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

[Livyjr]

"Spitzer turns over records to ethics panel; GOP calls for probe"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 6:33 p.m., Monday, July 30, 2007

ALBANY -- Gov. Eliot Spitzer has turned over records to the state Ethics Commission that is investigating a plot by his aides to use state police against Republican Senate leader Joseph Bruno, but Republicans say an independent prosecutor without ties to the Democrat is needed.

"We're cooperating and voluntarily handing them over," said Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson.

The records were delivered Friday and are the same e-mails and other documents turned over to the Attorney General's and Inspector General's offices, she said.

They include e-mails involving Secretary to the Gov. Rich Baum, she said.

The Ethics Commission on Friday had asked Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to turn over the records he used in a report released a week ago on the scandal.

Cuomo's probe ended at two top aides: Communications Director Darren Dopp and William Howard, a deputy in the public safety department.

Spitzer and Baum have said they didn't know about the political plot.

Cuomo found Dopp and Howard used state police to compile travel records on days Bruno used state helicopters to fly to New York City to mix state business with Republican fundraisers, then released the records to a local newspaper.

"We believe that additional investigation is warranted to assure the public that you were not personally involved in the actions which the report criticizes nor did you know of those actions or direct the state police to act in an inappropriate manner, as you have stated publicly," Republican Sen. George Winner of Elmira said in a letter to Spitzer.

Winner said his Investigations Committee could also use subpoena power in the case, but is reluctant to get into a legal battle "over the constitutional issues which your office has indicated would be litigated if we proceed with an investigation."

In April, Spitzer appointed a new Ethics Commission chairman, John Feerick, who is the former dean of the Fordham Law School and had run a panel known as the Feerick Commission that led to the adoption of the 1987 Ethics in Government Act.

On Monday, however, the Senate's Republican majority questioned whether the Ethics Commission should handle the investigation.

The Republicans called for a special prosecutor, suggesting Cuomo.

They oppose using executive director, Herbert Teitelbaum, whose law firm has been a political contributor to Spitzer.

State records show the Bryan Cave law firm contributed about $100,000 to Spitzer's campaign for governor, including more than $10,000 in May, a month before the Teitelbaum was chosen to serve on the Ethics Commission.

"Dean Feerick has a reputation that speaks for itself and we trust completely their ability to appropriately determine whether further inquiry is needed beyond what the attorney general and inspector general did," Anderson said.

Spitzer also has an appointee on the Ethics Commission from when he was attorney general.

Two of the five members of the commission were appointed by former Republican Gov. George Pataki, and a third was appointed by Democratic Comptroller Alan Hevesi, who resigned in disgrace when he pleaded guilty to using a state employee as a driver for his wife.

Commission spokesman Walter Ayres had no immediate comment.

Spitzer has apologized, immediately suspended one aide without pay and transferred another out of the executive chamber, and promised to cooperate with the Ethics Commission probe.

He continues to say he knew nothing of the political plot.

"We made mistakes," Spitzer wrote in an opinion piece in The New York Times on Sunday.

"The message was simple: even though they didn't break the law, they forgot what we were about, and that won't be tolerated."

A new poll shows Spitzer is taking a hit for the scandal.

Monday's Siena College Research Institute poll found 46 percent rated Spitzer's job performance as excellent or good, compared to 48 percent who rated it fair or poor.

In June, 55 percent thought he was doing an excellent or good job, compared to 37 percent who considered it fair or poor.

Monday's results are the first in which more New Yorkers were critical of the job he was doing than approved, although the difference is within the poll's margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.

The poll also shows Spitzer is losing critical support in New York City.

"When you lose your base, the rest will follow and that creates real danger for the governor going forward," said Steven Greenberg of the Siena College Research Institute.

Siena's poll shows 59 percent of New Yorkers polled give Spitzer a favorable rating, down from 62 percent in June and 75 percent in January.

Asked to give a letter grade of Spitzer's success so far, voters gave a "C" to the Democrat who promised to transform Albany beginning on "Day One."

"The dip is understandable given the news coverage," said Anderson, Spitzer's spokeswoman.

A WNBC-Marist College poll released Friday found eight in 10 voters also think Spitzer should testify in any further investigation, although the governor still showed strong job approval ratings.

Half of those polled suspected Spitzer knows more about the political plot, despite his denials.

The Siena poll telephoned 620 registered voters July 24-28.

The New York Post reported Monday that two more top Spitzer aides -- policy director Peter Pope and Sean Patrick Maloney, deputy chief of staff -- were named special counsel to the two aides in the conspiracy.

That could mean that Pope and Maloney could refuse to testify despite any subpoena citing attorney-client privilege, the Post reported.

Anderson said Pope and Maloney were temporarily assigned to the counsel's office two weeks ago to help prepare statements, testimony and documents turned over to Cuomo because other office staff were already working to meet a deadline to review hundreds of bills passed at the end of the legislative session.

Although she at first said they weren't designated special counsel, she later corrected that.

She said they weren't involved or accused of being involved in the plot, she said.

Cuomo hadn't asked for them to testify, she said.

Jeffrey Lerner, a Cuomo spokesman, declined comment.

[Livyjr]

"IBM laying off 300 at Dutchess County operations"

Associated Press

Last updated: 3:43 p.m., Monday, July 30, 2007

EAST FISHKILL, N.Y. -- About 300 IBM employees in the Hudson Valley will be laid off, company officials said Monday.

Most of the job cuts will be made at the company's East Fishkill semiconductor plant in Dutchess County, with some also coming from the Poughkeepsie facility, according to IBM spokesman Glen Thomas.

About 11,800 people are employed at the two plants.

The layoffs are being made specifically within research and development, as part of the realignment of manufacturing and development, Thomas said.

IBM is eliminating a total of 450 jobs nationwide, including 90 at the company's chip complex in Essex Junction, Vt.

Severance packages will be given to all 450 employees.

IBM has 355,766 employees worldwide.

[Livyjr]

AND AS THE "TROOPERGATE" WHITE-WASH IN NEW YORK STATE CONTINUES TO UNFOLD ....

"Spitzer says no to call for inquiry by Cuomo - As GOP seeks probe of "Troopergate," aide to governor downplays need"

By JAY JOCHNOWITZ, State editor, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Tuesday, July 31, 2007

ALBANY -- Gov. Eliot Spitzer on Monday rejected a call by the chairman of the Senate Investigations Committee to appoint Attorney General Andrew Cuomo as a special prosecutor in the "Troopergate" scandal with the power to subpoena the governor's staff.

Sen. George Winner said he proposed the idea as a way to address outstanding questions in the scandal, in which aides to the Democratic governor misused State Police by having them create records of Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno's travels to New York City in an effort to discredit the Republican leader.

Winner said that having Cuomo, a Democrat, revisit the matter with full authority could avoid questions of partisanship and executive privilege that would likely arise if the Republican-controlled Senate does its own probe.

Cuomo, he said, could do an "independent, fair and non-partisan" investigation.

Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson, noting that Cuomo has already once looked into the matter and found no evidence of criminal activity, said "the appointment of a special prosecutor is unnecessary."

But Winner, pointing to the fact that two key aides to the governor did not testify in the original Cuomo investigation, said Cuomo had to rely on incomplete evidence, especially because the aides refused to testify.

"For them to make the leap forward that there's nothing wrong here...is the ultimate in chutzpah," said Winner.

If the governor doesn't comply, he said, his committee may go forward with its own investigation.

Republicans say the panel has subpoena power; Spitzer's office says it lacks the constitutional authority to force the governor's staffers to testify.

Cuomo's office issued only a terse statement that it would be "inappropriate" to comment.

"The findings of our report speak for themselves," said spokesman Jeffrey Lerner.

Bruno called Spitzer's response "the wrong decision because the public demands answers to many questions that still remain."

He said Spitzer could have "moved to put this whole matter behind him" and "assured the public that there is nothing to hide."

He said the Senate "will continue to review all options that are available."

Spitzer has said he would make his staff available to the state Ethics Commission.

Four government reform groups on Monday urged him to have the Ethics Commission move forward with a look at the matter.

Republicans, though, are leery of the panel, which includes Spitzer appointees and is run by a lawyer whose former firm was a generous donor to the governor's campaign.

The affair centers on the actions by two Spitzer aides, Communications Director Darren Dopp and Homeland Security deputy William Howard.

The two had the State Police create records detailing Bruno's travel in New York City while he was using a state helicopter and State Police drivers.

According to an earlier investigation into the matter by Cuomo, Dopp and Howard plotted to document that Bruno was using the aircraft and police drivers to get to political fund-raising events, and released the documents to the media.

The Times Union obtained the records under a Freedom of Information Law request, and published an article about Bruno's travel, as well as Spitzer's.

Cuomo's investigation found no criminality by either Bruno or Spitzer's aides.

The senator, he said, performed only a few minutes of public business in some cases, but acted within the bounds of a lax state policy, which Cuomo recommended be tightened.

Spitzer's aides, he said, crossed ethical boundaries by engaging State Police in a political plot and going directly to acting Superintendent Preston Felton.

Spitzer suspended Dopp indefinitely and exiled Howard from the executive chamber, sending him back to a homeland security job at the State University of New York.

Following the release of Cuomo's report, however, it was learned Dopp and the governor's secretary, Richard Baum, refused to testify in person.

Instead, they submitted sworn statements, which were not used in the report.

In addition to the lack of testimony from Dopp and Baum, Winner said he is concerned that Inspector General Kristine Hamann, who also looked into the matter, didn't interview Spitzer staffers and seems to have mainly reviewed what Cuomo did.

Further, Republicans pointed to a Monday report in the New York Post that said Dopp and Baum were assigned staff counsels, Sean Maloney, a former attorney general candidate, and Peter Pope, a move the Post cast as an effort to stonewall Cuomo's probe.

Anderson said the two lawyers, along with Spitzer's special counsel, Richard Rifkin, were not brought in to obstruct investigators but to assist in compiling the material they needed.

She said that as a result of their work, the office turned over more than was asked for, including some of the more critical e-mails that exposed the scheme.

"We would never have been able to cooperate if it weren't for them," she said.

"If the attorney general didn't have our documents, they didn't have a case."

Jochnowitz can be reached at 454-5424 or by e-mail at jjochnowitz@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE I, Bill of Rights

Section 1. No member of this state shall be disfranchised, or deprived of any of the rights or privileges secured to any citizen thereof, unless by the law of the land, or the judgment of his or her peers ...

NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE IV, Executive

§ 3. The governor shall communicate by message to the legislature at every session the condition of the state, and recommend such matters to it as he or she shall judge expedient.

The governor shall expedite all such measures as may be resolved upon by the legislature, and shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed.

NEW YORK STATE EXECUTIVE LAW, ARTICLE 2, GOVERNOR

S 4. Secretary and counsel to the governor.

The governor may also appoint and at pleasure remove a counsel to the governor who shall receive a salary to be fixed by the governor within the amount appropriated therefor.

It shall be the duty of such counsel to advise the governor in regard to the constitutionality, consistency and legal effect of bills presented to the governor for his approval and on matters involving the exercise of executive clemency and such other legal matters as may be referred to him by the governor.

S 5. Executive records.

The governor shall cause to be kept in the executive chamber or in the appropriate state office:

1. Journals of the daily transactions of his office.

2. Registers, containing classified statements of such transactions.

3. Separate registers containing classified statements of all applications for pardon, commutation or other executive clemency, and of his action thereon.

4. An account of his official expenses and disbursements, including the incidental expenses of his department.

5. Files of all official records upon which applications for executive clemency are founded; of statements made by judges to him; of sentences to death and of the testimony in capital cases; and of such other papers relating to the transactions of his office as are deemed by him of sufficient value for preservation.

S 6. Examination and inspection by the governor.

The governor is authorized at any time, either in person or by one or more persons appointed by him for the purpose, to examine and investigate the management and affairs of any department, board, bureau or commission of the state.

The governor and the persons so appointed by him are empowered to subpoena and enforce the attendance of witnesses, to administer oaths and examine witnesses under oath and to require the production of any books or papers deemed relevant or material.

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

And by way of review in here, in the recent NEW YORK MAGAZINE story "The Steamroller in the Swamp - Is Eliot Spitzer changing Albany? Or is Albany changing him?" by Steve Fishman

http://www.commongroundcommonsense.org/for...mp;#entry736520

Two sentences relating to this present on-going SPITZER-ITIC FIASCO here in Albany stand out, to wit:

“The reality is Spitzer does have the smartest people in the room working with him,” says one aide.

What was the upside of handing this self-righteous governor (whose staff, as one close to Spitzer acknowledges, considers legislators “hacks”) an end-of-session gift box?

end quotes

If we take the words in that story at face value, and why shouldn't we, since the "STEAMROLLER" himself has not disavowed them, nor has Joe Bruono or any other "hack" in the legislature, then we can conclude two important things here in connection with this on-going, unfolding SOAP OPERA that is New York State government, to wit:

* The "smartest" people in Albany are the SPITZER-ITES; and

* The SPITZER-ITES consider the legislators to be "hacks" ...

Sooooo ...

It is against this backdrop that we must watch this continuing drama unfold, where one of the "hacks", this Winner dude, who really is a "loser hack" according to the SPITZER-ITES, wants to have an investigation of the SMARTER SPITZER-ITES done by young Andy Cuomo ...

When the SPITZER-ITES, who are SMARTER than George Winner and all the other "hacks" in the legislature, have already gotten to young Andy to have him indemnify the SMARTER SPITZER-ITES by conducting a bogus "investigation" which has already concluded that outside of some minor hinky stuff by a couple of DUMB SPITZER-ITIC minions, this Howard dude who has been banished from the Capital's 2d floor along with the "DOPPSTER", there was no real wrong-doing by the SMARTER SPITZER-ITES ...

I'll tell you ...

This **** is far better than anything that you are going to see on TV on any of those faux "reality" shows ....

If only we citizens could syndicate this, and get it on PRIME-TIME, the advertising revenues would swell the state's coffers, and we would end up with a HUGE surplus, and instead of paying taxes, we would all be getting stipend checks from the government like those people up in Alaska get from the oil revenues ...

And life would be good ...

We could all afford to go to Florida and live in condos overlooking the ocean ...

And so ...

Posted by: John Galt | July 31, 2007 8:00 AM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...nd_ends_61.html

[Livyjr]

AND GOING BACK ONCE AGAIN AND FILLING IN THE BLANKS, WE HAVE ....

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"Seeking probe-able cause - Pols line up possible investigations into mess, but Spitzer plays resister"

By JOE MAHONEY, DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF

Friday, July 27th 2007, 4:00 AM

ALBANY - The state Ethics Commission is considering an investigation of the dirty tricks scheme against Senate GOP leader Joe Bruno - a move that could force two of Gov. Spitzer's aides to face interrogators for the first time.

Spitzer was asked repeatedly yesterday why his communications director, Darren Dopp, and chief of staff, Richard Baum, refused to answer questions in Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's inquiry.

Their testimony wasn't necessary, the governor insisted.

Republicans say Dopp and Baum's dodging smells like a cover-up to protect higher-ups.

"Putting people under oath is the way to get them to tell the truth," Senate Deputy Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau) said in an interview.

"It's very important that the key people in this investigation - Mr. Baum, Mr. Dopp, Mr. Howard and Superintendent Felton - be put under oath."

The Cuomo report found Bill Howard, a Spitzer homeland security adviser, and Preston Felton, the acting state police superintendent, were involved along with Dopp in planting a newspaper story suggesting Bruno had improperly used state aircraft for political trips.

Howard and Felton were questioned by Cuomo's investigators.

Unlike Cuomo, the Ethics Commission headed by former Fordham Law School Dean John Feerick, has the power to compel reluctant witnesses to testify.

If it takes the case, that could include Spitzer, said a source familiar with its procedures.

One focus for commission investigators likely would be whether there were violations of the Public Officers Law - offenses that, while not criminal, could be punished by fines or removal from office, the source said.

Commission spokesman Walter Ayres said Cuomo and Spitzer's inspector general, who led an internal probe, were asked "to provide their files for the commission's review."

He added, "The commission has made no determination as to whether to investigate the matter."

An Ethics Commission finding last year that Controller Alan Hevesi misused state workers ultimately forced him to resign and plea-bargain to criminal charges after the panel referred the case to the Albany County district attorney.

Spitzer argued his administration isn't trying to hide anything.

"We provided on a voluntary basis an enormous amount of information in terms of individuals, in terms of documents, that was turned over to the attorney general's office," the governor said.

"They then determined there was no violation of law, and hence there was no need for further inquiry."

The Republican-controlled Senate Investigations Committee is also digging into the scandal.

Skelos said it could pursue an investigation whether or not the Ethics Commission moves ahead.

Spitzer's office maintains the Senate does not have the authority to probe his office, though many lawmakers in both parties say they disagree with that stance.

jmahoney@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/07/27...le_cause-2.html

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"Gov's minions must talk"

Friday, July 27th 2007, 4:00 AM

Editorial

A watchdog agency headed by an esteemed expert on good government has arrived to impose sanity on the Eliot Mess - and not a moment too soon.

The state Ethics Commission, chaired by former Fordham Law dean John Feerick, is the right body to impartially investigate the botched political hit hatched against Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno by Spitzer aides.

Better to entrust the matter to a cool-headed panel than watch it commandeered by Bruno's angry partisans.

Armed with subpoena power, the commission should fill the gaps in Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's report, which found no crime but scuzzy behavior on all sides.

First, Feerick must grill the Spitzer aides who ducked questioning under oath: chief of staff Richard Baum (photo) and now-suspended communications director Darren Dopp.

As we have said, Baum and Dopp were stupid not to talk, Spitzer was stupid not to demand they talk and Cuomo was stupid to accept their refusal.

Their failure to submit to questions emboldened Bruno to charge that Spitzer has something to hide, which he denied to us Wednesday.

Baum and Dopp must now step forward and answer the unanswered questions - including, "What did the governor know and when did he know it?" - under oath.

Spitzer should talk to the commission, if necessary.

No fights, no excuses, no subpoenas.

He took the first step yesterday, offering to share documentation with the panel.

Everyone involved owes an explanation of how, intent on planting an embarrassing news story, they kept tabs on Bruno's movements via state police helicopters and cruisers, including trips to political fund-raisers.

So far, it looks like Spitzer's aides and Bruno misused state resources for political gain - behavior that was wrong and must not recur.

While the panel is at it, there should also be a fresh look at Bruno's use of the aircraft and cars, with an eye toward tightening lax rules that gave the majority leader near carte blanche with trooper transportation.

Bringing in Feerick and his team, who unraveled Alan Hevesi last year, is the way toward the end of the tunnel.

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/0..._must_talk.html

[Livyjr]

WXXI

"Spitzer Tries, Unsuccessfully, to Change the Subject"

Karen DeWitt

ALBANY, NEW YORK (2007-07-26) Governor Spitzer attempted to change the subject Thursday, by signing three bills into law, but the governor continued to be plagued by questions over an Attorney General's report on the improper use of the state police by some of the governor's staff.

Governor Spitzer began the day with an attempt to focus on other topics.

He signed bills banning the use of creosote, strengthening safety rules for tour boats, and allowing not for profits to get state funding faster.

Yet Spitzer could not escape from questions about what some are calling "troopergate", as soon as he put down his pen.

The Attorney General's report said that no actual crimes were committed when top Spitzer aides improperly coerced the state police to keep special travel records of the governor's chief political rival, State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno.

But two of the Governor's top aides did not answer questions from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's investigators, and instead provided brief statements.

That has left lingering doubts, particularly about the role Spitzer's chief of staff, Rich Baum, played in the scheme.

Spitzer says Baum did not testify under oath, because he didn't have to, to complete the probe.

"I was not the one involved in the back and forth with the Attorney General's office," said Spitzer, who points out that the AG found " no violation of law".

A spokesman for the Attorney General has said that investigators did seek to question Baum, as well as Spitzer's Communications Director, who has been suspended over the incident, but were rebuffed.

When Spitzer was asked whether he, as a former prosecutor, would have accepted statements from the governor's top aides, rather than have them submit to questioning, the Governor said that he did not want to "second guess" the Attorney General.

Senate Majority Leader Bruno, who has accused the governor of "political espionage" for his aides' role in creating the special police logs on the Senator's travels, has called for further investigations.

Bruno says he wants the Senate Investigations Committee to possibly subpoena Baum, and even the governor himself.

The governor's press secretary has said that the Senate does not have the constitutional authority to subpoena members of the executive chamber.

Spitzer says he hasn't really thought about whether he'd answer a subpoena, saying the matter was "hypothetical" .

Finally, the Governor moved to close the press conference.

"My view is that it is now time to move on to the business of the people," said Spitzer.

"We have much to do".

The governor's plea was echoed by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

The Speaker says he accepts the conclusions of the Attorney General's report, and that any lingering questions are simply "political" , and meant to discredit the governor.

"Let's not get sidetracked by what is becoming a sideshow," the Speaker warned.

Meanwhile, the Chair of the Senate Investigations Committee, Senator George Winner, says he's currently requesting additional e-mails and interview transcripts from the Attorney General and State Inspector General, who also investigated the matter.

Winner says he'll decide within a few days whether or not to go ahead with the probe, and he says it could include subpoenas.

"We haven't ruled out the possibility of anything," said Winner.

Governor Spitzer continued his day by announcing plans to further stem cell research, but, as long as Senator Bruno and his fellow Republicans continue to keep the heat on about the lingering questions over the Attorney Generals' report, the topic is likely to overshadow all other issues at the Capitol.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wxxi/new...1120605§ionID=1

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

"It is deeply troubling to me what happened," Spitzer said.

"I want you to hear from me, had I ever known, suspected, believed, thought that the state police were asked to do something out of the ordinary, I would have said 'Stop immediately. What's going on? You can't do this.'"

end quotes

JOHN GALT REPLIES: Except that is not true, there, Governor Spitzer .....

AND YOU KNOW IT, ELIOT!

Yes, you do ...

And that brings us to the ESSENTIAL OVERLOOKED QUESTION, here ...

The QUESTION that the SPITZER-ITES are trying to rapidly steer us by ...

Which is this, to wit:

* IS THERE EVIDENCE THAT IN THE PAST, THE NEW YORK STATE POLICE HAVE BEEN USED IN A POLITICAL FASHION TO DO HARM TO A NEW YORK STATE CITIZEN?

And if the answer to that question is YES, which it is ....

Then ...

* IS THERE EVIDENCE THAT WHEN HE WAS NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF LAW UNDER ELIOT SPITZER WAS AWARE OF AND CONDONED THE MISUSE OF A NYSP BCI INVESTIGATOR IN THE RENSSELAER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES ON AUGUST 22, 2001?

IF the answer to that question is YES, which it is, THEN ...

Then we have the beginnings of evidence of an ON-GOING COURSE OF CONDUCT in New York State where the New York State Police are used to stifle political dissent in NYS, or at least in Rensselaer County in NYS ...

AND ...

Then we have the beginnings of a citizen's constitutional tort action against Eliot Spitzer for wilfull violation of section 1 of ARTICLE 1 of the New York State Constitution ...

And so ....

Posted by: John Galt | July 31, 2007 6:24 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli..._said_stop.html

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

Comment by CD_Voter: So what changes if Eliot is found out to have been behind this debacle?

Bruno still stinks.

He still abuses state toys at taxpayer expense, and we’re no closer to having a functional government.

We might as well bring back Pataki, Sweeney and Hevesi.

Day one has come and gone and the NYS Legislature is still dysfunctional.

The only thing they managed to do was bring Spitzer down to their level.

JOHN GALT CALMLY RESPONDS: CD_Voter, you are weak and whiney and wobbley here, AND ....

YOU ARE DEAD WRONG, dude!

EVERYTHING IS CHANGING, AND THAT CHANGE STARTS WITH ELIOT SPITZER!

And unless we citizens can somehow be stripped of this BLOG MEDIUM, there is going to be a HUGE message sent out to all the world that are watching this unfolding drama in out-of-the-way Albany, New York ....

And that is going to in turn send a ripple back in time to Albany, that is going to turn into a tidal wave, and all at once, sweep all of OUR corrupt NYS government away, like Noah's flood ...

That you are ignorant of its happening, or blind to it, does not in any way retard it, or negate it ....

It'll happen despite you, just as it is doing right now in here with these very words ...

Yes, CD_Voter ...

PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD ARE READING THIS STORY NOW ....

And whatever he tries to do for the rest of his life, this story shall be a permanent chapter in the written life of Eliot Spitzer ....

And if that costs him the American presidency, I for one think that that would be a real good thing for both America and Eliot Spitzer ....

And so ...

And my argument in support of my position in here TO THE CANDID WORLD begins with the NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE I, Bill of Rights ...

Wherein is stated:

Section 1. No member of this state shall be disfranchised, or deprived of any of the rights or privileges secured to any citizen thereof, unless by the law of the land, or the judgment of his or her peers ...

end quotes

Eliot Spitzer's alleged misuse of the NYSP for political purposes has the effect of chilling dissent, and thereby, it is a wilfull violation of sect. 1 of ART. I in that his alleged misuse of the NYSP for political purposes tends to disfranchise, or deprive citizens of Rensselaer County in the State of New York of any of the rights or privileges secured to any citizen thereof, unless by the law of the land, or the judgment of his or her peers ....

That Eliot Spitzer is not free to disregard that constitutional language in his capacity as NYS governor is made incandescently clear in NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE IV, Executive, wherein the constitutional duties of Eliot Spitzer as NYS governor are spelled out as follow:

§ 3. The governor shall communicate by message to the legislature at every session the condition of the state, and recommend such matters to it as he or she shall judge expedient.

The governor shall expedite all such measures as may be resolved upon by the legislature, and shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed.

The chief law that Eliot Spitzer is to take care is faithfully executed is NEW YORK STATE EXECUTIVE LAW, ARTICLE 2, GOVERNOR, wherein is stated with respect to Eliot Spitzer's counsel Nocenti as follows:

S 4. Secretary and counsel to the governor.

The governor may also appoint and at pleasure remove a counsel to the governor who shall receive a salary to be fixed by the governor within the amount appropriated therefor.

It shall be the duty of such counsel to advise the governor in regard to the constitutionality, consistency and legal effect of bills presented to the governor for his approval and on matters involving the exercise of executive clemency and such other legal matters as may be referred to him by the governor.

end quotes

It is pursuant to that section of the NYS Executive Law that the Nocenti dude was authorized to act in this TROOPERGATE FIASCO, and pursuant to the NYS Excutive Law, the Nocenti dude was not allowed by OUR laws to circumvent a GRAND JURY by allegedly rigging up with Andrew Cuomo a bogus "investigation" which started with the conclusion that no laws had been violated, and then worked backwards from there to arrange facts to support that conclusion, and to hide or bury evidence which would refute it ...

According to section 5 of the NYS Executive Law, Eliot Spitzer is required to keep accurate records of exactly what went down in this instance of him granting a form of clemency to his executive chamber staff:

S 5. Executive records.

The governor shall cause to be kept in the executive chamber or in the appropriate state office:

1. Journals of the daily transactions of his office.

2. Registers, containing classified statements of such transactions.

3. Separate registers containing classified statements of all applications for pardon, commutation or other executive clemency, and of his action thereon.

4. An account of his official expenses and disbursements, including the incidental expenses of his department.

5. Files of all official records upon which applications for executive clemency are founded; of statements made by judges to him; of sentences to death and of the testimony in capital cases; and of such other papers relating to the transactions of his office as are deemed by him of sufficient value for preservation.

end quotes

And there is the place to start searching for evidence through FOIL, since those records that are to be maintained by the governor in this case, pursuant to section 6 of the Executive Law, are public records subject to FOIL:

S 6. Examination and inspection by the governor.

The governor is authorized at any time, either in person or by one or more persons appointed by him for the purpose, to examine and investigate the management and affairs of any department, board, bureau or commission of the state.

The governor and the persons so appointed by him are empowered to subpoena and enforce the attendance of witnesses, to administer oaths and examine witnesses under oath and to require the production of any books or papers deemed relevant or material.

And so ....

Posted by: John Galt | July 31, 2007 6:57 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli..._said_stop.html

[Livyjr]

"Spitzer says he will testify in ethics probe"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 3:05 p.m., Tuesday, July 31, 2007

ALBANY -- Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Tuesday he will testify about what he knew of the scheme involving two top aides who used state police to track the whereabouts of Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno during a campaign to smear the governor's political rival.

"I said I'm happy to, going to, look forward to it," Spitzer said during a press conference in Syracuse.

"If they call me, I'd love to, and even if they don't, I'd love to send them my statement just because this needs to be clarified and made perfectly clear."

Bruno -- and half of New Yorkers in three separate polls -- said Spitzer should testify about what he knew of the plot to compile records on Bruno's use of a state helicopter and a state police driver on days he mixed state business with political fundraisers.

The information gathered by state police was then released to a reporter by the Spitzer operatives.

Spitzer has denied knowing anything about the scheme.

He suspended Communications Director Darren Dopp without pay and transferred public safety deputy William Howard out of the governor's office when it was brought to light by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office on July 23.

Spitzer, however, has rejected the Senate Republican majority's call for a special prosecutor or referral to the State Investigations Commission or the Senate's investigations committee.

As of late last week, the investigation was in the hands of the state Ethics Commission.

Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson said Tuesday the governor has agreed to testify before that panel even though his counsel had advised two aides not to be interviewed during Cuomo's initial investigation.

But Bruno said an investigation by the ethics commission -- a board that includes Spitzer appointees -- "does not satisfy the people of New York state."

In a press conference in his district in Troy, Bruno called for the case to be referred to the state Investigation Commission or possibly to Albany County District Attorney David Soares.

If there is no independent investigation, the Senate Investigations Committee would do it as "a last resort" and has subpoena power, he said.

Formed in the 1950s to investigate organized crime and corrupt officials, the state Investigation Commission has broad powers.

"All governmental bodies in the state are statutorily required to cooperate with and assist the commission in the performance of its duties," according to the commission's Web site.

The commission also can grant immunity and hire independent investigators.

The SIC has two commissioners appointed by Bruno, two by Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and two -- including the chairman -- by former Republican Gov. George Pataki.

"The people in this state, the majority, when polled, said they do not believe that the governor had no knowledge of what went on," Bruno said.

Bruno said Spitzer is a well-known "micro-manager" and it was "unacceptable to the public" that key Spitzer aides refused to be questioned in Cuomo's investigation.

Bruno also announced he will hold public hearings on the use of state resources for political purposes.

The hearings could include Spitzer's aides using state police to track Bruno as well as Bruno's use of state aircraft and state police drivers.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday found that most New Yorkers consider Spitzer honest and someone they would likely vote to re-elect.

While the voters who were polled feel the scandal will pass, Spitzer took a hit on how they view his job performance.

Spitzer's approval dropped to 48 percent from 60 percent on June 19.

Just over half of those polled thought the governor and Legislature will be able to work together, but most blamed the difficulty on the Legislature.

The Quinnipiac poll telephoned 1,548 voters from July 25-29 and has a margin of error or 2.5 percentage points.

Like Siena and Marist college polls released since Friday, Quinnipiac found that about half of New Yorkers questioned think there should be more investigation of the scandal.

By differing degrees, the polls also found many New Yorkers suspect Spitzer knew about the political plot, despite his denials.

"Spitzer is in bad shape in his job approval," said Maurice Carroll of the Quinnipiac poll.

"But people still think he's honest and should run for re-election and most said this won't make much difference in how they vote."

"It's not Watergate," Carroll said.

"Watergate started with a crime."

"This is about misbehavior ... but there's something about it that people don't like: Siccing the cops on somebody."

------

Associated Press writers William Kates in Syracuse and Michael Virtanen in Troy contributed to this report.

[Livyjr]

"Forget brain drain, report says upstate doesn't draw people"

By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press

Last updated: 1:42 p.m., Tuesday, July 31, 2007

ALBANY -- Add "brain gain" to the list of upstate New York's woes.

A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed upstate leaders worried about the "brain drain" of college-educated adults should be more concerned about the opposite problem: failure to attract new arrivals.

If upstate New York were its own state, it would have had the nation's lowest "in-migration" rate from 1995 through 2000.

College-educated adults are simply not moving to the region fast enough to counter the natural outflow of people, according to the report from economist Richard Deitz of the Fed's Buffalo branch.

"When you're competing for the educated workforce, these are people who have choices about where they want to live," said Deitz, the report's author.

"The question is: Are we making a competitive offer to those people?"

The exodus of educated young people has long preoccupied policy makers looking to boost the upstate economy.

Even as the report was being released, Gov. Eliot Spitzer was in Syracuse talking about a housing project that would help "make ourselves a place where our kids want to stay, and our kids' kids want to stay."

But Deitz found upstate New York's out-migration rate of college-educated people was close to the national median in those five years.

The region really lags in attracting college-educated people.

Upstate New York is behind not only fast-growing southeastern states like Nevada and Arizona in "brain gain," but behind Rust Belt states like Ohio and Michigan.

College graduates tend to be highly mobile, settling where they can find the best job in a place with the nicest weather, schools and other amenities, Deitz notes.

He suggested a combination of factors could play into the area's brain gain problems, including jobs that don't pay enough to attract people and the perception that the area is not a desirable place to live.

Upstate New York is dogged by image problems, from jokes about snowy Buffalo to the perception that its old industrial cities are decaying.

The Spitzer administration, which hired special upstate economic development "czar" Daniel Gundersen, had no immediate comment on the report.

Researchers looked at 2000 Census data and defined upstate New York as the 49 counties left after excluding New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley up to Dutchess and Orange counties.

While the five-year period under study ended in 2000, Deitz believes the trends were continuing.

------

On The Net:

http://www.newyorkfed.org/

[Livyjr]

"'Troopergate' fallout continues - Senate Republicans talk of hearings as Spitzer says he plans to testify at closed ethics panel proceeding"

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

First published: Wednesday, August 1, 2007

ALBANY -- The state Senate on Tuesday edged closer to holding hearings on the scandal that has enveloped Gov. Eliot Spitzer, while the governor suggested he might testify under oath -- but before the state Ethics Commission, which holds its proceedings in secret.

"I said I'm happy to, going to, look forward to it," Spitzer said at a news conference in Syracuse.

Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno said the Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations, chaired by Sen. George Winner, R-Elmira, could begin hearings as soon as next week.

Senate staff, he said, will work with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office on legislation "to prevent abuses by the Executive in the future," according to a statement.

The Senate's move comes after Spitzer on Monday rejected the idea of appointing Cuomo as a special prosecutor armed with subpoena power to compel testimony from the administration.

Last week, Cuomo issued a report concluding that there was no criminality or "surveillance" in what has since been dubbed the "Troopergate" or "Spitzergate" affair.

But Cuomo found that top aides to Spitzer crossed ethical boundaries when they got State Police to recreate itineraries of trips that Bruno made to New York City, where he used State Police drivers to take him to various events, including political fundraisers.

Republicans accuse the Democratic governor of using State Police for political purposes.

They also note that several Spitzer aides refused to testify, and say more investigation is needed.

"The governor's rejection of a special prosecutor will not prevent other investigations from moving forward," Bruno said.

In addition to Winner's committee, Bruno noted other entities could investigate the matter, including the state Commission of Investigation and Albany County District Attorney David Soares, who Bruno said was "reportedly considering an investigation."

Soares spokesman Heather Streeter Orth said the district attorney hasn't been asked to investigate.

"I don't think it's on the radar at this point," she said.

A source familiar with the matter, however, said Soares' public integrity unit is looking at the issue.

Since the affair came to light, Spitzer, who said he was unaware of what his aides were doing, has punished two of the key players.

Communications Director Darren Dopp has been indefinitely suspended from his $175,000 job, while William Howard was moved from the governor's office, where he helped oversee homeland security, to the State University of New York, although he still is collecting his $175,900 salary.

Rick Karlin can be reached at 454-5758 or rkarlin@timesunion.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

And say, Pee Wee Crayton ....

While I've got you on the line in here, so to speak, I read through your piece that you link us to above here ...

http://www.r8ny.com/blog/pee_wee/maggot_br..._its_young.html

And dude, it is superficial ....

The use, or misuse of the New York State Police to intimidate and harass political opponents or enemies of sitting politicians in Albany like Joe Bruno goes back and back and back in time ....

I myself have evidence sitting right before me now that definitively pins a date on it related to Joe Bruno of March 2, 1990 ...

The document in question is a letter on New York State Police letterhead dated March 2, 1990 to a licensed professional engineer up here from Lieutenant Colonel Edward J. Minahan, Assistant Deputy Superintendant, New York State Police to an individual in upstate New York named Paul R. Plante, who used to be the Rensselaer County Associate Public Health Engineer up here in Rensselaer County, charged with NYS Public Health Law enforcement in Rensselaer County until he charged Joe Bruno with alleged wilfull violation of the New York State Public Health Law in 1988, a misdemeanor carrying a sentence of a year in jail ...

And then, well, you know how it goes ...

His *** was gone ...

But that was only the beginning of what we upstate folks call the "LONG, HARD RIDE" for this particular individual up this way ...

In 1989, this individual made it clear that regardless of what hell the State of New York could lay down on him, he was still going to go forth with his efforts to rid Joe Bruno's "REPUBLICAN-CONTROLLED" Rensselaer County Department of Health of corruption ...

So, on December 29, 1989, a political "GOON" up here ran him down on Liberty Lane in the Town of Poestenkill, Rensselaer County, State of New York, and the New York State Police covered up that hit-and-run by themselves making and filing false reports of the incident that completely changed the circumstances of what actually had transpired that morning ...

The March 2, 1990 letter to Plante from Lt. Col. Minahan concerns that cover-up, and it indicates how high up in the chain-of-command of the NYSP knowledge of this cover-up went, since in his letter, Minahan was responding to Plante on behalf of the Superintendant of NYSP ...

In your recent piece, you limit your discussion to the apparent fact that in Albany, the politicians never overtly used the State Police AGAINST EACH OTHER, which may be true ...

But from the citizen's point of view, that is immaterial ....

What concerns us is the POLITICIAN'S USE of the New York State Police AGAINST US ...

To REPRESS US ...

To CHILL participation in what is in reality OUR government ...

To STIFLE us ...

And so ...

Posted by: John Galt | August 1, 2007 8:02 AM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...er_ny_dems.html

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

And to relate this comment of mine above here to this Pee Wee dude to the theme of this particular thread, the Assistant Rensselaer County District Attorney who maliciously prosecuted this engineer on the false charges fabricated by the New York State Police to cover-up the hit-and-run in 1989 is now running for Rensselaer County District Attorney this fall as a Democrat ....

http://blogs.timesunion.com/localpolitics/?p=193#comments

However, in reality, this candidate, Rich McNally, actually will enjoy the support of not only "STEAMROLLER" Spitzer and likely Sheldon Silver, as well, BUT also Joe Bruno's REPUBLICAN faction here in Rensselaer County ...

While the candidate endorsed by the REPUBLICANS, Greg Cholakis, is in reality a political "outsider" who is openly distrusted by the powerful Joe Bruno faction up here ...

And so, is not thought to have much of a chance at the office in the face of the bi-partisan, behind-the-scenes support that McNally enjoys ...

Because like "STEAMROLLER" Spitzer and Joe Bruno, McNally was not at all afraid to openly condone the use of the New York State Police for political purposes to crush dissent in Rensselaer County, and to protect on-going government corruption in New York State government ...

Which makes him a "made man" and a hero of sorts to many up here who feed off of the corruption that is New York State government ...

And so ...

Posted by: John Galt | August 1, 2007 8:33 AM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...er_ny_dems.html

[Livyjr]

"Capital Region housing market continues slide"

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

Last updated: 12:31 p.m., Monday, July 30, 2007

The Capital Region housing market continues to cool, according to numbers released today by the Greater Capital Association of Realtors.

In Rensselaer County, sales were down six percent.

AND HERE IS A VIVID EXAMPLE OF THE VERY REAL COSTS TO THE CITZENS OF NEW YORK STATE RESIDING IN THE TOWN OF POESTENKILL IN RENSSELAER COUNTY OF HAVING A CORRUPT NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, A CORRUPT NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, A CORRUPT OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL DISCIPLINE IN THE NEW YORK STATE DEPRTMENT OF EDUCATION, A CORRUPT RENSSELAER COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, AND A CORRUPT POESTENKILL TOWN PLANNING BOARD ....

The cost of paying back the capital costs is also based upon nothing but WILD SPECULATION by TOWN OF POESTENKILL SUPERVISOR MARGARET "PEGGY" SCHMIDT that despite the backslide in housing starts and housing sales in Rensselaer County, somehow, despite this backslide, the Town of Poestenkill is still going to add FIFTY NEW HOMES in the next two years ...

Which is wildly optimistic and unsupported by evidence on her part ....

Which means that the few existing users of the proposed system will end up paying back astronomical costs themselves, when all these other phantom rate payers fail to materialize .......

And so ...

"Voters approve Poestenkill water district"

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

Last updated: 11:08 a.m., Wednesday, August 1, 2007

POESTENKILL -- Almost every eligible voter cast a ballot to decide whether to build a water district in the western part of the town.

It took nearly every vote to pass it.

Residents barely approved a measure Tuesday to form the town's first water district, a $9.2 million proposal that won by a razor-thin 274 to 264 votes.

There were just under 600 voters eligible to vote on the measure.

The voting machine count showed the measure failed by a 233-to-234 vote, but the addition of absentee ballots secured the win.

Election results were posted at all public locations in town as well as on the Web site http://www.townofpoestenkill.com.

Water District 1, which will serve the more populated western side of the town, will extend 16 miles of water main on Snyder's Lake Road from the North Greenbush town line to Weatherwax Road, a portion of Weatherwax Road to State Highway Rt. 355, Route 355 to the North Greenbush Town line, Spring Ave. Extension, the entire Hamlet of Poestenkill and portions of State Highway 351.

Water District 1 will also include the installation of 107 fire hydrants, according to town Supervisor Margaret Schmidt.

Residents at recent public hearings were clearly divided on the issue.

While many liked the safety of having a municipal water source, many were intimidated by the costs of the project and some just wanted the town left rural, Schmidt said.

Officials noted two main reasons to build water district.

One is that the town is experiencing steady development and will have 50 new homes built over the next two years, Schmidt said.

The other problem is that many residential wells are polluted.

Tests have shown that traces of trichloroethane, dichloroethane, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), bacteria and other contaminants are in local wells.

Schmidt also said many of the small residential lots in town do not meet the required separation distance between well and septic system.

Everyone within a water district pays for the cost to build the water system.

People who hook up to the system will also pay for the water they use and the longterm operation and maintenance.

It is estimated the monthly cost for the water district will be $65 to $70 per month, which includes capital costs, water use, operation and maintenance costs.

The plan now has to be approved by the state Comptroller's office.

[Livyjr]

And while we are on the subject of corruption in New York State government, we have ...

"Prosecutor to review AG reports on governor's office"

By VALERIE BAUMAN, Associated Press

Last updated: 6:42 p.m., Wednesday, August 1, 2007

ALBANY -- A criminal prosecutor will review reports from the attorney general and inspector general about a scheme involving two of the governor's top aides who used state police to track a political rival.

Although Attorney General Andrew Cuomo found no crimes were committed, Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares' decision to review the actions of Gov. Eliot Spitzer and his staff means a prosecutor with the power to investigate crimes is involved.

Spitzer has denied all involvement and agreed to testify before the state Ethics Commission about what he knew of the scheme to track the whereabouts of Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno during a campaign to smear the governor's political rival.

"We are currently gathering relevant information from all involved parties including the materials that led the attorney general and the inspector general to conclude that no laws were broken," Soares said Wednesday in a written statement.

"In adhering to our process, we will conduct a dispassionate review of all relevant information."

"All decisions must be supported by credible evidence."

"It must be remembered that while certain conduct may appear unethical or even immoral, the only issue for our consideration is to determine whether the conduct is of such regard that criminal liability can be assessed."

Spitzer suspended Communications Director Darren Dopp without pay and transferred public safety deputy William Howard out of the governor's office after Cuomo's office brought the matter to light July 23.

"While both the attorney general and the inspector general have found no illegal conduct, we respect District Attorney Soares' constitutional authority to make this determination, and his process for doing so," Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson said Wednesday in a written statement.

Bruno had called Tuesday for the case to be referred to the state Investigation Commission or possibly to Soares.

Soares investigated former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi, who resigned in disgrace and pleaded guilty to a felony for using state employees as drivers and companions for his wife.

The plea resulted in no jail time.

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"Governor cans Cuomo plan - Spitzer nixes GOP push for AG to reopen dirty tricks probe"

BY JOE MAHONEY

DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF

Tuesday, July 31st 2007, 4:00 AM

ALBANY - Gov. Spitzer shot down a Republican proposal to make Attorney General Andrew Cuomo a special prosecutor to reinvestigate the dirty tricks scheme waged against Senate GOP leader Joe Bruno.

Senate Investigations Committee Chairman George Winner (R-Elmira) had said such a move would give Cuomo the power to subpoena evidence and question Spitzer aides who ducked his first inquiry.

Republican senators would shelve their own planned investigation to make way for Cuomo, who is a Democrat like Spitzer, he said.

About 10 minutes after Winner's news conference, Spitzer's office said no.

"The appointment of a special prosecutor is unnecessary" because his first probe and an inquiry by the governor's inspector general found no criminal conduct, spokeswoman Christine Anderson said.

Winner then said the Senate may have to move ahead with its own probe.

"The governor is not exactly being transparent in the effort to get to truth, justice and the American way," Winner told the Daily News in a telephone interview.

In his letter to Spitzer, Winner said, "We believe that additional investigation is warranted to assure the public that you were not personally involved in the actions."

Cuomo's office wouldn't comment on whether he wanted another crack at the case.

After Cuomo's July 23 report found Spitzer aides improperly enlisted the state police to collect data on Bruno's use of state aircraft for a newspaper story, the governor suspended Communications Director Darren Dopp and reassigned homeland security adviser Bill Howard.

Anderson said the governor's office is cooperating with a preliminary investigation by the state Ethics Commission.

That panel's chairman, former Fordham Law School Dean John Feerick, and director Herbert Teitelbaum are Spitzer appointees.

Republicans are skeptical the commission - with the governor's appointees in its top two positions - will pursue the scandal aggressively.

Sources close to Bruno said if the Senate opens its own probe, investigators will likely seek the hard drives of the computers used by the administration officials linked to the dirty tricks.

Spitzer's camp disputed a published report suggesting that the administration had hindered Cuomo's probe by giving special counsel status to two lawyers working for the governor, Sean Patrick Maloney and Peter Pope.

An administration official, speaking on background, said "attorney-client privilege" would not have shielded Maloney and Pope from answering questions if they knew of the scheme.

jmahoney@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/07/31...omo_plan-1.html

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Elizabeth Benjamin

"Big makeover - or new, top-level fixer - debated"

Monday, July 30th 2007, 4:00 AM

Gov. Spitzer is mulling a staff shakeup in hopes of speeding his recovery from the worst scandal of his political career, according to sources familiar with the governor's thinking.

Another idea Spitzer is considering, sources said, is bringing in someone new who has ties to the Legislature to serve in a senior advisory role and help both retool the governor's image and rebuild the bridges he has burned with state lawmakers in the seven short months since he took office.

Speculation has been swirling for days about the fate of Richard Baum, whose unassuming title - secretary to the governor - belies the power of that post.

But sources close to the beleaguered Democratic governor say Baum is staying for now.

Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson called it an "overstatement" to say the governor is considering a shakeup, adding, "The governor's team is solidly in place."

Even some Spitzer allies have called for Baum's firing after Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's bombshell report revealed the top aide was aware that two other Spitzer staffers had misused the state police to gather potentially damning information on the governor's top political enemy: Republican Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno.

But others aren't so sure that ditching Baum will solve Spitzer's problems.

"It would be like Batman firing Robin," said one Democratic strategist, noting that Baum has worked for Spitzer since he took office as attorney general in 1999.

"At this point, offering him up isn't enough to get [Senate Republicans] off the governor's back."

A high-ranking Senate Republican agreed, saying, "If [Spitzer] fires Baum now, what does that say?"

"He's been saying all along that Baum had no involvement in it."

"We're not looking for anyone's head on a platter," the Republican added.

"What we're looking for is the truth."

Cuomo's report showed Baum knew of efforts by Dopp and another Spitzer aide, Bill Howard, to have state police troopers gather information about Bruno's whereabouts in hopes of trapping him in the misuse of state aircraft for political purposes.

The report found Bruno innocent of wrongdoing.

Baum has insisted he thought the records were being collected in connection with a reporter's Freedom of Information Law request.

But Cuomo's report showed the request wasn't filed until well after Dopp and Howard put their scheme into play.

Both Dopp and Baum refused Cuomo's requests that they testify under oath - a move Baum has said was recommended by Spitzer's counsel David Nocenti.

After Cuomo's report, Spitzer suspended Dopp without pay and reassigned Howard, who is a holdover from the Pataki administration.

But the governor has continued to publicly declare his support for Baum and has refused to discipline him.

Now Senate Republicans are targeting both Baum and Spitzer, asking what the governor knew and when he knew it, and saying both Democrats must testify under oath about their roles in the scandal.

Spitzer has signaled he and his top aide will comply if asked to testify by the state Ethics Commission, which is contemplating its own investigation and, unlike Cuomo's office, has subpoena power.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat who has emerged as a Spitzer ally, said he believes Baum's assertion that he wasn't fully aware of the nasty plan hatched by Dopp and Howard.

But Silver also said Spitzer could have "ended this a lot earlier by either requiring [Baum] to testify or reassigning him someplace."

But, Silver said, even that would probably not have satisfied the Senate Republicans, who are fighting to maintain their slim two-seat majority at a time when Spitzer has publicly stated his desire to help the Senate Democrats take control of the chamber.

"They just don't want Eliot Spitzer to have any credibility, and it's not about [Baum] or anyone else," Silver said.

"They'll just continue this political pursuit."

"I can't figure out what will stop them."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/07/30...fixer__deb.html

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Exclusive

"It's time to stop fighting with all guns blazing, Eliot - Shelly Silver's advice to embattled gov"

By CELESTE KATZ, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Monday, July 30th 2007, 4:00 AM

Gov. Spitzer may have finally learned his lesson - and if he hasn't, he'd better, says Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Democrat Spitzer has struggled to make the transition from pit bull attorney general to chief executive, Silver said in an exclusive interview with the Daily News.

Until now, "It has been too much of a battle, [where Spitzer felt] he had to fight with all guns blazing, and his staff really felt that way," Silver said.

Spitzer aides were castigated in a report by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo last week for an ill-conceived scheme to embarrass Senate GOP leader Joe Bruno.

"Now, I think they've understood that they have to go forward more cooperatively, and I believe as a result of the experience that's taken place, he'll be better off for it," Silver added.

"He'll be a better governor . . . as we go into the future."

Silver, elected to the Assembly in 1976 and speaker since 1994, has been the man in the middle of the Spitzer-Bruno war.

Cuomo's investigation found Spitzer's communications director and homeland security adviser conspired to plant a newspaper story suggesting Bruno had improperly used state aircraft.

Neither Spitzer nor the aides were found to have engaged in criminal wrongdoing, though the state Ethics Commission has begun a preliminary investigation and Senate Republicans vow to conduct their own probe.

As someone who has seen governors and their controversies come and go - and weathered some of his own - Silver sees the current tumult as "a temporary phase, a blip on the radar screen" of a Spitzer administration that will last at least another 3½ years and possibly longer.

Silver says he and Spitzer speak at least once a day.

"We talk about going forward," he said.

Spitzer's political success has been largely built on the image of a suit-and-tie street fighter who uses his Ivy League smarts to take on the big guys on behalf of the public.

Being governor is very different from being an attorney general who made his reputation bringing Wall Street brigands to heel.

"As attorney general, or as an assistant district attorney beforehand, you work on your own."

"You make your case, and it was a purely adversarial circumstance," said Silver.

Not so in the executive chamber.

"Now, you've got to work with people who disagree with you to bring about conclusions - and you cannot bring about those conclusions unless you get some degree of cooperation with the people you perceive as your adversaries," he said.

Silver is intimately familiar with the business end of the Spitzer steamroller: They got into it right from the start, sparring over who should replace disgraced Controller Alan Hevesi.

Spitzer looked outside the Legislature.

Silver, heavily armed with the votes to control confirmation, preferred someone from his own ranks.

Silver won: With Bruno's assent, Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli, a Long Island Democrat, became controller.

Spitzer got mad: He raged at an "insider game of self-dealing" that got DiNapoli the job and reviled Silver and Bruno for "a stunning lack of integrity."

Still, Spitzer had to go on dealing with them to get things done, and Silver says there are no hard feelings; Spitzer's "passion" made him an attractive candidate in the first place.

"Sometimes that passion, that drive, doesn't work out as well - especially when you're on the receiving end of it," Silver said.

"That doesn't mean that drive and passion isn't something to be admired."

Silver is quick to say Spitzer's record is something to be proud of - especially for one who has been in office a mere seven months.

He rattled off a list: ethics reforms; workers' compensation reforms; budget reforms; education financing; expanded health insurance.

"Unfortunately, the ruckus is overshadowing those major accomplishments that took place," Silver said.

As to whether Spitzer can be faulted in the dirty-tricks affair, Silver says that depends on what happens from now on.

"I think now knowing it, [he] can be judged by it [if] he doesn't learn from his mistakes," he said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/07/30..._all_guns_.html