No more free legal rides for crooked pols

From the Queens Gazette:

Describing himself as “outraged” that public funds totalling more than $2 million were used to pay an ex-state senator’s legal bill recently, state Senator Michael Gianaris has introduced legislation to end the arrangement.

“It is sadly typical in the upside-down world of Albany that public financing for campaign committees only exists for those accused of crimes,” Gianaris stated as he introduced his legislation over-riding the existing law.

The Astoria lawmaker added: “This multimillion dollar payout is a glaring example of the desperate need to reform New York State election law, and we need to close this loophole immediately.”

Gianaris (D–Western Queens) said that just last week, the attorney general’s office was forced by statute to approve reimbursing former state Senator Joseph Bruno’s “long dormant” campaign committee to the tune of $1.51 million for legal fees accrued in defense of corruption and bribery charges.

In addition, Gianaris recounted, the state must reimburse a legal defense fund Bruno created in 2009 for an additional $564,547.

As of now, state employees are entitled to reimbursement for legal defense if the charges in question arose from their official duties and are subsequently dropped or the accused is acquitted.

Senator Gianaris’ bill would change current law so that neither campaign committees nor legal defense funds would be eligible for reimbursement, thus preventing any future payouts similar to the Bruno case.

Gianaris said the proposed bill would also require that any legal defense funds raised be utilized in full before any public reimbursement takes place, in order to insure that public funds are protected. Gianaris has long been a leading advocate for ethics reform and election law reform in particular, and believes this loophole needs to be closed immediately.

Smith wants trial postponed; Albany may ban use of donations to pay lawyers

From NY1:

State Senator Malcolm Smith wants to delay his trial on corruption charges until his re-election race is over.

The Queens Democrat's attorney asked a federal judge to wait until this year's primary date is set, then schedule the trial afterward.

He said Smith should run for office "unfettered."

The prosecution, however, says that voters would be better served with a verdict before the election.

From the NY Post:

A bill introduced by Brooklyn Assemblyman Nick Perry would make it illegal for corrupt politicians to use campaign cash to pay legal bills.

Under the measure introduced last week, elected officials wouldn’t be able to access donor funds if they’re indicted, charged or convicted of a crime, or if they resign as a result of violating state ethics law. Cash remaining in their campaign accounts would be forfeited to the state comptroller’s office, which would issue refunds to contributors.

Currently, lawmakers are able to take money from their campaign coffers and use it on high-priced lawyers to keep them out of the clink.

Former state Sen. Carl Kruger, who represented Mill Basin in Brooklyn, was sentenced to prison in April 2012 after taking bribes to steer $900,000 in taxpayer money to nonprofits. He used $1.5 million
from his campaign account to pay legal bills.

Former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno also shelled out about $1.5 million in donor cash to combat federal corruption charges.
Like all campaign-reform proposals, however, the bill faces hurdles in Albany.

The perks of public office

From the Daily News:

The explosion of Capitol corruption scandals in recent years has turned a bunch of campaign accounts into legal defense funds.

Twenty elected officials since 2004 spent a combined $6.78 million on legal fees related to criminal and ethical investigations against them, a Daily News/New York Public Interest Research Group analysis shows.

The list has included some of the most powerful elected officials in Albany, including former Gov. David Paterson, convicted former Controller Alan Hevesi, former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and pervy Assemblyman Vito Lopez.

In the past two years alone, state lawmakers spent nearly $2 million in campaign funds on legal fees, led by the $1.5 million paid by former state Sen. Carl Kruger. He’s serving seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2011 to bribery and other corruption charges.

The state Board of Elections in a 1989 formal opinion ruled the use of campaign cash for lawyer bills is legal if the investigations are related to someone’s office or campaign.

Some lawmakers and government reformers say that needs to change.

Joe Bruno to be retried

From the NY Post:

The federal government intends to re-try former State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno on government corruption charges after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled today that it can.

The appeals court earlier today overturned Bruno's conviction on charges he deprived taxpayers of "honest services."

But the court found the federal government presented sufficient evidence in its initial prosecution to retry the upstate Republican on the two charges on which he had originally been convicted and a third that resulted in a hung jury.

Bruno, 82, who led the Senate from 1995 to 2008, had been charged with eight counts.

U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian and Special-Agent-in-Charge Clifford C. Holly of the Albany Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced their offices "will work expeditiously to present a superseding indictment."

Corrupt pols may lose pensions

From Capital Tonight:

Comptroller Tom DiNapoli is proposing legislation that would strip public officials of their pension benefits if they are convicted of a felony.

Convicted ex-pols like Joe Bruno, Alan Hevesi and recently deceased Guy Velella all collected pension benefits despite corruption convictions.

DiNapoli’s bill also imposes a penalty of up to twice the amount of money a public official garnered as a result of a crime committed while in office and elevates Official Misconduct to a felony – which, in the case of the Senate and Assembly, would also result in the loss of one’s seat.

The state constitution does not allow retirement benefits of sitting public officials to be reduced, but they would be subject to the penalty of up to twice the amount they benefited from their crime.

Sounds like we need a change in the state constitution.

Bruno off the hook

From the NY Post:

Federal prosecutors, citing a recent US Supreme Court decision, have conceded for the first time that last year's conviction of former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno on two felony counts must be dismissed, The Post has learned.

The concession came in a letter from Northern District US Attorney Richard Hartunian to Bruno lawyer William Dreyer late last month in response to Dreyer's inquiry about the impact of the unanimous Supreme Court ruling in June throwing out the complicated "honest services" statute under which Bruno was convicted.

Hartunian, after reviewing details of the decision and noting that the judge's instructions to the jury were based on the now-nullified statute, told Dreyer, "We will concede that reversal is appropriate as a result of the instructional error."

Still profiting after all these years

From the Daily News:

Just because they violated the public's trust doesn't mean they've stopped taking the public's money.

At least 10 ex-lawmakers who've been convicted of criminal charges are still receiving taxpayer-funded pensions worth tens of thousands of dollars a year, a Daily News review of state pension records found.

"The law says I've earned it. I am entitled to it. I take it," said disgraced former state Sen. Guy Velella, who receives a $75,012 annual pension from the state.

Velella, a Republican who represented parts of the Bronx and Westchester, pleaded guilty in 2004 to bribery charges and served six months at Rikers Island.

Other convicted felons who receive fat pensions include former state Controller Alan Hevesi, who pleaded guilty in 2006 using state workers as his wife's chauffeur, and ex-Brooklyn Assemblyman and Democratic leader Clarence Norman, who was convicted in 2007 of selling judgeships.

Hevesi receives $105,221 a year, while Norman gets $43,321.

Ex-Senate boss Joe Bruno, a former GOP kingmaker who is appealing his conviction of honest services fraud, pockets $96,085.

Dick Dadey, executive director of the good government group Citizens Union, said the payouts underscore the need to reform New York's pension system.

Bruno gets 2 years in prison

From the Daily News:

Former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, once one of the state's kingmakers, was sentenced to two years in federal prison Thursday.

Bruno, 81, became the latest - and perhaps the most notable - state politician to earn a prison sentence after his conviction in December on federal corruption charges.

Bruno was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary Sharpe, who came in far short of the eight years prosecutors were seeking.

Sharpe did not set a date for Bruno to report to prison. Bruno, who presided over the Senate for 14 years before retiring in 2008, was convicted on two counts of "honest services" fraud for using his official position to garner lucrative outside business deals.

Bruno is appealing his conviction. In addition to his jail time, Bruno is also required to fork over $280,000 in restitution - including $100,000 that was turned in Thursday.

New state ethics bill introduced

From the Times Union:

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance stood beside Eric Schneiderman and a group of senators to unveil yet another piece of legislation to beef up New York's ethics laws.

The bill would require public officials to abide a "duty of faithful public service" -- a broad and hopefully less onerous standard for prosecutors to enforce -- as well as tightening laws against bribing a public official.

"It's time for local prosecutors such as myself to play a primary role in addressing public corruption," said Vance, who took office earlier this year. The new language is similar to the federal "honest services" language which led to the conviction last year of former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, R-Brunswick.

Bruno, who faces up to 8 years in prison when sentenced Thursday, has said he will appeal the conviction.

But Vance said the new language is more narrowly construed than the federal statute, which is under constitutional challenge before the U.S. Supreme Count. He and others believe it is a necessary tool to add to prosecutors' war chests as legislators say "bad apples" have fueled an overall perception of corruption. Recent cases resulting in convictions include Bruno and former Queens Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio, who received a 6-year federal term, were pursued by federal prosecutors. The state Attorney General's Office is pursuing two civil cases against Sen. Pedro Espada Jr., who is also under federal investigation.

"This is 2010. We are not living in the Boss Tweed era anymore, and yet there is seemingly a tide of graft and corruption scandals that flood out of New York, scandals which reinforce New Yorkers' perception that all of us lawmakers are crooks or clowns," said Assemblyman Micah Kellner, D-Manhattan, who is carrying the bill in the Assembly. Schneiderman is the measure's prime sponsor in the Senate.

"People who want to go into public service for the right reasons are deterred by some bad apples, and this will hopefully help out the good apples," said Sen. Neil Breslin, D-Bethlehem.

Joe Bruno's pals still got city contracts

From the Daily News:

In the months after Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno was indicted on federal corruption charges, the city awarded $8 million in contracts to a consulting firm the disgraced GOP kingpin headed.

The firm, CMA Consulting Services, received five contracts from the city Human Resources Administration and one from the Department of Consumer Affairs between February and November of 2009, city records show.

The HRA contracts were awarded despite a warning by the city Department of Investigation to the agency that Bruno was facing criminal charges.

Court ruling could let Bruno & Seminerio off the hook

From the Queens Chronicle:

This book was closed, some thought.

A series of convictions — culminating in the recent prosecutions of former state Sen. Joe Bruno and former Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio — had finally cast light on Albany’s legislative underworld. Its most egregious players had faced justice. And newfound federal scrutiny would surely deter those who would follow their unseemly path.

But a trio of cases before the U.S. Supreme Court could soon turn back the clock — setting the stage for pols like Bruno and Seminerio to escape the long prison terms that otherwise await them.

The court began hearing arguments against the government’s “honest services fraud” law last Tuesday. Enacted in 1988, the law criminalizes ethical lapses among public and private officials. Should the justices strike it down, thousands of white-collar offenders convicted under the statute, including Bruno and Seminerio, could be set free.

At question is whether the law adequately defines corruption by establishing a clear line between minor moral lapses and criminal activity. In the first of two hearings last week, the justices seemed to agree it did not.

Joe Bruno guilty on 2 felony counts

From the NY Times:

ALBANY — Joseph L. Bruno, the former Senate majority leader, was found guilty Monday afternoon of taking payments from a business executive and failing to disclose a secret financial partnership with the businessman.

After seven days of deliberating, the jury in Mr. Bruno’s federal corruption trial handed down a guilty verdict on two felony counts. They found Mr. Bruno not guilty on five counts and could not reach a verdict on another count.

Mr. Bruno faces up to 20 years and a $250,000 fine on each felony count. He is sure to appeal, and the Supreme Court is preparing to review the controversial “theft of honest services” statute underlying his case.

Shit, when did they make honest graft a crime?

Bruno indicted on fraud charges

From the NY Times:

Joseph L. Bruno, the former State Senate majority leader, was indicted on Friday on charges that he reaped millions of dollars from companies seeking business from the state or from labor unions, capping a long-running investigation into one of New York’s most powerful political figures.

Federal prosecutors scheduled a press conference for 2:30 p.m. in Albany to announce the eight-count indictment, which is expected to charge Mr. Bruno under an anti-corruption law making it a crime to deprive citizens of honest services from their elected officials. Mr. Bruno is accused of collecting more than $3 million over a 13-year period, beginning in 1993, from a handful of businessmen seeking state contracts and grants, as well as contracts to manage pension fund investments for at least 16 labor unions.

It's "a crime to deprive citizens of honest services from their elected officials"?

Sounds like we need to build bigger jails...

Joe Bruno registers as a lobbyist

By Kenneth Lovett
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF

ALBANY - Former state Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno has registered with the state as a lobbyist, something he had said he wouldn't do.

The 79-year-old Bruno, who quit the Senate less than a month ago, said he was just being cautious in his new role as CEO of CMA Consulting.

By law, he cannot lobby the Legislature for two years.

"I will, however, be interfacing with various executive agencies and officials in my new role at CMA and I have chosen to register ... to guarantee maximum transparency," he told the Albany Times Union Wednesday.

Bruno has a close relationship with Gov. Paterson.

Serf says something screwy

Bruno’s announcement came so late in the campaign season (nominating petitions to get on the ballot are due at the State Board of Elections soon), that Democrats won’t have time to field a strong challenger to the likely Republican candidate, Roy McDonald, the local Assemblyman.

“He’s screwing them,” Maltese told me.

Maltese: Bruno is 'Screwing' Democrats

Hey, Serf...

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno announced his stunning decision that he would not seek re-election just hours after the FBI collected a massive volume of his detailed records dating back to 1995, The Post has learned.

More than 30 boxes of Senate records - gathered pursuant to a federal subpoena issued in March - were carted out of the Capitol and delivered by a Senate van to the Albany office of the US attorney for the Northern District. That office has been probing Bruno's outside consulting business for more than two years.

A law-enforcement source said the US Attorney's Office in the Manhattan-based Southern District of New York was also assisting in the probe.

BRUNO FILES SEIZED

Who's screwing who?

Photo from City Hall News

Bruno retiring at end of year

Here's the official statement from Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, as distributed via a press release printed on his distrinctive blue-and-white leadership letterhead:

"Today I met with my Republican colleagues in the Senate and informed them that I will not be running for re-election this November."

'Time To Move On With My Life'

Hmmm...could lose a Republican seat. And as for local state senators, Forand says, "Not so fast, Serph".

Bloomie's history of goofiness

One day two winters ago, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, just back from an overseas trip, traveled to Albany to testify at a key fiscal hearing. During his testimony, he grew agitated at an Assembly Ways and Means Committee staffer who was whispering information to a lawmaker - a practice even casual viewers of C-Span know is utterly routine.

"Would it be helpful if I just stopped for a while, sir, while you finished your moving back and forth?" Bloomberg said. "I have plenty of time. I'd be happy to wait." Aides later blamed the mayor's jet lag.

As term wanes, will Bloomberg maintain composure?

Two years earlier, at a dinner in a restaurant, Bloomberg went off on Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, over how politicians behave, witnesses later reported. Aides blamed jet lag from the mayor's trip to Asia, seeking to lure the Olympics to New York.

Say it ain't so, Joe!

Another Spitzer-era agenda item that apparently lives on: The re-naming of the Triborough Bridge to honor Robert F. Kennedy.

Bridge Renaming Still On

An Assembly source said the bill, which was introduced in the Senate yesterday with Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno as the sponsor, will soon get an Assembly majority sponsor, too.

Bloomberg vs. Spitzer in 2010

Mayor Bloomberg - who just took himself out of the presidential running - handed the state's top Republican a $500,000 campaign contribution last month to keep open the option of running for governor in 2010, GOP sources said yesterday.

Bloomberg was openly encouraged to run by Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Rensselaer) during their meeting in City Hall Thursday, the day Hizzoner finally flatly declared that he would not try to run for president as an independent candidate, The Post has learned.

BIG-GIVER BLOOMY MULLS GOV RUN

Don't expect to hear much talk from the Bloomberg camp about running for governor. The nonstop talk about running for president was a requirement to make Mr. Bloomberg a viable candidate. The concept of Mr. Bloomberg entering the presidential race seemed absurd when the rumors first began two years ago. A coordinated pre-campaign was required to make plausible a campaign that now is not happening. Convincing voters and opinion makers that Mr. Bloomberg is a reasonable gubernatorial candidate with a reasonable chance of winning isn't an issue. Polls at this early date — nearly three years before the election — even show Mr. Bloomberg ahead of Mr. Spitzer. So in terms of running for governor, talk would only hurt Mr. Bloomberg's chances, as it could cause trouble with the current governor.

The mayor does not want any trouble with the governor, and vice versa. From Mr. Bloomberg's perspective, Albany has a say in almost every big idea any mayor wants to pursue. From Mr. Spitzer's perspective, last summer's Troopergate troubles make it imperative to avoid any new high-profile enemies.

Bloomberg: Next Stop, Albany?

Photo from Gothamist

Toby has an opponent this time

Last time State Senator Toby Stavisky ran for election, she ran unopposed. This time, local pharmacist Peter Koo will challenge her as a Republican. If you're unhappy with the Stavisky dynasty, take heed that she has an opponent this time. Here's her district map. His run is being given serious support by state GOP leaders including Senate Speaker Joe Bruno. Here are some of his qualifications:

- President and CEO of the Starside Pharmacy chain
- Chairman of Program Services for the Flushing Business Improvement District
- President of the Flushing Chinese Business Association
- Member of Community Board 7
- Member of the Queens General Hospital Community Advisory Board
- Trustee of the LaGuardia Community College Foundation, Flushing Lions and American Cancer Society.

Toby Stavisky's qualifications:
- was married to Sen. Leonard Stavisky