THE "PORK" IN NEW YORK, Thoughts of an older American on Constitutional Government in the USA Options

[Livyjr]

"Paterson orders cuts in spending, hiring in NY government as tax revenues continue to decline"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 4:35 p.m., Monday, April 21, 2008

ALBANY -- New York Gov. David Paterson on Monday prohibited all but essential hiring in a sternly worded directive to state agencies.

The Democrat said the measures are necessary because of declining revenues projected in a worsening economy.

The $121.7 billion budget adopted by the Legislature increases spending more than 4.5 percent this legislative election year and includes hundreds of millions of dollars in pork-barrel spending.

http://www.state.ny.us.

WE HAVE NO STATE MONEY UP HERE FOR ESSENTIAL SERVICES ....

BUT ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD FOR "SPECIAL INTERESTS" ....

And so ...

"Grant recipient alleged to be a cult - Aesthetic Realism Foundation to receive $4,000 in state budget"

By JAMES M. ODATO, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Monday, April 21, 2008

ALBANY -- Assemblyman Felix Ortiz has set up a $4,000 member item for a SoHo organization that says it has the answer to finding happiness, but which former members say is a cult.

Ortiz, D-Brooklyn, targeted the money for the Aesthetic Realism Foundation, whose program, according to ex-members, is anti-gay and employs strategies that split up families.

Ortiz said he sponsored the expenditure in the 2008-2009 budget because the group asked him for funding for services at Brooklyn senior citizen centers.

He said he did not know anything about the foundation but he had heard good things about it from Raices, a Brooklyn-based senior services organization to which he has sent $2,000 in member items annually for several years.

AR hasn't received public funding in the 13 years it has been providing senior programs in New York City.

According to former child member Michael Bluejay, who runs a Web site for fellow ex-members to share their experiences, the followers of AR and its founder, Eli Siegel, try to recruit the elderly by using art, theater, poetry and cultural lectures to get their views across in community appearances.

Once they become members, he said, followers are discouraged from having relationships with nonmembers.

"When you're in it and you don't see your parents for 15 years, that's hurtful," he said.

His parents and grandparents were devotees, he said.

AR spokeswoman Devorah Tarrow, who has been with the group for 36 years, said Bluejay is putting forth lies.

She said the $4,000 is for workshops at senior citizen centers in Brooklyn, including some for people who speak Spanish or Chinese.

Tarrow said it isn't true that AR says it can change homosexuality.

"It is a fact that men and women have changed as a result of study of Aesthetic Realism," she said, saying the purpose of the foundation and the senior talks "was to have a good effect on senior lives."

"That is actually the purpose of the Aesthetic Realism Foundation, to encourage the lives of elderly persons to be more energized."

Bluejay quotes from the writings of a leader of the group, including, "It is a beautiful fact that through study of Aesthetic Realism... men have changed from homosexuality."

"... Eli Siegel's statement of the cause of homosexuality (contempt for the world)... is scientific law."

Rich A. Ross, who tracks cults for a living, backs Bluejay's assessment and said public funds should not be used for a group with such a narrow agenda.

"It's a very specific philosophy," Ross said.

"Why would taxpayer money be used to fund that?"

Ortiz said the foundation asked other lawmakers for funding.

It did not approach its own Assembly member, Deborah Glick, an openly gay Democrat.

She said she would have denied the request.

"Not now, not ever," she said.

James M. Odato can be reached at 454-5081 or by e-mail at jodato@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

"Lawyer claims Sweeney targeted - Arrest, prosecution of ex-congressman's son called political ploy"

By BRENDAN J. LYONS, Senior writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Tuesday, April 22, 2008

ALBANY -- Daniel Wiese, a former State Police security supervisor for Gov. George Pataki, may be called to testify at the trial of a young man who is suing a former congressman's son and two other men over injuries he suffered in a violent brawl four years ago.

E. Stewart Jones, an attorney for John Sweeney Jr., who pleaded guilty to felony assault charges in the case, last week wrote a letter to the court saying he intends to subpoena Wiese if the case goes to trial.

Jones' request cites published reports that Wiese was part of a "renegade unit" in the State Police that engaged in political espionage on behalf of Pataki and others, records show.

Jones accuses Wiese of arranging for Sweeney's arrest as part of a smear campaign targeting his father, John Sweeney, at a time when the elder Sweeney was running for re-election.

Sweeney, a Republican, won re-election in 2004 but lost the November 2006 election to challenger Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Greenport.

"We believe that the Wiese target was his and then Governor Pataki's political enemy, John Sweeney Sr., and that Wiese in discussion with a senior member of the State Police was centrally involved in the focusing of the effort to embarrass the congressman," Jones wrote in a letter to Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Giardino.

The letter, filed in court records in Saratoga County, also accuses Wiese of being "instrumental in the charging, arrest and prosecution of young John Sweeney."

State Police officials familiar with the matter, including an investigator who worked on the case, said neither Wiese, nor anyone on his behalf, tried to influence the investigation.

The controversy surrounds the August 2004 arrest of the younger Sweeney on felony assault charges following a brawl involving several young men.

A grand jury later elevated the charges to gang assault and Sweeney pleaded guilty to felony assault.

Giardino, who also presided in the criminal case, suspended Sweeney's jail sentence and ordered the files sealed in December 2005.

Montgomery County District Attorney James Conboy, who handled the case as a special prosecutor, said the younger Sweeney was indicted by a grand jury that relied almost exclusively on the testimony of witnesses, and not State Police investigators.

"Nobody tried to influence me," Conboy said.

"I put in the grand jury as witnesses every person from whom the State Police took a statement ... whether they were good for the prosecution or bad for the prosecution."

"That's exactly what it was, what they had to tell us good, bad or ugly."

The younger Sweeney was arrested after a brawl over a young woman.

The fight took place along a rural road in Stillwater and involved about 15 young men.

Two other young men, both friends of Sweeney's, also were arrested.

The victim, Matthew Brady of Stillwater, suffered broken bones around one eye and lost teeth, according to his attorney, Terence L. Kindlon.

Brady's suit, which is scheduled to go to trial next month, seeks unspecified damages.

The arrest of his son in a criminal case that languished and spilled over into his 2006 re-election run wasn't Sweeney's only controversy.

Two weeks before the election, news broke of a 911 police call to his house for an alcohol-fueled fight between Sweeney and his wife, Gaia.

The 911 call had been placed by Gaia Sweeney almost a year before the election, but State Police had declined to release a copy of the report.

Sweeney blamed State Police and enemies in the outgoing Pataki administration for leaking the report to newspapers, including the Times Union, just before the election.

Gaia Sweeney, who goes by "Gayle," has since admitted she was pressured to go public before the election and claim the December 2005 police report was false.

John Sweeney filed for divorce last summer.

People close to Sweeney said he told them that the leak of the 911 report, and his son's arrest on felony assault charges, may have been the work of political operatives.

A State Police investigator close to the investigation said no one pressured the agency to arrest Sweeney's son on felony charges.

The investigator -- who is not authorized to comment publicly on the case -- said the only politically charged inquiry came from a former State Police bomb expert, John Curry, a part-time Albany County sheriff's inspector who is Sweeney's acquaintance.

Curry also works as a lobbyist for former state Republican Committee Chairman Bill Powers, who is a close friend of Sweeney's and had been one of his political mentors.

In addition, Gaia Sweeney had worked at Powers' firm before the couple's marriage imploded last year.

The week that Sweeney's son was arrested, Curry called two State Police investigators, including one who was supervising the case.

Curry allegedly mentioned that someday Sweeney "might be governor" during one of those calls, according to a member of the State Police briefed on the matter.

But Curry last week said his phone calls to a Bureau of Criminal Investigation captain, Frank Pace, and another investigator, Steve Nutting, were only to get information about what was happening to Sweeney's son.

Curry said he never tried to use his law enforcement background, his employment with Powers' firm or his acquaintance with Sweeney to try to influence the investigation.

"I got a call from a friend to call another friend to see where his kid was," Curry said.

"I wasn't involved in this thing."

"I never went there."

"I never showed up."

"I never got involved."

Pace declined comment except to say: "The matter is behind me and I don't see the need to discuss it any further."

Sweeney, who has had other alcohol-related brushes with police in the past year, has privately blamed the leak of the 911 report on people connected to Pataki, including Pataki's former senior policy adviser, Zenia Mucha.

A second police report -- purported to document the 911 call -- also was leaked to news outlets on the eve of the election.

It contained a sanitized version of the incident and characterized the call as "assist citizen" with no mention of the fight.

Leaders of the state troopers PBA contend the second report was fabricated by top State Police officials to aid Sweeney's ailing campaign and to cloud the validity of the first report.

Those allegations have not been investigated.

People close to Sweeney also said he has blamed Pace personally for his son's arrest on felony charges.

When the 911 report was leaked, Sweeney again blamed Pace.

After Sweeney's election loss, former State Police Superintendent Wayne Bennett reassigned Pace to a patrol supervisor's post -- considered a demotion -- and launched an investigation into whether he was involved in leaking the 911 report.

Last year, following a lengthy State Police internal affairs investigation, Pace was cleared and reinstated to an investigator's position.

He remains a captain.

Wiese recently was placed on paid leave from his $179,000-a-year job overseeing security for the New York Power Authority.

The move came after allegations he may have been involved with political espionage within the ranks of the State Police.

Gov. David Paterson called for an investigation.

He did not respond to the Times Union's requests for comment.

Brendan Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

"State Police captain sues for old job - Former BCI supervisor Frank Pace was reassigned after being suspected of leaking Sweeney report"

By BRENDAN J. LYONS, Senior writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, October 10, 2007

ALBANY -- A State Police captain is suing to get his investigator job back, claiming he was demoted after being suspected of leaking a domestic incident report to the media last year involving former Rep. John Sweeney.

Capt. Frank Pace, who headed the region's Bureau of Criminal Investigation, was reassigned to a uniformed post last November, less than two weeks after an internal report about a domestic incident at the congressman's home became public.

State Police internal affairs launched an investigation into whether the document was leaked by Pace, who was based in Loudonville.

The investigation dragged on for months before concluding the allegations were "unsubstantiated," according to the lawsuit.

An attorney for the State Police union contends the investigation should have determined the allegations were "unfounded," which is akin to being exonerated.

The union filed a claim on Pace's behalf in state Supreme Court in Albany two weeks ago.

Richard Mulvaney, general counsel for the New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association, said Pace also should have been reinstated to his prior post.

Mulvaney said questions remain about why State Police did not investigate whether any of the agency's leaders created an alternate police report which removed details about the couple's 911 call.

State Police labor leaders have called for an independent investigation into Pace's demotion.

The PBA also said an outside investigation should have been conducted into whether laws or policies were violated when the law enforcement agency created an alternate, sanitized version of the 911 report to protect the congressman's privacy during an election year.

State Police conceded they took steps to "secure the document and limit general access to it."

But they have not said whether those steps included creating a version of the police report in which the incident type was changed from a "domestic dispute" to "aid-assist citizen."

In the wake of the scandal last year, Pace received a letter from then-Deputy Superintendent Preston Felton informing him he was being transferred from his prestigious position supervising 80 investigators to a captain's post in a remote area of Fulton County.

The move came at the direction of former Superintendent Wayne Bennett, said union officials.

State Police officials have declined comment on the matter.

Sweeney, R-Clifton Park, lost to Democratic challenger Kirsten Gillibrand and was dogged in the campaign's final days by the disclosure of his wife's 911 call.

Brendan J. Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

"GOP shows rift over board pick - Squabble ensues in Clifton Park over appointment to water authority"

By JIMMY VIELKIND, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Tuesday, April 22, 2008

CLIFTON PARK -- A rift among members of the town's entrenched Republican Party erupted during the confirmation of an appointment to the Water Authority Board at a Monday night Town Board meeting that at times devolved into a shouting match.

The dispute centered around the appointment of local businessman John Ryan to a seat on the Clifton Park Water Authority vacated by John Flynn, who resigned earlier this month to take a job out of state.

Ryan's appointment to the two-year post was backed by Councilman Tom Paolucci.

But Town Board member Sandy Roth, who serves as liaison to the Water Authority Board, opposed Ryan's candidacy on grounds that he had made comments in the past decrying the water authority.

He also said he was not involved in vetting candidates for the position, and called upon the council to table the motion.

In a two-page statement read by Planning Board Chairman Steve Bulger, Roth cited a letter Ryan sent to a local newspaper in 1997 accusing the water authority of adopting an "arrogant and and hostile attitude toward this community" when it restructured water rates.

Roth said Ryan's "incendiary comments -- (are) unfair and extremely counterproductive, and always reflect very poorly on whoever says them."

Roth did not attend the meeting because he is at home recovering from a recent hospitalization.

Ryan's appointment was approved by a 4-0 vote.

He did not attend the hearing.

During public comments, many town residents expressed their disgust with the process, which they said disregarded Roth's input.

Some other town officials joined the chorus of scorn.

"I just find it a little disturbing that this Town Board did not make an effort at partnership with the water authority board" in nominating Ryan, said Town Supervisor Anita Daly, a Republican.

Paolucci retorted at the end of the public comment period that the criticism was politically motivated.

He produced e-mails from Bob Wilcox, chairman of the Clifton Park GOP Committee, urging board members to table Ryan's nomination, because he had "solicited and received a positive response from Dan Keegan, a successful businessman and a financial and volunteer supporter of yourselves."

Campaign filings show Keegan donated money to the Clifton Park GOP Committee in 2006 and 2007.

In a separate e-mail provided by Paolucci and Councilman Scott Hughes, Wilcox wrote to committee members that Ryan's nomination "is a direct attack on you, as committeepersons, which should be opposed by all who value their volunteered time and treasure."

Wilcox did not return calls late Monday seeking comment.

Paolucci, Hughes and Councilwoman Lynda Walowit defended their actions, saying they would not be "rubber stamps for any party boss."

Jimmy Vielkind can be reached at 454-5043 or by e-mail at jvielkind@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

"Democrat leaves congressonal race - Gary Mittleman decides to withdraw from contest for 21st District seat"

By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 12:12 a.m., Tuesday, April 22, 2008

The widely contested race for the 21st Congressional district has one less candidate.

Former Plug Power CEO and Democrat Gary Mittleman sent an e-mail message to supporters and the media Monday withdrawing his candidacy.

The announcement came less than two months after he entered the race.

That leaves seven Democrats and two Republicans to battle it out for retiring Green Island Democrat Michael McNulty's seat this year.

Mittleman's e-mail touched on problems facing the nation: unemployment, the declining value of the dollar, the mortgage crisis and the price of oil, among other topics.

He said he quickly learned that he wasn't comfortable with "begging'' people for money and realized he would have to do so constantly if he was elected."

"The average congressional contender in New York this year will spend close to $1.4 million."

"While I have welcomed financial support from those who believe that I would be an effective congressman, I do not have the expertise nor the interest in horse-trading my way into office,'' Mittleman said in the e-mail.

He had loaned $100,000 to his campaign as of March 31, and had spent $52,743 of that, according to campaign filing records.

He raised another $4,352 in donations, and said in his statement that he'll return those contributions.

Mittleman said he'll instead create a foundation called One Dream One Earth to accomplish his goals.

He gave no details about that foundation.

[Livyjr]

"Saratoga water authority suit dismissed"

By LEIGH HORNBECK, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 4:50 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, 2008

ALBANY -- A Supreme Court justice dismissed a lawsuit today against the Saratoga County Water Authority, but the legal troubles facing the 26-mile county water line are not over.

Alexander Mackay, president of Saratoga Water Services in Malta, sued the authority and the state Department of Environmental Conservation on the grounds his outdoor activities would be affected and because the end of the county water line would be near his property.

But Justice Michael Lynch ruled Mackay sued because he runs his own water line and didn't want competition from the county.

Mackay cannot make an economic issue out of an environmental case, Lynch said.

Mackay has also attacked the water line on Constitutional grounds.

He sued the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation because the agency allowed the water authority to bury water line in a part of Moreau Lake State Park that is forest preserve land.

According to the state Constitution, forest preserve may not be disturbed.

The water authority is in settlement talks with Mackay, said Chairman John Lawler, R-Waterford, on Tuesday.

Neither Mackay or his attorney, John Caffry, would comment.

The water authority meets at 4 p.m. Friday at the Saratoga County offices in Ballston Spa.

[Livyjr]

In a just-released March 31, 2005 Decision of Federal Court for the Northern District of New York, with grave consequences to the common citizen in the Northern District of New York who must have the certification of an expert witness in order to file certain Petitions for Redress of Grievance in the Courts of the State of New York, where negligence or malfeasance by the state or one of its political subdivisions is alleged, a recently-appointed Federal District Court Judge has refused to grant injunctive relief to the Plaintiff therein, a New York State licensed professional engineer and certified associate public health engineer, that would have given him protection of law in the State of New York while giving testimony in court ON BEHALF OF the citizens of the State of New York, against the State of New York, or one of its political subdivisions.

The issue before the Court in that matter, Case No. 1:03-CV-753, Matter of Plante, P.E. v. State of New York et al., requiring injunctive relief from the Federal District Court is a retaliatory practice in the Northern District of New York employed against an expert witness against the State of New York, BY THE STATE, where it simply removes the expert witness, as a witness against itself, by the expedient of having one of its doctors issue a signed declaration, SIGHT UNSEEN, that the witness in fact is an alleged dangerous mental patient who requires immediate incarceration in a secure mental health facility in the State of New York!

That order, known as a "9.45", then goes to the New York State Police, who capture the person, the intended victim, as it were, and take him to a designated secure mental health facility, for incarceration!

The "PSYCHIATRIC TAKEDOWN", it is called, and it is illegal, in that a doctor in the State of New York, BY FEDERAL and STATE LAW, both, cannot issue one of these orders IF he has never even seen the person, let alone examined him or her in person, as happened in this just-dismissed case involving this expert witness on behalf of the people of the State of New York, where the state's doctor issued a fraudulent "9.45" order for this expert witness, SIGHT UNSEEN, just days before this expert witness was going to file an affidavit on behalf of the citizens of Rensselaer County documenting continuing corruption in the Rensselaer County Department of Health having an adverse impact on the public health, safety, and well-being in the Town of Poestenkill, County of Rensselaer, State of New York!

In this case at bar, which was dismissed Sua Sponte by Bush-appointee Hon. Gary L. Sharpe on March 31, 2005, an illegal "9.45" order was issued against the Plaintiff on August 22, 2001, to intimidate and deter the Plaintiff from giving further evidence of corruption in the Rensselaer County Department of Health in a court of law!

Before the Federal District Court in support of a Motion for Injunctive Relief against the State of New York, the County of Rensselaer and the Town of Poestenkill in this matter was a July 13, 2004 letter from Rensselaer County Criminal Court Justice Patrick J. McGrath, wherein Justice McGrath, the chief criminal court judge in the County of Rensselaer, informed Federal Court Justice Sharpe that he, McGrath, had reviewed the evidence in the case as Rensselaer County's chief criminal court justice, and that he was concerned because that evidence supported a conclusion of violation of federal and state criminal codes, in addition to the civil charges contained in the Complaint in the matter.

Among the evidence which Judge McGrath relied upon in forming his conclusion of violation of federal and state criminal codes was a graphic video tape wherein one of the defendants can be seen physically assaulting and threatening the Plaintiff, and causing him bodily harm, to deter him from performing the duties of a licensed professional engineer in the State of New York, and a March 16, 1989 Report of the Federal Bureau of Investigation which is at the very heart of this matter of OUR right to dissent, and to petition for redress of grievance, which apparently has just been stripped from us common citizens in the Northern District of New York by Bush-appointee Sharpe on March 31, 2005.

In that March 16, 1989 Report of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which was before Judge Sharpe in the Plaintiff's Motion for Injunctive Relief as Exhibit J, a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, based upon a review of substantial evidence, concluded:

"According to [name deleted], the results of the State's investigation were that New York State laws were not being followed by the Rensselaer County Health Department, Rensselaer County laws were not being followed by the Rensselaer County Health Department, and there was very little 'enforcement activity' even in the face of illegal sales."

"According to [name deleted], the object of any county health department (in the state of New York) is to protect the public, and not to facilitate developers, or development."

"In the case of Rensselaer County, it appears that the Rensselaer County Health Department was in business to facilitate developers and development rather than to protect the public!"

Good morning, Salute_Liberty!

Thank you for commenting.

The problem, here, and why I am bothering to take this time to run this thread, is that the average American, more and more, and especially by this particular case, is being marginalized, to the point of not having protection of law, or the hope of due process!

And that is a very dangerous scenario, indeed!

To us in this small area of the United States up here who are witnesses to this on-going situation, involving OUR collective rights to equal protection of the law, this incident has been dubbed OUR Krystallnact, where on 8-22-01, OUR rights were smashed into the ground, with impunity by the perpetrators, which was, what is alleged to be OUR own government.

What is alleged to be OUR government took OUR representative and attacked him in plain sight in broad daylight, for all to see, on videotape, and it has then held that over OUR heads as a threat since!

"SEE WHAT WE CAN DO!"

"WHO WANTS TO BE NEXT?"

OUR only hope from that time to this was in the Federal Courts, and that hope had a basis, in that Federal Law makes it clear that what occurred here in the Town of Poestenkill, in the County of Rensselaer, in the State of New York is blatantly illegal, which is consistent with the opinion rendered by Rensselaer County Criminal Court Justice McGrath!

Further, the original Federal Judge assigned to the case, Judge Hurd, had just ruled in 2002, in a very similar case in the Northern District of New York, where we are located, that this set of circumstances constituted violations of federal law.

That case was Ruhlmann v. Ulster County Dept. of Social Services et al., 234 F.Supp.2d 140 (NDNY 2002), where at 169, Judge Hurd stated as follows:

"It would be nonsensical, for example, for a doctor who has had no contact whatsoever with a person to have the authority to have that person locked up!"

Where that is exactly what happened in this case, our collective hopes were high that Rensselaer County would be delivered a similar stern message from the Federal Court, and so we would all collectively benefit by the scrutiny of the Federal Courts being focused on Rensselaer County, as it had been on Ulster County's practices by Judge Hurd.

Then, to OUR shock and dismay, the Chief Judge up here took the case away from Judge Hurd, and gave it over to this Judge Sharpe, who had just been appointed to the Federal bench by George W. Bush as one of his CONSERVATIVE judges, which did not at all bode well for us, AS THE PERPETRATORS in this case are REPUBLICANS.

Our fears were realized on March 31, 2005, with the Decision that came down from the Judge Sharpe, as it completely reverses the law as it had been stated by Judge Hurd, and it puts the imprimatur of the Federal Courts on this tactic of the State being able to destroy witnesses against it by the use of this expedient method of the "PSYCHIATRIC TAKEDOWN", where the state can simply now, with the apparent blessing of Judge Scullin, the Chief Judge up here, have one of its pet doctors, SIGHT UNSEEN, and contrary to Judge Hurd's ruling, ORDER an expert witness to be locked up in a secure mental health facility, WITH NO RECOURSE TO THE LAW!

Rhetorically speaking, who is going to chance that fate to defend the rights of a bunch of citizens without money or clout?

And there IS where we are!

Out in the cold by the side of the road, and running out of hope in the goodness of anything here in America anymore, and especially not its Federal Court system up here in the Northern District of New York, which may be on its way to being OUR GULAG ARCHIPELAGO, thanks to this very chilling ruling that does not bode well at all for OUR futures here in the alleged corrupt EMPIRE STATE of New York!

On or about August 14, 2004, the contents of the letter to Judge Walter were formalized in an AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF INJUNCTIVE RELIEF PURSUANT TO FED.R.CIV.P. 65, and that motion, with NOTICE was formally served on Eliot Spitzer and ALL other parties, in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, in relevant part, as follows:

PLAINTIFF NYSPE, being duly sworn, deposes and says that the following statements are true:

4. Annexed hereto as Exhibit A and made a part hereof is a July 9, 2004 letter from PLAINTIFF pro se to Rensselaer County Court Judge Patrick J. McGrath complaining of continued intimidation and threats of violence and bodily harm to myself made by defendant Jeffrey Pelletier on July 9, 2004 in connection with this above matter. (See, Amended Complaint, paras. 5-15)

5. Annexed hereto as Exhibit B and made a part hereof is a July 13, 2004 letter to PLAINTIFF from Judge McGrath wherein Judge McGrath states in relevant part as follows:

"This will acknowledge the court's receipt of your letter dated July 9, 2004, and the attachments thereto, all of which I have reviewed."

"Needless to say, your allegations are disturbing, especially as they encompass potential federal, as well as state, criminal charges, in that they include, among others, an allegation of false imprisonment in a federal facility, Stratton VA Medical Center."

6. Thus is formed a basis to believe that plaintiff was harmed in the State of New York by the actions of the defendants on and after August 7, 2001. (See, Amended Complaint, paras. 6-30)

DATED: August 13, 2004
Poestenkill, N.Y.

signed: PLAINTIFF Pro Se

DO WE HAVE SOME SOME BACKLASH HERE AGAINST RENSSELAER COUNTY CRIMINAL COURT JUDGE PATRICK McGRATH BECAUSE HE CHOSE TO STAND UP FOR THE LAW, AND THE PLAINTIFF'S RIGHTS IN THIS MATTER, WHICH THREATENS CONTINUING CORRUPTION IN RENSSELAER COUNTY?

"Carpinello wants second term as state justice"

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 1:25 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, 2008

TROY -- State Supreme Court Justice Anthony J. Carpinello today announced plans to seek a second 14-year term on the bench, declaring his candidacy with supportive Rensselaer County Republicans surrounding him on the county courthouse steps.

Albany County Conservative Party Chairman Richard Stack was also there to deliver his party's endorsement of Carpinello.

"If it ain't broke why fix it," Stack said.

"We endorsed him because he has experience and integrity and has done an outstanding job."

Stack said Rensselaer County Judge Patrick McGrath interviewed for the post with the Albany County Conservatives, but the party decided to back Carpinello.

Democrats have yet to endorse any candidates and McGrath could not be reached for comment.

Last year, both the GOP and Democrats cross endorsed state Supreme Court Justices Joseph C. Teresi of Albany County, George B. Ceresia of Rensselaer County and Christopher E. Cahill of Ulster County.

In return for endorsing the Democrats, GOP leaders expected that the Democrats would back Carpinello this year.

Carpinello, a Republican, has an assignment to the Appellate Division but must run for his Supreme Court seat to retain the former appointment.

"My commitment to public service began 34 years ago when I ran for the East Greenbush town board," Carpinello told the crowd of supporters.

"Nixon had just resigned and the county Republican head at the time would not even accompany me on door-to-door campaigning so I pledged I would knock on every door in town and I did and won."

Carpinello has a bigger task before him in this election.

He serves in the Third Judicial District which covers the counties of Albany, Rensselaer, Ulster, Columbia, Greene, Schoharie and Sullivan counties.

"For 13 years of the term the law says that I can have nothing to do with politics and then for a short time they tell me I can go out and campaign and meet 550,000 people," Carpinello said.

Carpinello's wife Sharon Carpinello stood by him during his announcement.

Also at his side was his mother, Jennie Carpinello.

Carpinello served on the East Greenbush town board from 1975 to 1981, as a Rensselaer County legislator from 1982 to 1989 and East Greenbush town justice from 1993 to 1994.

[Livyjr]

WE HAVE NO STATE MONEY UP HERE FOR ESSENTIAL SERVICES ....

BUT ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD FOR "SPECIAL INTERESTS" ....

And so ...

"Grant recipient alleged to be a cult - Aesthetic Realism Foundation to receive $4,000 in state budget"

By JAMES M. ODATO, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Monday, April 21, 2008

ALBANY -- Assemblyman Felix Ortiz has set up a $4,000 member item for a SoHo organization that says it has the answer to finding happiness, but which former members say is a cult.

Rich A. Ross, who tracks cults for a living, backs Bluejay's assessment and said public funds should not be used for a group with such a narrow agenda.

"It's a very specific philosophy," Ross said.

"Why would taxpayer money be used to fund that?"

Ortiz said the foundation asked other lawmakers for funding.

It did not approach its own Assembly member, Deborah Glick, an openly gay Democrat.

She said she would have denied the request.

"Not now, not ever," she said.

"Paterson: New York has to cut spending, or else - Gov. Paterson directs key staff to develop ways to cut spending, rethink STAR tax breaks"

By JOHN KEKIS, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:12 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, 2008

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Gov. David Paterson, who aims to cut the next state budget by up to 10 percent, said Tuesday that the Division of the Budget and key members of his staff will begin work on proposals to reduce future state spending.

Paterson also said he intends to take a close look at the STAR property tax relief program in the next couple of months.

STAR sends about $5 billion a year in state funds that are supposed to reduce property taxes, but Paterson has noted that most school property tax bills continue to rise faster than inflation.

"I don't know of any changes that I can tell you that I want to make to STAR," Paterson said.

"I just know that when we put STAR in, property taxes went up 7 percent for five straight years."

"Our response as a government is to create more STAR."

To avoid the usual Albany ploy of limiting only the budget's rate of increase, Paterson's internal working group -- including Budget Director Laura Anglin, deputy director Kristen Proud, senior adviser William Cunningham and other senior staff members -- will develop recommendations for actual cuts.

They will report back to Paterson before the end of the legislative session.

Earlier this week, Paterson directed department heads to cut costs and restrict hiring.

"The economic forecast is grim."

"We as a government have to tighten our belts and respond to the crisis that's going on," Paterson said in his keynote address to the Metropolitan Development Association, a central New York business group.

"We've got to put a stop to this spending spree that's out of control, that comes from that planet called Albany."

"We can succeed."

"It can be done through a collaborative effort."

Areas the group will focus on include: state agency expenditures on equipment, services, staffing and contracting levels; spending by public authorities; capital projects not needed to protect the public's health and safety; programs funded by dedicated fees and fines that do not provide critical services; and discretionary local grants that may be more appropriately financed at the local level or privately, or not at all.

The analysis will focus on state operating funds, which Paterson called the most accurate measure of state spending.

Once the study is complete, the administration will seek comment from groups that have been pushing for reforms in the budget process.

"This process will not be easy, but we must be realistic about where the economy is going and how New York can plan appropriately," Paterson said.

In 2007, former Gov. Eliot Spitzer and the Legislature provided a historic $1.3 billion increase in the STAR tax relief program for property owners.

Yet school taxes still increased around the five-year average of 7 percent.

Before he resigned last month, Spitzer created a bipartisan commission with investigative and subpoena powers to back up recommendations for a tax cap that he championed.

The commission will also reconsider the state's own unfunded mandates on schools and municipalities and recommend ways to cut waste in education without hurting instruction, as well as how to direct tax breaks more to middle class families.

The commission, headed by Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, is due to release its report in the coming week.

[Livyjr]

"Paterson: New York has to cut spending, or else - Gov. Paterson directs key staff to develop ways to cut spending, rethink STAR tax breaks"

By JOHN KEKIS, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:12 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, 2008

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Gov. David Paterson, who aims to cut the next state budget by up to 10 percent, said Tuesday that the Division of the Budget and key members of his staff will begin work on proposals to reduce future state spending.

"The economic forecast is grim."

"We as a government have to tighten our belts and respond to the crisis that's going on," Paterson said in his keynote address to the Metropolitan Development Association, a central New York business group.

"We've got to put a stop to this spending spree that's out of control, that comes from that planet called Albany."

2004

Albany, New York Times Union

"Someone with access to a lawyer can win by making it impossible for the other partner to be in the game,"' Albany Law School professor Laurie Shanks said.

It's a process set up by lawyers for lawyers, she said.

"I WOULD NOT GO TO COURT WITHOUT A LAWYER," added state Deputy Administrative Judge Juanita Bing Newton, who heads up Justice Initiatives for the Unified Court System.

"AND I AM CERTAINLY NOT AN ADVOCATE OF PEOPLE REPRESENTING THEMSELVES."

AND AS NEW YORK STATE ALREADY IS INFESTED WITH A PLAGUE OF PARASITIC LAWYERS ....

LIKE RATS INFESTING A FARMER'S CORN CRIB ...

A PLAGUE THAT HAS MADE OUR STATE CONSTITUTION AND LAWS UP HERE INTO A STANDING JOKE, OR HOLLOW MOCKERY ...

AN INFESTATION THAT HAS SERVED TO STRIP US UP HERE OF OUR RIGHTS UNDER THE NYS BILL OF RIGHTS ...

SO THAT TO HAVE "RIGHTS" IN THIS CORRUPT ****HOLE, WE HAVE TO BUY THEM BACK FROM THESE PARASITIC LAWYERS WHO HOLD THEM HOSTAGE ....

WE HAVE ...

"Dean of only state-run law school objects to adding more in New York, cites 'glut'"

By CHRIS CAROLA, Associated Press

Last updated: 3:12 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, 2008

ALBANY -- With nearly 150,000 lawyers living and working in the state, a strong case could be made that the legal profession is well represented in New York.

Even with all those lawyers -- more than any other state -- some New York officials are pushing for creating new law schools.

But the head of the State University of New York's only law school isn't among them.

"There's no question that we simply have a glut of law schools," said Makau Mutua, interim dean of the University at Buffalo Law School.

"There's no shortage of access to legal education for New Yorkers who want to go to law school."

The state budget passed by the Legislature earlier this month includes more than $50 million for developing law schools in the Rochester and Binghamton areas and on Long Island.

The Rochester school would be affiliated with St. John Fisher College, a private school in suburban Pittsford, while the SUNY system's Binghamton and Stony Brook universities would get their own law schools.

More than $2 million would help pay for Fisher to study creation of a law school.

The rest of the funding is for the two SUNY schools, with the lion's share going to Stony Brook, including $250,000 for a feasibility study and $45 million for building the law school.

Creation of any new law schools is subject to approval by the SUNY administration, its board of trustees, the state Education Department, the state Board of Regents and the governor, said SUNY spokesman Dave Henahan.

"The SUNY system administration will assist in the process," he said.

There are 15 law schools in New York, 13 of them private.

UB's law school and the City University of New York School of Law in Queens are the only public schools in the state.

Mutua said the state hasn't done enough to support UB's law school and doesn't need to spend taxpayer dollars studying whether to establish more state-run law schools, let alone one that would be affiliated with a private college.

"It's mind-boggling for the state to contemplate giving money to start up a private law school," said Mutua, a UB law faculty member for nearly a dozen years before being named interim dean in December.

The state would be better off investing in UB to hire more faculty and recruit students for its law school, where about 800 students must share a 35-year-old building with undergraduates, Mutua said.

"We need a completely new building," he said.

"We're squeezed for space."

Building more law schools isn't on the New York State Bar Association's to-do list.

A spokeswoman for the organization said its legal education and admission committee hasn't been called on to study whether New York needs more law schools.

"I have no idea why the state would consider three more law schools," said Thomas Guernsey, dean of Albany Law School.

"There's no evidence in the job market that we need more than those 15 schools."

The state Labor Department projects that jobs for lawyers will increase by about 9,200 by 2014.

The bar association reports that about 7,700 people passed the New York bar exam in July 2007.

With several thousand people passing the exam each year, there's no shortage of lawyers, Guernsey said.

According to the American Bar Association's latest figures, there were more than 147,000 attorneys living and working in New York state in 2007.

Some 80,000 others live out of state but are registered to practice in New York, according to the state Office of Court Administration.

California had the second-most resident lawyers with more than 145,000, according to the ABA.

A state lawmaker who pushed for the St. John Fisher funding in the state budget says a law school, if located in downtown Rochester, would give the city a much-needed economic boost.

"This is really about improving regionalism and improving Rochester's academic landscape and career opportunities," said state Senator Joseph Robach, a Republican from suburban Greece.

Robach envisions a Rochester law school that would primarily attract local college graduates seeking affordable legal education closer to home.

As for using state money to fund a study for a private college, Robach -- a graduate of Brockport State College -- said that's a "small sliver of money" compared to the "hundreds of millions of dollars" UB has received over the years.

Officials at SUNY-Binghamton didn't return a call seeking comment, but a Web site set up by the university says another public law school in New York state "will provide greater access to high-quality, affordable education."

------

On the Net:

Binghamton University: http://think.binghamton.edu/lawschool.cgi

[Livyjr]

AND SPEAKING ABOUT "TRUTH IN ADVERTISING", ALRIGHT ...

"Poll: NY has most bleak outlook in two years - Siena College poll finds New Yorkers pessimistic about nation's future"

Associated Press

Last updated: 5:32 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, 2008

ALBANY -- A new poll finds New Yorkers have the bleakest outlook in two years for their state and nation.

The Siena College poll finds that 72 percent of New Yorkers think the country is headed in the wrong direction.

Forty-eight percent think New York is headed in the wrong direction, too.

Siena Research Institute spokesman Steven Greenberg says this is the worst outlook in two years of polling.

In a state where Democrats strongly outnumber Republicans, New York is even showing a close race between New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, the Arizona senator.

The poll still finds New York would go for Clinton or Illinois Sen. Barack Obama before the Republican.

[Livyjr]

"Knapp attorney gets adviser role - 'Serpico' case resulted in shake-up; too soon to tell in trooper probe"

By RICK KARLIN, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, April 10, 2008

ALBANY -- It's too early to say whether Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's recently-launched probe of possible political meddling by the State Police will resemble the Knapp Commission, said Michael Armstrong, the veteran prosecutor who served on the 1970s-era panel that uncovered corruption in the New York City Police Department.

"It really depends on what we find," said Armstrong, who, along with fellow-lawyer Robert Fiske, was named by Cuomo on Wednesday as a volunteer adviser on the State Police probe.

Last week, Gov. David Paterson asked Cuomo to investigate whether members of the State Police have been involved in political interference.

"Cuomo picks lawyer to head NY trooper investigation"

Associated Press

Last updated: 4:12 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, 2008

ALBANY -- Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says he's appointed an attorney to head an investigation into whether state troopers have allowed politics to interfere with their work.

Manhattan attorney Sharon McCarthy will act as special counsel for the case.

Gov. David Paterson asked Cuomo to pursue the investigation after an Albany prosecutor issued a report that former Gov. Eliot Spitzer may have lied when he told investigators he wasn't involved in a plot against a Republican rival.

State police are accused of re-creating Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's travel records to embarrass him.

Spitzer resigned after being connected to a prostitution ring.

McCarthy worked in the U.S. Attorney's office for more than 12 years.

[Livyjr]

"Paterson: New York has to cut spending, or else - Gov. Paterson directs key staff to develop ways to cut spending, rethink STAR tax breaks"

By JOHN KEKIS, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:12 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, 2008

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Gov. David Paterson, who aims to cut the next state budget by up to 10 percent, said Tuesday that the Division of the Budget and key members of his staff will begin work on proposals to reduce future state spending.

Earlier this week, Paterson directed department heads to cut costs and restrict hiring.

"The economic forecast is grim."

"Sharp drop in sales of houses in northern NYC suburbs"

Associated Press

Last updated: 12:32 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, 2008

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- A real estate agents' group says the number of homes sold in Westchester County this winter is down 30 percent from a year ago.

The Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service says the drop is the steepest in at least 28 years.

However, the decline in sales has not resulted in a glut on the market.

Inventory is 14 percent below last year's first quarter.

And the median price of a single-family home has fallen just 2 percent to $622,500.

In Putnam County, the median price is down 3 percent to $386,500 and sales have fallen 9 percent.

The Greater Hudson Valley Multiple Listing service reported earlier this month that Rockland County houses are selling for a median price of $455,000, down 5 percent.

It says the number of sales have fallen by a third.

[Livyjr]

Here is what we have been waiting for, of course ....

Among a few other issues that are also related to this thing of the "PORK" in New York ....

And multi-million dollar SLUSH FUNDS, of course .......

For the politicians to use for their own purposes ...

And this is in large part why this thread is running ....

To track this issue .....

As it develops further ....

And so ...

Without further ado ...

"Pork adorns new budget - Even before agreements are reached on member-item grants, Gov. Spitzer's proposed 2007-08 spending plan includes billions of dollars for unspecified projects"

By JAMES M. ODATO, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Friday, February 2, 2007

ALBANY -- Despite his pledge to change the way things are done in Albany, Gov. Eliot Spitzer's budget plan includes billions of dollars in lump sums without saying what the money will being used for, including $600 million in two newly created pots.

Most of the money is from previous deals negotiated by Gov. George Pataki and the Legislature and popularly known as "super pork."

The three top state leaders -- Pataki, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, and Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, R-Brunswick -- carved the money up under a private agreement, or memorandum of understanding."

They never listed the uses in the budget.

"We noted that even in budget reform, we weren't going back and changing the agreements that had been done in the past, only working on the ones going forward," said Jeffrey Gordon, a spokesman for the Division of the Budget.

The money is in addition to the traditional member-item grant funds that typically total $200 million a year and go unitemized.

The billions of dollars in Spitzer's budget for unspecified economic development projects represent money reappropriated for pork programs developed since about 1997 under Pataki, said Jeffrey Gordon, a spokesman for the Division of Budget.

Most, if not all of the funds have been committed, for things such as fixing up the Buffalo Bills football stadium in Orchard Park.

However, even though the information exists to itemize the funds, Spitzer's budget does not include the details.

In setting up two $300 million new pots, Spitzer did not subject the funds to the traditional memorandum-of-understanding process.

But as with the previous pork funds, Spitzer does not say who is getting the money.

ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION - Capitol confidential

“'Timely' But Via A 'Flawed' Process"

April 1, 2007 at 12:46 pm by Elizabeth Benjamin

That is the verdict on this budget from Gov. Eliot Spitzer and LG David Paterson, who put out a formal statement after the Senate and Assembly finished passing all the bills and high-tailed it out of town for a two-week vacation.

Spitzer and Paterson declared themselves ”pleased that lawmakers approved a timely budget that addresses virtually all of our top priorities this year.”

They also acknowledged that the budget process was “flawed,” which is an all-purpose phrase for “secretive” and “rushed,” or any other of the several dozen negative adjectives that have been used by editorial pages and good government groups to describe this budget battle.

Spitzer and Paterson said the administration will be able to “start the process sooner” next year,” providing “the time to seek greater input from lawmaker and the public.”

“We are pleased that lawmakers approved a timely budget that addresses virtually all of our top priorities this year.”

“This budget is very good for the State of New York."

"Paterson: New York has to cut spending, or else - Gov. Paterson directs key staff to develop ways to cut spending, rethink STAR tax breaks"

By JOHN KEKIS, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:12 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, 2008

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Gov. David Paterson, who aims to cut the next state budget by up to 10 percent, said Tuesday that the Division of the Budget and key members of his staff will begin work on proposals to reduce future state spending.

To avoid the usual Albany ploy of limiting only the budget's rate of increase, Paterson's internal working group -- including Budget Director Laura Anglin, deputy director Kristen Proud, senior adviser William Cunningham and other senior staff members -- will develop recommendations for actual cuts.

Earlier this week, Paterson directed department heads to cut costs and restrict hiring.

"The economic forecast is grim."

"We as a government have to tighten our belts and respond to the crisis that's going on," Paterson said in his keynote address to the Metropolitan Development Association, a central New York business group.

"We've got to put a stop to this spending spree that's out of control, that comes from that planet called Albany."

"We can succeed."

"It can be done through a collaborative effort."

Areas the group will focus on include: state agency expenditures on equipment, services, staffing and contracting levels; spending by public authorities; capital projects not needed to protect the public's health and safety; programs funded by dedicated fees and fines that do not provide critical services; and discretionary local grants that may be more appropriately financed at the local level or privately, or not at all.

The analysis will focus on state operating funds, which Paterson called the most accurate measure of state spending.

How very disingenuous David Paterson is ....

And how very stupid he must think we are ....

No money for essential government services ....

BUT ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD FOR "PORK" ...

And so ...

"$340M exempted as state seeks cash - Unspent money for lawmakers' pet projects shielded from seizure"

By JAMES M. ODATO, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, April 23, 2008

ALBANY -- New York's lawmakers are sitting on a stash of $340 million in unspent discretionary funds, but the Paterson administration can't touch the money as it searches for extra cash.

The pool of member item money, appropriated in past years for pet projects of the 212 lawmakers, is almost twice as big as the state's $175 million emergency "rainy day fund."

But even if Gov. David Paterson depletes that fund in emergencies, such as an unexpected revenue shortfall, the Legislature's unused member item funds are off limits.

The 2008-09 budget legislation gave the Division of the Budget authorization to "sweep" up to $150 million from surplus accounts.

But the budget language specifically exempted member item funds, commonly known as pork.

Paterson, worried about a further slowdown in the economy and possible midyear cash shortages, has been looking for ways to cut costs.

This week, he called on state agencies to tighten their belts and fill only "essential" vacant jobs.

He also assembled a group of staffers to develop plans to slow spending growth, and told them to consider unnecessary discretionary spending and projects that don't serve statewide purposes.

But the Legislature's discretionary funds are currently safe.

Also protected now are three other potential sources of money that the Legislature and Paterson agreed to exclude from sweeps: capital funds, the bigger grants used by lawmakers and the governor that are supposed to spur economic development; debt service money, which funds some of the capital pork; and federal funds.

The comptroller's office said the state has accumulated $33 billion in unspent capital funds.

This year's budget is filled with scores of member items, and the list is still incomplete.

The spending itemized so far ranges from $75,000 to the Asian American and Asian Research Center to $2,000 to Zen Masters Inc.

Also disclosed are grants to Little Leagues, fire departments, animal adoption programs, religious charities, theater groups, schools and arts councils.

Surpluses pile up over the years for various reasons.

Sometimes recipients don't fill out the forms or enter into contracts to get the cash, lawmakers say.

Others draw down slowly from accounts as they are reimbursed.

Scott Reif, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, said the fund balance represents money "contractually committed," but it takes about two years on average for a grant to get paid out.

Jeffrey Gordon, a spokesman for the budget division, said the $340 million is already spoken for even if the full list of projects is still being developed for this year.

Of the funds, $30 million is for Paterson; he has not yet submitted his project list.

Some of the surplus dates back several years and includes $86 million unspent by the Senate Republicans, $163.3 million unspent by Assembly Democrats and $80 million unspent by former Gov. George Pataki, comptroller's office records said.

The money comes from $200 million annually inserted in the budget for member items -- $85 million for each chamber and $30 million for the governor.

Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer did not reserve such funds for himself.

This year, the budget does not include new funds for member items, because the accumulations are supposed to cover any needs.

Russ Haven, counsel for New York Public Interest Research Group, said some of the unspent money is likely attributable to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's new certification program.

Legislative aides say the central staffs of the Assembly are scrutinizing the proposals closer as well, which delays payments.

Under the Cuomo initiative, begun in 2007, the attorney general's staff added new oversight to insure the money goes only to groups that have no conflicts with lawmakers, and that it is used for a public purpose.

Haven said some of the grants may not survive the Cuomo reviews.

Cuomo's office did not have a response.

"Many of the things that are funded by member items are very worthwhile and in some cases essential to communities," Haven said.

"But the process is so bad there's no way for the public to feel it's been vetted on a merit basis."

Assemblyman Robert Reilly, D-Colonie, said he doesn't like the practice of sweeping unused accumulations in funds "but if member items lapsed two years or so, then that money should be swept."

He said it takes about six months for the items to move to recipients.

Paterson said he wants to cut the state's operating expenses -- excluding Medicaid, education aid and entitlement programs -- $37 billion in this year's budget, by up to 10 percent next year.

James M. Odato can be reached at 454-5083 or by e-mail at jodato@timesunion.com.

This post has been edited by Livyjr: Apr 24 2008, 03:39 PM

[Livyjr]

"Ex-prosecutor to lead trooper probe - Cuomo hires veteran of U.S. Attorney's office to investigate political interference reports"

By RICK KARLIN, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times union

First published: Wednesday, April 23, 2008

ALBANY -- Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has hired a veteran federal prosecutor to head his investigation into whether state troopers have engaged in political interference with lawmakers.

Sharon McCarthy, who will serve as special counsel, was most recently a partner at Kostelanetz & Fink, a New York City firm that specializes, among other areas, in white-collar criminal and tax fraud defense.

Previously, she spent more than a dozen years in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where she was deputy chief of the Criminal Division under U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White.

She also headed the Violent Crimes Unit under U.S. Attorney James Comey.

McCarthy led the prosecution against 20 New York City property tax assessors involved in a 35-year-long bribery scheme.

Defendants in that case had to pay New York City $160 million in restitution.

Gov. David Paterson asked Cuomo to pursue the State Police investigation after Albany County District Attorney David Soares issued a report concluding that former Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer may have lied when he told investigators he wasn't involved in a plot against Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno.

Paterson, a former Senate Democratic minority leader, had also said he's heard from lawmakers who believe members of the State Police may have acted against them.

McCarthy will work solely on the State Police investigation, said Ben Lawsky, Cuomo's special assistant and deputy counselor.

"This will be all she's about," said Lawsky, describing her as nonpartisan.

While in the U.S. attorney's office, she worked under both White, an appointee of the Democratic Clinton administration, and Comey, who was appointed under the Republican Bush administration.

[Livyjr]

"Paterson issues his first veto to save tax dollars on police spending"

Associated Press

Last updated: 6:02 p.m., Wednesday, April 23, 2008

ALBANY -- Gov. David Paterson is vetoing a bill that would require small governments around the state with at least 15 part-time police officers to maintain a full-time police chief.

Without any plan for funding the full-time positions, Paterson says the bill could force municipalities to increase taxes.

Currently, state law requires that a political subdivision with a population of 150,000 or less and at least four full-time police officers must have a part-time police chief.

The rejection of the bill comes the same week that Paterson issued a hiring freeze to address the sputtering economy at a state level.

It's Paterson's first veto.

[Livyjr]

"Sharp drop in sales of houses in northern NYC suburbs"

Associated Press

Last updated: 12:32 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, 2008

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- A real estate agents' group says the number of homes sold in Westchester County this winter is down 30 percent from a year ago.

The Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service says the drop is the steepest in at least 28 years.

In Putnam County, the median price is down 3 percent to $386,500 and sales have fallen 9 percent.

The Greater Hudson Valley Multiple Listing service reported earlier this month that Rockland County houses are selling for a median price of $455,000, down 5 percent.

It says the number of sales have fallen by a third.

"Housing market bucks the trend - Capital Region shows stability as median sale prices climb despite drop in number of homes sold"

By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Median sale prices on single-family homes in the Capital Region rose during the first three months of the year, defying expectations and national trends.

The price jump came despite a dramatic fall in the number of homes sold in the quarter, according to numbers released Tuesday by the Greater Capital Association of Realtors Inc.

In Albany County, for example, the median price of $199,600 in the first quarter was 5 percent higher than last year.

The number of closed sales, meanwhile, sank by 28 percent.

In Saratoga County, the median price of $254,300 was 2 percent higher than last year, while the number of closed sales dropped by 25 percent.

An analysis of recent property sales in the city of Albany, where officials last year completed a reassessment of property values, helps show the continued rise in housing costs.

City officials said the reassessment for taxation purposes was necessary because housing prices had climbed.

It brought complaints from homeowners who said the city made the move at the height of a real estate bubble and therefore overestimated values.

Yet the majority of homes in Albany are selling at prices above the reassessed value.

A Dartmouth Street house, for example, sold in February for $167,000, while its assessed value was $145,400.

Likewise, a house on Brookline Avenue was assessed at $319,400 but sold for $399,000, according to the Albany County clerk's office.

Government assessors generally base their appraisals on market values and the sale prices of nearby homes.

Still, using assessed values to measure actual price appreciation is inexact.

"Assessments and market prices are prepared for different parties for different reasons at different times," said Eric Dahl, managing partner at the nonprofit Community Realty in Albany.

"The assessor's not buying the house."

Still, Dahl sees solidity in the Capital Region real estate market.

"People like to see things as getting hot or getting cold," he said.

"But what we really have is just a good stable situation."

That is in contrast with much of the country, where home prices have been falling.

On Tuesday, the National Association of Realtors said the median price of existing homes fell in March to $200,700, a decline of 7.7 percent from the price a year ago.

Meanwhile, Robert Shiller, an influential economist at Yale University, on Tuesday said it is likely housing prices nationwide will fall further than the 30 percent drop during the Great Depression.

Home prices nationally already have dropped 15 percent since their peak in 2006, he said.

Some Realtors here worry this region will also see value declines if the number of homes sold continues to drop.

For some, it's a mystery that prices haven't already fallen.

But Dahl and others say the number of homes for sale has shrunk as sellers wait for a stronger market, tightening supply as demand falls.

Other observers say lower-income buyers are having trouble getting credit in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis.

That means inexpensive homes aren't selling, elevating the median price.

The median price is the halfway point -- with half the homes selling for less than the number and half selling for more.

Bob Blackman, vice president at RealtyUSA, a commercial and residential real estate firm in Clifton Park, said many local agents feel the worst of the real estate slump has passed, despite the pessimism of Shiller and other national observers.

"It is a down market," Blackman said.

"But houses that are in popular areas and are priced well are in high demand and selling quickly."

Chris Churchill can be reached at 454-5442 or by e-mail at cchurchill@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

"Lawyers' role in question - Ex-law firm employees tell state officials they did school contract work that attorneys claimed for pension credit"

By RICK KARLIN, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, April 24, 2008

ALBANY -- Former employees of an Albany law firm that is under state scrutiny say they long questioned why some partners were listed as public employees rather than independent contractors who would be ineligible for a state pension.

At least one former employee of Girvin & Ferlazzo has voiced those concerns in a letter to state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is investigating state pension credits for some lawyers working for school districts.

"I would do all the research."

"I would do all the writing and they would sign their name," said the former employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"I questioned the fact that they were calling themselves employees of the district," said another, who also did not want to be named.

He said underlings would do the bulk of the work involved in drawing up run-of-the-mill contracts for school districts that were members of the Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES in Johnstown.

The complaints provide an inside look into the seemingly mundane but lucrative business of handling legal affairs for public school districts, which over the years have paid millions of dollars to a few select law firms and their partners.

The money came from local property taxes and state reimbursements.

Some of the lawyers in the system are already collecting on those pensions.

One of Girvin & Ferlazzo's founders, for instance, E. Michael Ruberti, now lives out of state and has drawn a $50,577.98 annual pension since 1995, according to state Comptroller Office records.

Girvin & Ferlazzo provides legal services to dozens of school districts across the Capital Region and beyond.

The firm's relationship with Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES drew scrutiny from Cuomo and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli earlier this month when authorities learned that at least five partners of the firm were listed by BOCES as employees for the purposes of racking up state pension system credits.

DiNapoli last week removed four of the partners -- James Girvin, Kathy Ann Wolverton, Kristine Lanchantin and Jeffrey Honeywell -- from the state retirement system.

Another, Salvatore Ferlazzo, lost credits with the BOCES, but retained them through a previous state job.

Yanking the lawyers' pension credits marked the latest chapter in a burgeoning investigation by both DiNapoli and Cuomo that was kicked off last winter when the Long Island newspaper Newsday reported that a school lawyer there, Lawrence Reich, had been listed as an employee of five different school districts.

Since then, Reich's $62,000 pension has been revoked.

Cuomo and DiNapoli have said lawyers retained by school districts or BOCES on a contractual basis shouldn't be considered state employees and thus shouldn't earn pension benefits.

Additionally, Cuomo has subpoenaed numerous current and former lawyers at Girvin & Ferlazzo, according to the AG's office.

At least two more lawyers who used to belong to the firm, M. Cornelia Cahill and Maureen Harris, are having their pension credits scrutinized as well, according to sources familiar with the situation but who weren't authorized to give out such information.

Cahill, who is now with Hiscock & Barclay and is married to Court of Claims Presiding Judge Richard Sise, didn't return a call on Wednesday.

Harris, an ally of former Gov. George Pataki, now serves on the state Public Service Commission.

She couldn't be reached either.

But her lawyer, Michael Koenig, said Harris worked for Girvin & Ferlazzo for nine years and it was only in her last year that "she participated in a long-standing and accepted arrangement that existed at the firm for over 25 years."

Koenig added she is "fully cooperating," with the attorney general's office and "will take whatever steps are appropriate."

Cuomo and DiNapoli have stressed that pension credits should only go to people who meet commonly recognized criteria of what constitutes an employee, such as having a supervisor, a regular workplace and fixed hours.

None of those conditions applied to the law firm.

Girvin & Ferlazzo didn't respond to a call seeking comment.

But former employees of the firm said such criteria are well-known to attorneys.

One noted that many of the firm's new associates didn't complain, figuring they were gaining experience and would eventually move on or try to make partner.

New associates just out of law school earned less than $50,000 and put in 70-hour work weeks, while some partners sometimes made more than $700,000 annually, according to the former employees.

And while they didn't outright question the partners, some of the new hires wondered why some partners were earning pension credits for work that others were performing.

"They touted it all the time as a benefit they have because of a loophole," said one former associate.

Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES Superintendent Geoffrey Davis previously noted that several state agencies, including the Comptroller and Education Department, had for years approved of their pension credit arrangement.

'It's very confusing," he said of the pension laws.

Rick Karlin can be reached at 454-5758 or by e-mail at rkarlin@timesunion.com.

Irene Jay Liu contributed to this story.

[Livyjr]

"Consumers at heart of stimulus plan"

By CHRISTOPHER LEONARD, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:42 a.m., Saturday, January 26, 2008

ST. LOUIS -- The success of the federal $150 billion emergency economic stimulus plan will hinge on whether American consumers do what they do best -- spend, spend, spend.

The stimulus has been debated in Washington for more than a week as the economic outlook worsened, and now Americans are armed with specifics:

Individuals will get up to $600, working couples $1,200 and those with children $300 more per child.

President Bush and leaders in Congress hope people will spend those rebates -- a flat-screen television, maybe, or a trip to Disneyland -- to help revive an economy sagging from bad mortgage lending and a lack of confidence in the stock market.

"Bills leave consumers numb to 'stimulus' - Siena poll shows most federal rebate checks will go in bank or be used to pay bills"

By ERIC ANDERSON, Deputy business editor, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, April 24, 2008

COLONIE -- The idea was to stimulate the economy by giving low- and middle-income taxpayers a rebate check to spend.

But a survey this week by the Siena Research Institute in Loudonville found that just one in five taxpayers who say they will get a rebate check plan to spend it.

"While 73 percent of voters expect to get a federal rebate check, 49 percent of them intend to use the money to pay bills."

"Only 20 percent anticipate going shopping to buy something new," said Steven Greenberg, a spokesman for the Siena New York Poll.

"This windfall of cash for New Yorkers may not help the economy much since only a small minority plan on spending the money."

Ted Potrikus, executive vice president of the Retail Council of New York State Inc. in Albany, described the survey as "a snapshot of a moment in time," said consumers very well could change their minds about what they do with the money.

"We will know how people spend or don't spend those checks on the day they get them," he said Wednesday.

"People may have been sitting on their wallets for a long time, and here's some money."

The survey was conducted between April 13 and 16 by phone with 624 New Yorkers.

Young adults, those 18 to 34, were the most likely to save their rebate, at 41 percent, while blacks were least likely, at 17 percent.

Instead, they were the most likely to pay bills, at 71 percent.

Blacks also were the least likely to spend it.

Just 10 percent of respondent said they plan to do so.

Results are at http://www. siena.edu/sri.

[Livyjr]

"Intel lowers gross profit margin outlook"

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, Associated Press

Last updated: 10:22 p.m., Monday, March 3, 2008

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Intel Corp. lowered its profit forecast for its fiscal first quarter Monday, blaming the shortfall on a steeper-than-expected drop in prices for memory chips.

The Santa Clara-based company, the world's largest semiconductor maker, said slumping prices for a type of memory called NAND flash depressed profits more than anticipated.

NAND flash is commonly used in portable electronic devices like digital cameras and MP3 players.

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest manufacturer of memory chips, saw its profit sink more than 6 percent last year, dragged down by plunging prices for NAND flash chips and DRAM, or dynamic random access memory, the most common type of memory chip in personal computers.

Analysts are warning the pressure could continue into 2008 because of global economic uncertainty that is causing companies to clamp down on spending.

NAND flash makers are likely to look back "with nostalgia" on 2007, a year in which sales grew more than 12 percent to $13.9 billion, according to market research firm iSuppli Corp.

Last month the firm cut its 2008 forecast for NAND revenue growth from 27 percent to the single-digit range.

The move was triggered by iPod maker Apple Inc. apparently slashing its NAND order forecast, warning suppliers that it would likely buy fewer of the chips because of slowing growth in demand, according to iSuppli.

Intel is the fifth largest maker of NAND flash, behind Samsung, Toshiba Corp., Hynix Semiconductor Inc. and Micron Technology Inc., according to a ranking by iSuppli.

Intel has benefited from making a quicker transition to a new chip-making process than its smaller rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

The two compete primarily in the market for microprocessors.

AND AS I STRUGGLE TO GET CAUGHT UP AND KEEP UP WITH THE "SWIRL" OUT THERE IN WHAT IS CALLED THE "REAL WORLD" THAT AFFECTS HOW WE ALL MUST LIVE OUR LIVES RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE ...

"Toshiba's net profit plunges 95 percent as it withdraws from HD DVD"

Associated Press

Last updated: 7:02 a.m., Friday, April 25, 2008

TOKYO -- Japanese electronics maker Toshiba said Friday its net profit plummeted a staggering 95 percent in the January-March quarter due to losses related to its exit from the next-generation video HD DVD business.

Toshiba Corp.'s profit stood at 1.25 billion yen ($12 million), sharply down from 26.17 billion yen a year earlier.

"Our net profit sharply fell due to the end of HD DVD business," Toshiba spokeswoman Hiroko Mochida said, adding the one-time charge for pulling the plug on its HD DVD business cost about 48 billion yen ($461 million).

On top of that, the operation racked up a 60.2 billion yen ($580 million) operating loss for the fiscal year ended March 31, she said.

Toshiba announced the end of its HD DVD business in February.

The technology had been competing against Blu-ray disc technology, backed by Sony Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which makes Panasonic brand products, five major Hollywood movie studios and others.

Toshiba said a drop in flash memory chip prices also hurt its results.

Quarterly revenue fell 3 percent from a year earlier to 2.09 trillion yen (US $20 billion).

In the financial year through March, Toshiba's net profit declined 7 percent to 127.4 billion yen ($1.2 billion).

The earnings report came after the end of trading on the Tokyo stock exchange.

Shares in Toshiba fell 2 percent 848 yen ($8.15) on Friday.

[Livyjr]

"New home sales plunge to lowest level in 16 1/2 years, prices drop by largest amount in 38 years"

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, Associated Press

Last updated: 11:22 a.m., Thursday, April 24, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Sales of new homes plunged in March to the lowest level in 16 1/2 years as housing slumped further at the start of the spring sales season.

The median price of a new home in March, compared with a year ago, fell by the largest amount in nearly four decades.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that sales of new homes dropped by 8.5 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 526,000 units, the slowest sales pace since October 1991.

The median price of a home sold in March dropped by 13.3 percent compared with March 2007, the biggest year-over-year price decline since a 14.6 percent plunge in July 1970.

The Commerce Department said demand for durable goods dropped by 0.3 percent last month, a worse-than-expected performance that underscored the problems manufacturers are facing from a severe economic slowdown.

The last time orders fell for three consecutive months was from February to April of 2001, when the country was sliding into the last recession.

President Bush said Tuesday that the economy was not in a recession but a period of slower growth.

"Many states appear to be in recession; tax revenue is dropping and deficits are growing"

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS, Associated Press

Last updated: 6:12 a.m., Friday, April 25, 2008

The finances of many states have deteriorated so badly that they appear to be in a recession, regardless of whether that's true for the nation as a whole, a survey of all 50 state fiscal directors concludes.

The situation looks even worse for the fiscal year that begins July 1 in most states.

"Whether or not the national economy is in recession -- a subject of ongoing debate -- is almost beside the point for some states," said the report to be released Friday by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The weakening economy is hitting tax revenue in a number of ways: People's discretionary income is being gobbled up by higher food and fuel costs, while the tanking housing market means people are spending less on furniture and appliances associated with buying a house.

The situation is grim in Delaware, with a $69 million gap this year, and bleak in California, with a projected $16 billion budget shortfall over the next two years, the report said.

Florida does not expect a rapid turnaround in revenue because of the prolonged real estate slump there.

By mid-April, 16 states and Puerto Rico were reporting shortfalls in their current budgets as the revenue those budgets were built on -- typically, taxes --fell short of estimates.

That's double the number of states reporting a deficit six months ago.

The NCSL said the news is even worse for the upcoming fiscal year, with 23 states and Puerto Rico already reporting budget shortfalls totaling $26 billion.

More than two-thirds of states said they are concerned about next year's budgets.

The results are consistent with a drumbeat of bad economic news for states that several budget groups have produced in the past few months.

Last week, the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said 27 states are reporting projected budget shortfalls next year totaling at least $39 billion.

President Bush said Tuesday that the economy was not in a recession but a period of slower growth.

However, some economists have pointed to the string of declines in manufacturing orders to argue that the economy has fallen into a recession.

Bolstering their position, the Commerce Department reported Thursday that sales of new homes plunged in March to the lowest level in 16 1/2 years.

The government also reported that orders to factories for big-ticket goods fell for a third straight month in March, the longest string of declines since the 2001 recession.

Some states "have declined so much that they appear to be in a recession," the NCSL report said.

It also noted the silver lining for states where the economy is based on energy, such as North Dakota and Wyoming.

Alaska is making so much money from oil that it announced an estimated surplus next year of $8 billion, almost twice the state's annual budget.

In North Dakota, revenue is above legislative predictions by 13 percent, and in Louisiana, the oil and gas sector is robust.

"For energy-producing states, the fiscal situation is strong and the outlook is good," the report said.

Among other findings:

--More than half the 16 states reporting deficits this year have cut spending, including $1 billion by Florida lawmakers last year and across-the-board cuts in Nevada.

At least eight states are debating raising taxes or fees, including a proposed $1-per-pack cigarette tax increase in Massachusetts to raise $175 million.

--Twelve states, including Georgia, Idaho and Illinois, reported that personal income tax collections were failing to meet estimates, and in eight of these, collections were even below a reduced forecast.

--Many states, including Alabama, Arizona, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada and Wisconsin, plan to tap their rainy day funds, which contain money set aside for fiscal emergencies.

Nevada may use its entire rainy day balance.

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On the Net:

NCSL: http://www.ncsl.org