina Calcaterra on the other.
"There was no trust there," said the first commission source. "It was
pretty widely understood that anything Regina Calcaterra knew, it would
immediately be on the desks of" top Cuomo aides Larry Schwartz and Mylan
Denerstein. Denerstein was described as "measured" but Schwartz as
aggressive. "I
heard the word 'bully' mentioned more than once," said the source. The
panel's zeal to investigate was repeatedly curbed by the governor's
office, the source said. The commission wanted to subpoena prior ethics
complaints from its
ineffectual predecessor, the Legislative Ethics Commission, but was
ordered not to, sources said. The frustration mounted when subpoenas
were held back from entities with
ties to Cuomo, including the powerful Real Estate Board of New
York.Another subpoena earmarked for the state Democratic Party was
initially
killed. And one that had actually been served on the ad firm the party
used to promote Cuomo's agenda was rescinded after Cuomo aides erupted
in fury, the sources said. After the Daily News detailed the problems in
a series of stories in
September, the commissioners met behind closed doors, with some
threatening to resign and others vowing to go public if the pressure
from Cuomo's office didn't stop, sources said.The commission co-chairs,
Kathleen Rice, William Fitzpatrick and Milton
Williams, relayed the panel's frustration to the governor. The
interference eased.Fitzpatrick acknowledged "input" on some decisions
from Team Cuomo, but
denied the commission was ordered to withhold subpoenas.At least two
other commission members back him up. "I think a lot of times (Cuomo
aides) were trying to be helpful," said one.
NY state government officials shunning e-mail: sources(NYP) Government officials are so worried about leaving an electronic trail as investigations swirl around the capital that some are now shunning e-mail, sources said Friday. “I sent an e-mail to someone and they called me back, ‘Are you out of your mind? Never e-mail me again,’ ” said one lobbyist, recalling a recent conversation with a high-ranking official. He and others are going back to old-fashioned forms of communication: Cellphones are out and land lines are back in, the lobbyist said. “They’re more secure,” he explained. The fear instilled into Albany’s political world comes from US Attorney Preet Bharara, who has taken possession of the records compiled by the anti-corruption Moreland Commission panel.
More on Moreland
More on US Attorney Preet Bharara
NYP and Daily News
Also Cheers the Federal Investigation of the Albany Men's Club
Sitting Preet-y(NYP)
A funny thing happened on the way to disbanding the Moreland Commission
Gov. Cuomo set up to investigate the state Legislature: It may end up as
a federal investigation of the governor. Now someone outside the
Albany men’s club will be taking a closer look at what Moreland
unearthed. While it is true that the Moreland Commission was
supposed to be temporary as Cuomo said, New Yorkers expected it to
finish its work and not have the rug pulled out from underneath it * U.S. Attorney Takes Over State Probe(WSJ)
DN: Bharara Goes After Albany's Culture of Corruption
DN: Go, Preet, go
Happy hunting” writes the Daily News Editorial Board, saying Bharara must do his darndest to salvage the Moreland Commission’s work and follow the evidence wherever it leads, no matter to which branch of government. Happy hunting to Bharara, who must now do his darndest to salvage a sweeping Capitol fumigation that never should have been abandoned. Few people put elected thieves behind bars with the prowess of Bharara. It was, in fact, a flurry of indictments from his office early last year that helped prompt Cuomo to demand reform from the Legislature in the first place. Give Bharara loads of credit for frontally challenging the deal in a letter to the commission.
“If
you begin investigations and you begin them with great fanfare, you
don’t unceremoniously take them off the table without causing questions
to be asked,” Bharara told WNYC’s Brian Lehrer. The commission — knowing
better than to pick a fight — responded by
agreeing to turn over all of its case files, giving Bharara free rein to
comb through, top to bottom. Bharara should go further and spotlight
standards and practices that may not
qualify as bribery or fraud but are nonetheless creating a climate rife
with double-dealing, conflicts of interest and influence-peddling. An
especially egregious example: the sweetheart tax breaks awarded to
the One57 luxury condos in Manhattan — after its developers and others
pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into various Albany campaign
accounts. The commission had also subpoenaed records of lawmakers’ murky
outside
income, including upwards of $500,000 that Assembly boss Sheldon Silver
collects from a personal injury firm, and at least $250,000 that Senate
chief Dean Skelos is paid by a Long Island firm that also happens to
lobby the Legislature. The Albany housecleaning is dead. Long live the
Albany housecleaning. * 'WE'RE
GOING TO SEE WHAT THE FACTS ARE:' U.S. Attorney won't rule out ethics
probe into whether Gov. Cuomo interfered in anti-corruption commission(NydN) * ‘Not my choice’(Capital)
Moreland chair on Cuomo, Silver and the load of Albany dirt headed to
the U.S. attorney* Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino is trying to raise money off of editorials slamming Cuomo for shuttering the commission.
Will Bharara Go After Cuomo's Pay to Play Real Estate Deals?
Cuomo Tax Breaks Development
The Governor Used Moreland As A bargaining Chip To Pass His Budget
Mr.
Bharara said on Thursday that he was taking over the commission’s work,
with a sharp rebuke to Mr. Cuomo for dismantling it so early. In a
letter to the commission this month, Mr. Bharara said it was hard to
understand why Mr. Cuomo would shut down its “aggressive, active and
ongoing” work before it was finished. He voiced concern at the
appearance that the investigations “have been bargained away as part of
the negotiated arrangement between legislative and executive leaders.” Commission
members had already complained that the group was subjected to meddling
and micromanaging by Mr. Cuomo’s office. One member told The Times that
top Cuomo aides — his secretary, Lawrence Schwartz, and counsel, Mylan
Denerstein — “would routinely call and say, ‘How can you issue a
subpoena like this?’ or ‘These people shouldn’t be on it.’ ”
The Daily News reported last fall that Mr. Cuomo’s office had reined in
the commission when it was trying to investigate tax breaks for the
powerful real estate industry, persuading it not to subpoena the Real
Estate Board of New York, whose leaders gave generously to the
governor’s campaigns and supported the Committee to Save New York, a
business coalition that spent millions on ads supporting the Cuomo
agenda. Mr. Cuomo’s aides dismissed reports of interference as “fiction.” Mr.
Cuomo insists that the commission was no longer needed because — believe
it or not — Albany’s ethics problems have been solved, by a package of
reforms that was part of the negotiated budget deal.
But the changes — like tougher penalties for bribery — don’t come close to the large-scale reforms Albany needs. They don’t fix New York’s notoriously weak campaign-finance laws, reduce contribution limits or close loopholes that leave the capital awash in money, the fuel for its corrupt pay-to-play culture. Instead of enacting statewide public campaign financing, the package created a pilot program that provides public funds for one office, state comptroller, just for this year. Mr. Cuomo calls this a victory, but it only proves cynics right: Albany will never clean itself up. The commission should have been given the time it needed to complete its daunting task, wherever it led. It should have been allowed to put cases before prosecutors and a spotlight on the many rotten and entirely legal practices used by Albany politicians and lobbyists for their own gain. That job was abandoned. We’re still waiting for a government we can trust, but Mr. Cuomo has moved on.
NY Government Officials Fear Emails, Misread Bharara Warning . . . Albany Ignored Bharara Warning
Sunday Update
Members of Gov. Cuomo’s anti-corruption commission detail frustrating environment curbed by administration (NYDN) The Daily News spoke with close to 10 sources tied to the soon-to-be-defunct panel, and a number of them denounced what they said was interference from Cuomo's office. One commission member was so angry that he wouldn't take a call from The News, signaling through a secretary that he was afraid of what he might say.Another source called it the worst time in her professional career."It was an exercise in frustration," said a third source.
NY state government officials shunning e-mail: sources(NYP) Government officials are so worried about leaving an electronic trail as investigations swirl around the capital that some are now shunning e-mail, sources said Friday. “I sent an e-mail to someone and they called me back, ‘Are you out of your mind? Never e-mail me again,’ ” said one lobbyist, recalling a recent conversation with a high-ranking official. He and others are going back to old-fashioned forms of communication: Cellphones are out and land lines are back in, the lobbyist said. “They’re more secure,” he explained. The fear instilled into Albany’s political world comes from US Attorney Preet Bharara, who has taken possession of the records compiled by the anti-corruption Moreland Commission panel.
More on Moreland
More on US Attorney Preet Bharara
NYP and Daily News
Also Cheers the Federal Investigation of the Albany Men's Club
DN: Bharara Goes After Albany's Culture of Corruption
DN: Go, Preet, go
Happy hunting” writes the Daily News Editorial Board, saying Bharara must do his darndest to salvage the Moreland Commission’s work and follow the evidence wherever it leads, no matter to which branch of government. Happy hunting to Bharara, who must now do his darndest to salvage a sweeping Capitol fumigation that never should have been abandoned. Few people put elected thieves behind bars with the prowess of Bharara. It was, in fact, a flurry of indictments from his office early last year that helped prompt Cuomo to demand reform from the Legislature in the first place. Give Bharara loads of credit for frontally challenging the deal in a letter to the commission.
Will Bharara Go After Cuomo's Pay to Play Real Estate Deals?
Gov. Cuomo received $76,000 from real estate investors weeks before giving their property a tax break on bill (NYDN)
Three
partners at Fisher Brothers, which owns the New York Curb Exchange at
86 Trinity Place, each gave at least $25,000 to Cuomo weeks before he
approved the tax breaks. The location is one of five Manhattan
properties that was singled out for tax relief in a January bill.*
Months before J. Patrick Barrett was named to Cuomo’s Moreland
Commission to investigate public corruption, he threw
a fundraising birthday party for friend and soon-to-be commission
co-chair, Onondaga County DA William Fitzpatrick, netting him thousands
in campaign cash.* Follow Cuomo’s money, too (NYDN Ed)
As
it explores how luxury condos got big tax breaks, the Moreland
Commission must also probe donations to the governor's campaign* * City developer, long-time donor to Gov. Cuomo, increased donations when it stood to save $35 million with new tax breaks(NYDN) Corporations
and people affiliated with Extell Development made more than $300,000
in donations to Cuomo since May 2012, around the same time the governor
and lawmakers were weighing a housing bill that would save Extell
millions over a decade.* Two corporations tied to Extell
Development each contributed $50,000 to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s campaign the
same day the Assembly passed a housing bill with tax breaks for five
developers, including Extell, the Daily News reports:
No Investigative Journalism Allows Corruption to Grow U.S. Attorney Bharara (Update)
NY's Media Gang Ignores Bharara
As the media goes after every detail of Gov Christie defense of closing a bridge, not a Preet is heard about Albany Speaker Silver and the rest of the crooks cutting Moreland's investigation funds. New York City's media seems to have an on and off switch on investigative journalism or who they go after. Ask Liu or Spitzer. Every elected official and the flacks, media barrons and prosecutors who protect them understand that only media attention to government scandals can cause enough public pressure to an demand investigation. Over 90% of media coverage are press releases or tipped stories from lobbyists, flacks or elected officials. Today's new generation of journalists think publishing information first is more important than independent analysis to inform the public what is really going on. They have become dependent on the lobbyists, flacks to get them their fix of breaking news which usually is limited to who an elected officials will appoint, new programs and the spin of the day coming from people payed to cover up the truth. Helps create batzarro politics where pols take credit for what they promise not how well they deliver services or make proper decisions.
Albany Games Corruption
U.S. Attorney Criticizes Cuomo’s Closing of Panel(NYT) A commission on public corruption, whose credibility had been questioned by watchdog groups, was disbanded by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo as part of budget negotiations. Mr. Bharara sent the commission’s chairmen and top officials a letter saying he was “disappointed to learn” of the commission’s “premature end,” acknowledging that its work was “aggressive, active and ongoing,” but incomplete, and calling its shutdown “difficult to understand.” In the letter sent April 3, Mr. Bharara asked the chairmen and the commission’s staff — all of whom were appointed by the governor — whether Mr. Cuomo had abandoned his commitment to fight corruption for a short-term political gain. Bharara will take possession of all of the panel’s case files. *Bharara: "I don't have any interest in politics" Bharara won't rule out ethics investigation into Cuomo's involvement in Moreland Commission * U.S. Attny Bharara Doesn't Rule Out Probe into Cuomo-Moreland (Audio, WNYC) * Bharara on the premature end of Cuomo’s ethics commission(Capital) * ‘Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day:’ Preet Bharara Continues Cuomo Criticism on Anti-Corr...(NYO)
Daily News Hinting Bharara Vs. Cuomo, Ben Smith Bharara and Shumer Vs Cuomo
Ben Smith
Schumer spox
Ending Moreland Fiction?
“Gives the appearance, although I am sure this is not the intent, that investigations potentially significant to the public interest have been bargained away as part of the negotiated arrangement between legislative and executive leaders.” Bharara
“The sequence of these events gives the appearance, although I am sure this is not the intent, that investigations potentially significant to the public interest have been bargained away as part of the negotiated arrangement between legislative and executive leaders,” he wrote.Mr. Bharara requested that commissioners and staff members preserve the panel’s investigative files.On Wednesday, in a letter addressed to the 24 members of the commission, Mr. Bharara reported that the panel’s chairmen — William J. Fitzpatrick, the Onondaga County district attorney, and Milton L. Williams Jr., a former state and federal prosecutor in Manhattan — had agreed to turn over the files. The sudden turn of events raised the possibility that Mr. Cuomo’s dealings with the commission, which once seemed likely to burnish his reputation as a reformer, could now become an embarrassment for the governor. A spokeswoman for the governor, Melissa DeRosa, said: “The Moreland Commission was designed and formed to be a short-term, temporary commission to recommend and spur legislative action, which it did successfully. The order establishing the temporary commission directed referrals upon its conclusion to the attorney general, district attorneys and U.S. attorneys and that’s what it is doing.” The move by the United States attorney, Preet Bharara, amounted to an unusual rebuke of Mr. Cuomo, a former prosecutor himself, who swept into office four years ago promising to clean up what many have called a culture of corruption in Albany. Asked to comment, Matt Wing, another spokesman for Mr. Cuomo, said, “The Times’s dependence on anonymous sources is once again turning their stories into fiction.”* * The Moreland Commission spent more than $1 million since its creation last July, but, with its disbanding through the state budget, it’s unclear what return on investment New York taxpayers will receive, the Gotham Gazette writes. And, in other news, Gov. Andrew Cuomo‘s administration does not appear to be a fan of the Times, lashing out against today’s report, on criticism against his anti-corruption efforts, by declaring, “The Times’s dependence on anonymous sources is once again turning their stories into fiction.”
Giuliani implies he was involved in helping wire Al Sharpton in the 80s * Rudy Giuiani Implies He Was Involved in Wiring Al Sharpton(NYO)
"Preet Bharara stands tall vs. Cuomo's Moreland Commission shutdown"
Tom Robbins
More Meat for Bharara
Before the Moreland Commission was mothballed this spring, the panel's staffers pressed Albany County District Attorney David Soares to pursue their investigations and leads, the Times Union’s Jim Odato reports:
In NY Pols Kill the Corruption Investigators
Is Liu Leading the Fight To Block A CFB Investigation of the Role Citizens United PACs, Lobbyiss Played in the 2013 Campaign?
NY
is so corrupt the DAs look the other way and investigations of
political corruption are stopped in the political system with the media
looking the other way
Wednesday
The Moreland Commission is quietly shutting down.
Monday Corruption Update
A PAC formed by Assemblyman Kieran Michael Lalor for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans running for Congress raised nearly $1.8 million, though just $91,500 was used for candidates, the New York Post writes:
Sunday Update
The band plays on (NYDN Ed)
Gov. Cuomo calls in his probers, and Albany keeps dancing. Secrets and money go together in Albany — and the parties that have
traded in both can rest easier with the demise of Gov. Cuomo’s
anti-corruption commission. "Despite
the CFB’s accolades, [former city
Controller John] Liu’s lawsuit brings to the fore a larger question that has
been quietly debated by campaign finance experts and candidates for some time
now: whether the weight of carrying the campaign finance reform
banner has become too heavy a burden for the agency," C&S reports. 
Judge allows Stevenson to switch lawyers(NYP)
1-800-GOPREET The Pension Killer
Charmian Neary
Will Hevesi Lose His $166,000 Pension?
__________________________________________________
Outlaw Albany Lawmakers Pension Loss
Albany Rats Panic As Stevenson Discusses Plea-Deal Options With His Lawyer
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U.S Attorney Budget Cuts
Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that because of budget cuts, his office could reach crisis mode as it tries to decide which cases to pursue. Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for Southern District of New York, said budget cuts could put his office in crisis mode, and that a lack of federal funding may force him to pick and choose which cases to pursue,
“Basically I’m just gonna walk the earth . . . You know, walk the earth, meet people . . . get into adventures. Like Caine from ‘Kung Fu.’" US Attorney Preet Bharara
Bharara's Pulp Fiction Journey to Restore New York's Democracy
Who knew Preet Bharara’s a Quentin Tarantino fan? The Manhattan US attorney stunned attendees at the DealBook conference when during a Q&A when he reeled off a “Pulp Fiction” speech. “When asked about future plans, he said, ‘I’m gonna answer the way Samuel L. Jackson did at the end of ‘Pulp Fiction.’ And then he recited — from memory — [the film’s] ‘walk the earth’ speech, including the ‘Kung Fu’ reference. It was awesome!” said a spy. The lines include Jackson telling John Travolta when asked, “You’re really thinking about quitting?” as a hit man, “Basically I’m just gonna walk the earth . . . You know, walk the earth, meet people . . . get into adventures. Like Caine from ‘Kung Fu.’ ” Others at the conference Tuesday included Barry Diller, Daniel Loeb, Elon Musk and David Karp. Our spy said Bharara got a more muted response when he took the stage, but “won them over.” Perhaps attendees were relieved Bharara, who’s gone after SAC Capital and Galleon Group, didn’t use another Tarantino line, “I’m-a get medieval on your ass.”
Bharara called it “a galling injustice” that corrupt officials can “draw a publicly funded pension” until their “dying day”
.jpg)
Corrupt Pension War
Cuomo said pensions are constitutionally protected and corrupt politicians cannot be stripped of their pension plans, as U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said he was planning to do earlier this week, NY1 reports: * Federal Forefiture Of Pensions Different, Cuomo Says: U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s plan to claw back pensions... http://bit.ly/1gDDkuW
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has found a creative new way to hit corrupt politicians where it really hurts — by taking their taxpayer-financed pension money away. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will appoint the members of the Commission as Deputy Attorneys General giving the Commission broad investigative authority to probe matters that “involve public peace, public safety and public justice” The Commission will have the power to issue subpoenas and examine witnesses under oath.* Does Albany have constitutional handcuffs when it comes to taking corrupt pols pensions?
Outlaw Albany Lawmakers Pension Loss
Albany Rats Panic As Stevenson Discusses Plea-Deal Options With His Lawyer
Journalists Fail in the Prime Obligation to Uncover Corruption
U.S. Attorney Journalism Failure
The Media Reports Indictments Does Not Investigate
Media Ignores U.S. Attorney Plea to Investigate Corruption
Bharara: No Investigative Reporting Equals More Corruption
Bharara to Journalist
Investigate Stop Copying My Press Releases
"Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," Bharara said. "Groundbreaking corruption coverage is not just good copy, it's a path to good government." Bharara
Preet challenges journos to do investigative reporting (CrainsNY)
The press has a role to play, Mr. Bharara said, noting that he is saddened by recent reports of newspaper closings and staff downsizing. "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," he said. "Groundbreaking corruption coverage is not just good copy, it's a path to good government."* \Bruno Lawyers Want An April Trial(YNN)
More On Corruption Fighter US Attorney Preet Bharara
__________________________________
Who Prosecutes Corruption?
Corruption Prosecutions: Albany v. Manhattan (WSJ) Interestingly, the office prosecuting most of these cases isn’t in Albany but 150 miles away in Manhattan — the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York. Just one significant Albany corruption case — a controversial bribery charge against former state Senate leader Joseph Bruno — originated from the U.S. attorney’s office in the city where lawmakers go to work: the Northern District, which encompasses the state capital.
How DA Vance Gave A Pass to A Corrupt Pol and Party to Protect Bloomberg + Gave Us Dracula Addabbo
DA's elected by the party machines are force to block or limit political corruption investigations the opposite of U.S Attorney who look to turn one corrupt pol against another.
In 2011, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. named Connolly and his party as a “noncriminal defendant’’ in the case against former GOP consultant John Haggerty, who stole Bloomberg campaign cash during the 2009 mayoral race. Vance accused Connolly — who wasn’t charged in the case — of trying to hide evidence and cover up the misuse of Bloomberg’s money. The DA said Connolly and Haggerty also fabricated and backdated paperwork to make it look like the Independence Party had given Haggerty a contract for the poll-watching effort. At one point, Connelly tried to conceal from the Board of Elections a transfer of the mayor’s funds to Haggerty, prosecutors said. CORRUPTION THRIVES IN ALBANY: WHY DON’T PROSECUTIONS? The majority of political corruption cases have originated from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn, with few pursued by Albany’s own prosecutors, writes Steven M. Cohen(City and State)
_____________________________________
Stevenson US Attorney Not Fair?
Stevenson Tries to Move His Trial Out of Bharara's Reach Because the U.S. Attorney Testified At Moreland That He Would Move to Take His Pension Away
‘Bribe pol’ claims Bharara’s pension comments will prevent ‘fair trial’(NYP) He’s accused of taking more than $20,000 in bribes, but Assemblyman Eric Stevenson claims he can’t get a “fair trial” because US Attorney Preet Bharara told an Albany panel that guys like him shouldn’t get a pension. Despite his indictment, which attracted wide media coverage, Stevenson claims Bharara is trying the case “in the court of public opinion,” referring to bombshell testimony the prosecutor gave in September to Gov. Cuomo’s Commission to Investigate Public Corruption. Bharara said he’d use existing federal forfeiture laws to slap convicted pols with fines to claw back any money derived from a public pension “so that the punishment fits the crime and … we can taken the profit out of that crime.” “In that vein,” he added, “we have today filed bills of particulars in two pending public corruption cases — United States vs. Malcolm Smith and United States vs. Eric Stevenson, et al. — giving notice of our intent to go after the pensions of elected officials convicted of corruption charges.”
________________________________________
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Judge Says No To Corrupt Pol
Manhattan federal judge William Pauley III scolded Assemblyman Eric Stevenson in court for trying to delay his upcoming corruption trial because the assemblyman is unhappy with the legal advice he’s getting from his court-appointed lawyer
Judge Says No To Corrupt Pol
Manhattan federal judge William Pauley III scolded Assemblyman Eric Stevenson in court for trying to delay his upcoming corruption trial because the assemblyman is unhappy with the legal advice he’s getting from his court-appointed lawyer
Media Ignores U.S. Attorney Plea to Investigate Corruption
Bharara: No Investigative Reporting Equals More Corruption
Bharara to Journalist
Investigate Stop Copying My Press Releases
"Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," Bharara said. "Groundbreaking corruption coverage is not just good copy, it's a path to good government." Bharara
Preet challenges journos to do investigative reporting (CrainsNY)
The press has a role to play, Mr. Bharara said, noting that he is saddened by recent reports of newspaper closings and staff downsizing. "Rather than just covering the cases that my office and other offices are already bringing, figure out ways to break new ground and to cover new stories," he said. "Groundbreaking corruption coverage is not just good copy, it's a path to good government."* \Bruno Lawyers Want An April Trial(YNN)
US Atty Bharara: We are holding accountable individuals who wanted the law to be for sale and the legislature to be a bazaar
We can see how anyone might regard our state Assembly the same way you would organized crime.
The full Nelson(NYP) Castro, you may recall, was a state assemblyman who wore a wire as part
of US Attorney Preet Bharara’s investigation into corruption in Albany.
Castro’s cooperation helped lead to the arrest of fellow Assembly member
Eric Stevenson this year.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sheriff Bharara
U.S. Attorney Bharara is Being the Press to Help Him Uncover Corruption He Even Quotes Murrow
Bharara: New Media End NYC's Journalism of Sheep
Public corruption, based on all evidence, appears rampant,” Bharara told the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption at its first public hearing.
“And the ranks of those convicted in office have swelled
to absolutely unacceptable levels.” \Earlier in the day, Bharara’s office moved to take away the pensions
of state officials convicted of corruption. The office filing seeks to
include pensions as part of the property It comes in the case against state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Queens), who stands accused
of scheming with officials in New York City and Rockland County to
raise funds for his one-time attempt to switch parties and run for mayor
as a Republican. Letting felons collect state pensions is a “a galling injustice that
sticks in the craw of every thinking New Yorker,” Prosecutors in Bharara’s office filed court papers
in two separate corruption cases giving notice that they were adding
the pensions of two state senators, a city councilman and two other
officials to the list of property subject to forfeiture if the officials
are convicted. Today is the 152nd birthday of the NY Times. It was born on September 18, 1851
Bharara Begs the New Media Companies to Do What the Old Media Has Not Done, Investigate Corruption
Preet Bharara: “fresh news outlets like BuzzFeed … bent on doubling down on political investigations will provide grist” 4 corruption probe Bharara, SDNY US Atty, bullish on
The U.S. Attorney Wants to Take Away Corrupt Pols Pensions Something Albany Lawmakers Won't Do
The Media Has Been Silent On Malcolm Smith's Corruption Since His Arrests
Bharara called it “a galling injustice” that corrupt officials can “draw a publicly funded pension” until their “dying day.”
Bharara called it “a galling injustice” that corrupt officials can “draw a publicly funded pension” until their “dying day”
Corrupt Pension War
Cuomo said pensions are constitutionally protected and corrupt politicians cannot be stripped of their pension plans, as U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said he was planning to do earlier this week, NY1 reports: * Federal Forefiture Of Pensions Different, Cuomo Says: U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s plan to claw back pensions... http://bit.ly/1gDDkuW
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara
has found a creative new way to hit corrupt politicians where it really
hurts — by taking their taxpayer-financed pension money away. Attorney
General Eric Schneiderman will appoint the members of the
Commission as Deputy Attorneys General giving the Commission broad
investigative authority to probe matters that “involve public peace,
public safety and public justice” The Commission will have the power to
issue subpoenas and examine witnesses under oath.* Does Albany have constitutional handcuffs when it comes to taking corrupt pols pensions?
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Corrupt Pols Pensions
Crooks Who Get Pensions Now
Prosecutors
have had difficulty in the past forcing ex-officials to pay
up including former Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin, who pleaded guilty in
2008 to embezzlement, fraud and bribery charges for stealing from
taxpayers, labor unions and and even a Queens Little League. In 2011, he
fell behind in paying $850,000 in restitution to his
victims, prompting the feds to move to seize his leftover campaign cash.
Among other pols currently collecting generous pensions are disgraced
city and state Controller Alan Hevesi, convicted of using state workers
to chauffeur around his wife. He takes home $170,000 a year from two
separate taxpayer-funded pensions.
Also receiving a pension for life is former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who was convicted of taking discounted home renovations from a contractor pal. He pockets $57,000 a year. One corrupt pol, state Sen. Efrain Gonzalez, is collecting a $37,000-a-year pension while doing time in a federal penitentiary. Gonzalez was convicted in 2010 of stealing $500,000 from a children’s charity to finance his cigar business and sentenced to seven years. More than 30 New York State politicians have been indicted or convicted of a crime, censured or otherwise accused of misconduct in the last seven years. Mr. Bharara said that under his office’s new policies, prosecutors would also seek what he called “appropriate fines” with an eye toward the money that convicted corrupt officials might receive from publicly financed pensions so “the punishment fits the crime and so we can take the profit out of that crime.”
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Sheriff Bharara Tricks the Old Media
U.S. Attorney Bharara Said Last Week If the Old Media Won't Investigate Albany Corruption the New Media Will
Bharara: New Media End NYC's Journalism of Sheep
Quotes Murrow
Preet Bharara: “fresh news outlets like BuzzFeed … bent on doubling down on political investigations will provide grist” 4 corruption probe Bharara, SDNY US Atty, bullish on@buzzfeed, @politico/@ capitalnewyork, & new @WashingtonPoint, in testimony tonight to Moreland Commission * In testimony, Bharara laments loss of investigative journalists, and puts high hope in new outlets and revived old * U.S. Attorney To Commission: Political Corruption Is Out Of Hand In N.Y. State(WCBS)
The Old Bulls At the NYT and Daily News Embarrassed By Bharara Get Off Their Ass Today
Silence of the sheep(NYDN Ed)
The two top officials with the most to hide about their private incomes and public business have engineered a power-grabbing cover-up whose message to New Yorkers concerned about integrity in government is that they can go to hell. In a rare show of bipartisanship, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Republican chief Dean Skelos joined in having lawyers, hired at great public cost, notify Gov. Cuomo’s anti-corruption commission that the Legislature will not cooperate with the panel’s inquiries. The Assembly and Senate are cowards who have concocted a backroom scheme to evade embarrassment and, possibly, worse. Assembly lawyer Kasowitz and Senate private counsel Michael Garcia told Moreland Commission lawyer Perry in writing to get lost. They cited the separation of powers, since the commission is part of the executive branch. They also point to the disclosure law passed and signed by Cuomo in 2011 as covering all that needs to be revealed by members.
__________________________________
Smith in Court, Halloran Getting Ready
A federal judge has forbidden lawyers
from publicly disclosing evidence in the ongoing corruption case
involving state Sen. Malcolm Smith, former Spring Valley Mayor Noramie
Jasmin, and ex-deputy mayor Joseph Desmaret, The Journal News reports:
While indicted Councilman Dan Halloran‘s lawyer is arguing that it’s not illegal trade cash for ballot access. “Payments in exchange for Wilson-Pakula are not bribery,” said Vinoo Varghese, his attorney. “New York State has never prosecuted this as a criminal act.”
Smith Who is Under Indictment For Try to Buy the GOP Party Line and Using the Matching Funds As An ATM Machine
State Sen. drives through $100G in campaign expenses(NYP) *
Queens State Sen. Malcolm Smith has billed his campaign fund $100,632 for vehicle-related expenses since 2010. Smith was reimbursed for two leased cars, E-ZPass payments and even parking tickets, according to an analysis by the New York Public Interest Research Group. Gov. Cuomo’s anti-corruption panel exposed a new twist — legislators who also put in for reimbursement from the state for their travel expenses. But the panel didn’t name any of the lawmakers it claimed were “double dipping.”* Queens Attorney Set to Challenge Malcolm Smith(NYO) Munir Avery, an attorney with close ties to Queens County politics, is planning to challenge embattled Sen. Malcolm Smith next year.
More on Malcolm Smith
Will New York’s Political Watchdog Pass the Test?
The Times is concerned that after a promising start, Cuomo’s Commission to Investigate Public Corruption is becoming little more than a branch of the governor’s political network. Gov. Andrew Cuomo had the right idea when he formed a commission to help end the scandal epidemic in New York State. He appointed a respected group of experts, asked them to come up with ways to cut the sleaze, promised them independence and asked for a preliminary report by Dec. 1. As that deadline nears, however, there is growing concern that the Commission to Investigate Public Corruption, also known as the Moreland Commission, could become little more than a branch of the governor’s political network. If so, it will be another Potemkin committee, issuing another report. The independence Governor Cuomo promised will clearly be compromised if not wholly sabotaged if he or members of his staff tell the commissioners what to do and what not to do.* Governor Andrew Cuomo Quashes Moreland Commission’s REBNY Subpoena and Other Follow-The-Money Subpoenas Hitting Too Close To Home(Noticing New York)
Governor Cuomo's Crusade (sort of) Against Corruption Comes With Too Many Asterisks. My Gotham Column(NYT) "a commission member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as he desires to continue living peacefully" in NYS. “That’s fundamental, except maybe not for this governor.” “The politicians in Albany won’t like it, but I work for the people, and I won’t stop fighting until we all have a government that we can trust.”— Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, in a commercial shown more than 100 times last summer.
Both the NYT and Times Union Today Say Cuomo Will Pay A Price for Killing Moreland
Even worse, doing so would
destroy the confidence of an already wary public that anything
meaningful can be done to curb the way money corrupts politics in
Albany.* “What gives, Mr. Cuomo?” the Albany Times Union writes on the Moreland Commission.
“As dismal as this all is, it may not be too late for this commission
to succeed — if Mr. Cuomo can keep his hands off it, regardless of whose
feathers get ruffled, and if the commissioners haven’t lost their
vision of the original goal and their will to do something about it. If
not, Mr. Cuomo should be prepared to own a failure as embarrassing as
the system he vowed to fix.”
Bharara: New Media End NYC's Journalism of Sheep
Quotes Murrow Preet Bharara: “fresh news outlets like BuzzFeed … bent on doubling down on political investigations will provide grist” 4 corruption probe Bharara, SDNY US Atty, bullish on@buzzfeed, @politico/@ capitalnewyork, & new @WashingtonPoint, in testimony tonight to Moreland Commission * In testimony, Bharara laments loss of investigative journalists, and puts high hope in new outlets and revived old * U.S. Attorney To Commission: Political Corruption Is Out Of Hand In N.Y. State(WCBS)* Top Lobbyist Patricia Lynch Sees Income Loss Since 2011(NYDN)
The Old Bulls At the NYT Editorial Board Embarrassed to Get Off Their Ass Today
Were is the Outrage From the Goo Goos and Reforms?
New York Legislators’ Secret Income(NYT Ed) The state anticorruption commission must press for details about outside money sources that lawmakers have kept hidden for decades.Considering the scandals in the New York State Legislature, one would think that battered lawmakers would be eager to clean up their reputation. Instead, they’ve hired lawyers to fight a new anticorruption commission’s efforts to find out precisely where they earn outside income. This fight, they insist, is all about maintaining a separation of powers and protecting the Legislature from an intrusive executive. That's the press, baby (Video from Deadline - USA)
Bronx GOP Boss Savino Going to Rat
Preet Bharara Has Started the Dominoes Falling
Former Bronx GOP Chairman Jay Savino pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The former Republican Party chairman in the Bronx has pleaded guilty to corruption charges, admitting to accepting a bribe to let a Democratic state senator run for New York City mayor as a Republican. Joseph Savino entered the plea to three public corruption counts Tuesday in federal court in White Plains.* Former Bronx GOP Chairman Jay Savino Pleads Guilty To Corruption Charges(NYDN)
* Former Bronx GOP Chairman Pleads Guilty In Connection With ...(NY1)* Savino pleads guilty in corruption scandal with Spring Valley ties(LoHud) * Ex-Bronx GOP boss pleads guilty in corruption case(TU) *Ex-Bronx GOP boss pleads guilty in corruption case(WSJ) * Ex-Bronx County Republican Chairman Joseph Savino pleads guilty to bribery ...(Bronx 12)
Savino admitted participating
in the plot between November 2012 and April 2013 to aid state Sen.
Malcolm Smith in getting on this year's mayoral ballot. Savino, who remains free on $250,000 bond, will serve as a cooperating
witness against the other defendants in the case, according to his plea
agreement. Smith, Halloran, Tabone, Spring Valley Mayor Noramie Jasmin
and Spring Valley Deputy Mayor Joseph Desmaret have all pleaded not
guilty to bribery and other charges.
Savino copped to taking a $15,000 bribe from an undercover agent in exchange for agreeing to help Smith get a Wilson-Pakula waiver to compete in the primary without switching his registration.
The feds say in court papers that Savino could apply to enter the witness protection program as the entrenched ex-politico’s cooperation “is likely to reveal activities of individuals who might use violence, force, and intimidation against” him and his family. He faces up to 30 years in prison and nine years of supervised release when he’s sentenced on Feb 25 – although he’s likely to get a significantly reduced sentence. His lawyer Robert LaRusso said he’d seek probation for Savino.
We Hear Your Now Melvin Lowe
Because he is a Democrat, Smith needed GOP support in at least three boroughs to run as a Republican without changing his party affiliation. Smith had Halloran allegedly set up meetings with Savino and Queens Republican Vice Chairman Vincent Tabone to arrange bribes for their support, while Halloran pocketed thousands for himself, prosecutors said.
When we hear from the U.S. Attorney next Moreland will as Katy Perry says ROAR
“Basically I’m just gonna walk the earth . . . You know, walk the earth, meet people . . . get into adventures. Like Caine from ‘Kung Fu.’" US Attorney Preet Bharara
Bharara's Pulp Fiction Journey to Restore New York's Democracy
The Manhattan US attorney, Preet Bharara, stunned attendees at the DealBook conference when during a Q&A when he reeled off a “Pulp Fiction” speech.
Who knew Preet Bharara’s a Quentin Tarantino fan? The Manhattan US attorney stunned attendees at the DealBook conference when during a Q&A when he reeled off a “Pulp Fiction” speech. “When asked about future plans, he said, ‘I’m gonna answer the way Samuel L. Jackson did at the end of ‘Pulp Fiction.’ And then he recited — from memory — [the film’s] ‘walk the earth’ speech, including the ‘Kung Fu’ reference. It was awesome!” said a spy. The lines include Jackson telling John Travolta when asked, “You’re really thinking about quitting?” as a hit man, “Basically I’m just gonna walk the earth . . . You know, walk the earth, meet people . . . get into adventures. Like Caine from ‘Kung Fu.’ ” Others at the conference Tuesday included Barry Diller, Daniel Loeb, Elon Musk and David Karp. Our spy said Bharara got a more muted response when he took the stage, but “won them over.” Perhaps attendees were relieved Bharara, who’s gone after SAC Capital and Galleon Group, didn’t use another Tarantino line, “I’m-a get medieval on your ass.”
Also receiving a pension for life is former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who was convicted of taking discounted home renovations from a contractor pal. He pockets $57,000 a year. One corrupt pol, state Sen. Efrain Gonzalez, is collecting a $37,000-a-year pension while doing time in a federal penitentiary. Gonzalez was convicted in 2010 of stealing $500,000 from a children’s charity to finance his cigar business and sentenced to seven years. More than 30 New York State politicians have been indicted or convicted of a crime, censured or otherwise accused of misconduct in the last seven years. Mr. Bharara said that under his office’s new policies, prosecutors would also seek what he called “appropriate fines” with an eye toward the money that convicted corrupt officials might receive from publicly financed pensions so “the punishment fits the crime and so we can take the profit out of that crime.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sheriff Bharara Tricks the Old Media
U.S. Attorney Bharara Said Last Week If the Old Media Won't Investigate Albany Corruption the New Media Will
Bharara: New Media End NYC's Journalism of Sheep
Quotes Murrow
Preet Bharara: “fresh news outlets like BuzzFeed … bent on doubling down on political investigations will provide grist” 4 corruption probe Bharara, SDNY US Atty, bullish on
The Old Bulls At the NYT and Daily News Embarrassed By Bharara Get Off Their Ass Today
Silence of the sheep(NYDN Ed)
The two top officials with the most to hide about their private incomes and public business have engineered a power-grabbing cover-up whose message to New Yorkers concerned about integrity in government is that they can go to hell. In a rare show of bipartisanship, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Republican chief Dean Skelos joined in having lawyers, hired at great public cost, notify Gov. Cuomo’s anti-corruption commission that the Legislature will not cooperate with the panel’s inquiries. The Assembly and Senate are cowards who have concocted a backroom scheme to evade embarrassment and, possibly, worse. Assembly lawyer Kasowitz and Senate private counsel Michael Garcia told Moreland Commission lawyer Perry in writing to get lost. They cited the separation of powers, since the commission is part of the executive branch. They also point to the disclosure law passed and signed by Cuomo in 2011 as covering all that needs to be revealed by members.
__________________________________
Smith in Court, Halloran Getting Ready
While indicted Councilman Dan Halloran‘s lawyer is arguing that it’s not illegal trade cash for ballot access. “Payments in exchange for Wilson-Pakula are not bribery,” said Vinoo Varghese, his attorney. “New York State has never prosecuted this as a criminal act.”
Smith Who is Under Indictment For Try to Buy the GOP Party Line and Using the Matching Funds As An ATM Machine
Queens State Sen. Malcolm Smith has billed his campaign fund $100,632 for vehicle-related expenses since 2010. Smith was reimbursed for two leased cars, E-ZPass payments and even parking tickets, according to an analysis by the New York Public Interest Research Group. Gov. Cuomo’s anti-corruption panel exposed a new twist — legislators who also put in for reimbursement from the state for their travel expenses. But the panel didn’t name any of the lawmakers it claimed were “double dipping.”* Queens Attorney Set to Challenge Malcolm Smith(NYO) Munir Avery, an attorney with close ties to Queens County politics, is planning to challenge embattled Sen. Malcolm Smith next year.
More on Malcolm Smith
True News, Bharara an Politico (Capital) Push the NYT to Demanding That Cuomo Let Moreland Do Its Job
The Times is concerned that after a promising start, Cuomo’s Commission to Investigate Public Corruption is becoming little more than a branch of the governor’s political network. Gov. Andrew Cuomo had the right idea when he formed a commission to help end the scandal epidemic in New York State. He appointed a respected group of experts, asked them to come up with ways to cut the sleaze, promised them independence and asked for a preliminary report by Dec. 1. As that deadline nears, however, there is growing concern that the Commission to Investigate Public Corruption, also known as the Moreland Commission, could become little more than a branch of the governor’s political network. If so, it will be another Potemkin committee, issuing another report. The independence Governor Cuomo promised will clearly be compromised if not wholly sabotaged if he or members of his staff tell the commissioners what to do and what not to do.* Governor Andrew Cuomo Quashes Moreland Commission’s REBNY Subpoena and Other Follow-The-Money Subpoenas Hitting Too Close To Home(Noticing New York)
Governor Cuomo's Crusade (sort of) Against Corruption Comes With Too Many Asterisks. My Gotham Column(NYT) "a commission member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as he desires to continue living peacefully" in NYS. “That’s fundamental, except maybe not for this governor.” “The politicians in Albany won’t like it, but I work for the people, and I won’t stop fighting until we all have a government that we can trust.”— Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, in a commercial shown more than 100 times last summer.
Both the NYT and Times Union Today Say Cuomo Will Pay A Price for Killing Moreland
Quotes Murrow Preet Bharara: “fresh news outlets like BuzzFeed … bent on doubling down on political investigations will provide grist” 4 corruption probe Bharara, SDNY US Atty, bullish on
The Old Bulls At the NYT Editorial Board Embarrassed to Get Off Their Ass Today
New York Legislators’ Secret Income(NYT Ed) The state anticorruption commission must press for details about outside money sources that lawmakers have kept hidden for decades.Considering the scandals in the New York State Legislature, one would think that battered lawmakers would be eager to clean up their reputation. Instead, they’ve hired lawyers to fight a new anticorruption commission’s efforts to find out precisely where they earn outside income. This fight, they insist, is all about maintaining a separation of powers and protecting the Legislature from an intrusive executive. That's the press, baby (Video from Deadline - USA)
Bronx GOP Boss Savino Going to Rat
Former Bronx GOP Chairman Jay Savino pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The former Republican Party chairman in the Bronx has pleaded guilty to corruption charges, admitting to accepting a bribe to let a Democratic state senator run for New York City mayor as a Republican. Joseph Savino entered the plea to three public corruption counts Tuesday in federal court in White Plains.* Former Bronx GOP Chairman Jay Savino Pleads Guilty To Corruption Charges(NYDN)
* Former Bronx GOP Chairman Pleads Guilty In Connection With ...(NY1)* Savino pleads guilty in corruption scandal with Spring Valley ties(LoHud) * Ex-Bronx GOP boss pleads guilty in corruption case(TU) *Ex-Bronx GOP boss pleads guilty in corruption case(WSJ) * Ex-Bronx County Republican Chairman Joseph Savino pleads guilty to bribery ...(Bronx 12)
Savino copped to taking a $15,000 bribe from an undercover agent in exchange for agreeing to help Smith get a Wilson-Pakula waiver to compete in the primary without switching his registration.
The feds say in court papers that Savino could apply to enter the witness protection program as the entrenched ex-politico’s cooperation “is likely to reveal activities of individuals who might use violence, force, and intimidation against” him and his family. He faces up to 30 years in prison and nine years of supervised release when he’s sentenced on Feb 25 – although he’s likely to get a significantly reduced sentence. His lawyer Robert LaRusso said he’d seek probation for Savino.
We Hear Your Now Melvin Lowe
Because
he is a
Democrat, Smith needed three Republican leaders' permission. According
to court papers, Savino accepted $15,000 from an undercover
FBI agent last Feb. 1 at a Manhattan restaurant. As part of the plea,
he must forfeit the money. Savino faces up to 30 years in prison at a
Feb. 25 sentencing.* Political Consultant Melvin Lowe Arrested in Corruption Case ...
Selling the GOP Line
Savino Throws Halloran Under the Bus
Joseph
“Jay” Savino told White Plains federal Judge Kenneth Karas that
Councilman Dan Halloran instigated the entire scheme to get state Sen.
Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) on the GOP ballot for mayor.The fallen Bronx
power broker said the deal was concocted after he
reached out to Halloran in January 2013 for help ensuring that the City
Council didn’t replace one of Savino’s hand-picked commissioners on the
city’s Board of Elections. “He basically told me the only way I would
keep my commissioner is to come to this lunch,” Savino said. Savino said
he met with Halloran and others – including an undercover
agent he referred to as “Raj” — at Spark’s Steak House in Midtown on
February 1. There, Savino said, it was proposed that he’d be hired for
legal services on development projects in Rockland County and the Bronx
in exchange for him helping get Smith on the GOP mayoral ballot. Savino
said he agreed to accept a $30,000 retainer — including $15,000 up
front.
Because he is a Democrat, Smith needed GOP support in at least three boroughs to run as a Republican without changing his party affiliation. Smith had Halloran allegedly set up meetings with Savino and Queens Republican Vice Chairman Vincent Tabone to arrange bribes for their support, while Halloran pocketed thousands for himself, prosecutors said.
When we hear from the U.S. Attorney next Moreland will as Katy Perry says ROAR
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Poll Asked Voters What They Think Gov. Cuomo's Moreland Commission Should Recommend
An unknown pollster has been asking New York voters what recommendations the Moreland Commission on Public Ethics should make, including public financing of campaigns or contribution limits -
@klnynews Legislature will only pass what voters embrace; no prize for goo-goo edit bd ideas that don't pass bc no public backing/interest
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ken lovett
Ryan Karben
“Basically I’m just gonna walk the earth . . . You know, walk the earth, meet people . . . get into adventures. Like Caine from ‘Kung Fu.’" US Attorney Preet Bharara
Bharara's Pulp Fiction Journey to Restore New York's Democracy
Who knew Preet Bharara’s a Quentin Tarantino fan? The Manhattan US attorney stunned attendees at the DealBook conference when during a Q&A when he reeled off a “Pulp Fiction” speech. “When asked about future plans, he said, ‘I’m gonna answer the way Samuel L. Jackson did at the end of ‘Pulp Fiction.’ And then he recited — from memory — [the film’s] ‘walk the earth’ speech, including the ‘Kung Fu’ reference. It was awesome!” said a spy. The lines include Jackson telling John Travolta when asked, “You’re really thinking about quitting?” as a hit man, “Basically I’m just gonna walk the earth . . . You know, walk the earth, meet people . . . get into adventures. Like Caine from ‘Kung Fu.’ ” Others at the conference Tuesday included Barry Diller, Daniel Loeb, Elon Musk and David Karp. Our spy said Bharara got a more muted response when he took the stage, but “won them over.” Perhaps attendees were relieved Bharara, who’s gone after SAC Capital and Galleon Group, didn’t use another Tarantino line, “I’m-a get medieval on your ass.”
Feds use Small Fish Pols to Catch Big Fish Pols . . . NYC' DAs Use Containment to Protect the Pols
He's one of the most powerful federal prosecutors in the land, but Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara confessed last night he still doesn't know why big shots turn to crime. "Why ... did defendants of great wealth and renown ... go south?" he wondered at a Fordham Law School panel on "Absence of Malice," the 1981 film in which Sally Field's reporter and Paul Newman's accused criminal navigate journalistic ethics and prosecutorial misconduct.
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