BUSH APPOINTEE in Northern District of New York, Deals Right to Dissent a Death Blow! Options

[Livyjr]

"Court refuses Enron investor's appeal"

By PETE YOST, Associated Press

Last updated: 7:24 a.m., Wednesday, January 23, 2008

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court dealt a probable fatal blow Tuesday to Enron Corp. investors' efforts to recover $40 billion from Wall Street banks in the 2001 collapse of the Texas energy company.

Without comment, the justices refused to hear arguments in the Enron case.

Attorneys for shareholders immediately vowed to return to federal court in Houston in an attempt to prove that the investment banks misled the public and helped conceal Enron's true financial condition.

"It's an uphill battle and we'll keep fighting," Patrick Coughlin, the lead lawyer for the stockholders, said.

Attorney Greg Markel, a lawyer not connected with the case who represents corporate clients in securities fraud lawsuits, said shareholders' "chances of succeeding ... are nearly zero."

Enron's demise wiped out thousands of jobs, more than $60 billion in market value and more than $2 billion in pension plans at what had been the seventh-largest company in the country.

The Supreme Court's refusal to hear the Enron appeal was anticipated following last week's ruling in another securities fraud case in which the justices ruled that a company's investors must show they relied on deceptive acts committed by third parties before they can be sued.

In the case a week ago, the third parties were suppliers to one of the nation's largest cable TV companies.

In the case of Enron, the third parties are Merrill Lynch & Co., Credit Suisse First Boston and Barclays Bank PLC.

In the Enron lawsuit, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans already has ruled that the banks did not act directly in the market for Enron securities.

Coughlin says the legal team for Enron investors has evidence that "the analysts knew what was going on" and that the lawyers for the Enron investors can show that the banks "buoyed the market for Enron securities."

In an earlier ruling, the federal judge in the Enron case threw out the glowing statements of the research analysts praising Enron, saying lawyers for the investors had not alleged that the analysts knew their statements about the company's financial health were misleading.

To date, Enron plaintiffs have settled for $7.3 billion with several financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

Under the settlements, the payout to investors would be $6.79 per share of common stock and $168.50 per share of Enron's stock-like preferred shares, according to a mailing sent to Enron investors, who have until April 30 to decide whether they want to participate in the settlement.

Coughlin said lawyers for the investors spent $127 million in time and $50 million in out-of-pocket expenses on behalf of Enron investors.

The judge in the Enron case had said Enron shareholders could sue as a class, but the appeals court reversed that and Enron investors now will have to overcome that.

The issue of certifying a class is a critical one.

Once the courts allow huge numbers of investors to pursue a securities fraud lawsuit, the defendants almost always settle rather than exposing their corporations to potentially catastrophic liability.

The appeals court decision in the Enron case meant that shareholders and investors could not pool their resources to sue as a group.

Lawyers for Enron investors estimate the class size at more than 1 million shareholders.

------

On the Net:

Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourtus.gov

[Livyjr]

I am finding that people up here in New York State are indeed in favor of a CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT to OUR New York State CONSTITUTION .....

WE WOULD AMEND THE NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION TO MAKE IT MANDATORY .....

THAT LAWYERS ....

WHO PRESENT FALSE EVIDENCE IN COURT .....

OR FALSE TESTIMONY .....

AS DID DEPUTY RENSSELAER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY RICHARD MCNALLY IN THIS MATTER UNDER DISCUSSION IN HERE .....

WOULD DO MANDATORY JAIL TIME .....

THREE DAYS AT THE START WOULD DO ....

WITH AN ESCALATING PENALTY FROM THERE FOR REPEAT OFFENSES .....

WE WOULD FURTHER AMEND OUR NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION .....

TO KEEP PRACTICING ATTORNEYS OUT OF OUR TOWN AND VILLAGE COURTS .....

IF YOU WANT TO BE A LAWYER .....

BE A LAWYER ....

IF YOU WANT TO BE A CROOKED LAWYER ....

YOU GO TO JAIL ....

IF YOU WANT TO BE A JUDGE ....

YOU CANNOT HAVE "CLIENTS" .....

AND IT IS NOT SACROSANCT .....

THAT A JUDGE CAN DO WHATEVER HE OR SHE WANTS TO .....

THAT IS A BUNCH OF REPUBLICAN CRAP .....

THE OLD WAY OF DOING BUISNESS IN RENSSELAER COUNTY ...

AND NEW YORK STATE ....

WHERE JUDGES WERE NOTORIOUS FOR BEING FOR SALE ....

WHICH IS WHAT F. STEWART JONES OF RENSSELAER COUNTY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK .....

WANTS TO BRING THINGS BACK TO .....

A GOLDEN AGE FOR CROOKED LAWYERS .....

AND THE PEOPLE WHO HIRE THEM ON .....

AND CAN PAY THEM THOSE BIG BUCKS ....

THAT KEEP THE LAWYERS LIVING IN STYLE ....

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

OR WEEVILS IN THE FLOUR BIN ....

And so ....

"Lawyer sentenced in class-action case"

By THOMAS WATKINS, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:42 p.m., Monday, January 28, 2008

LOS ANGELES -- Seymour Lazar, who pleaded guilty in a lucrative kickback scheme involving class-action lawsuits against some of America's largest corporations, was sentenced Monday to six months home detention and two years probation.

He was also fined $600,000.

Federal prosecutors said Lazar, 80, was paid about $2.6 million to be a professional plaintiff and help the prestigious law firm now known as Milberg Weiss in its pursuit of the lawsuits.

The firm made an estimated $250 million over two decades by filing such legal actions, authorities said.

Three former partners at the New York-based firm are among the seven people who have pleaded guilty.

U.S. District Judge John F. Walter said he was outraged that a former lawyer such as Lazar could lie in legal proceedings.

The lack of respect for the court amounted to the "absolute height of arrogance," the judge said.

Lazar replied that he understood the concerns of the judge but felt that he has had sufficient punishment.

"I have been under investigation for seven or eight years and it has been seven or eight years of hard time and that is all I can say," Lazar said in court.

Lazar pleaded guilty in October to obstruction of justice, subscribing to a false tax return and making a false declaration to the court.

He could have faced up to 18 years in federal prison.

As part of a plea deal, prosecutors recommended home detention because of Lazar's declining health and his age.

Lazar also agreed to forfeit $1.5 million.

His attorney, Thomas Bienert, previously said Lazar took full responsibility for his actions.

[Livyjr]

And yes, this does indeed look like a case of pure mental illness arising here .....

But whose?

DATE: October 11, 1988

TO: John Buono, Rensselaer County Executive

FROM: Associate Public Health Engineer, Rensselaer County Health District

SUBJECT: Integrity of Environmental Health Programs

As the Director of the Environmental Health Division, it is my responsibility to certify on behalf of Rensselaer County the integrity of the Code Enforcement Programs to the State of New York for the purpose of payment of our State operating funds.

I have reached a juncture where such certification by myself is no longer feasible.

My certification of our operations is as a licensed professional.

My conduct is governed in large part by Part 29 of the Codes of the Education Department which sets forth the actions deemed to constitute unprofessional conduct on the part of licensed individuals.

Section 29.1(b)(6) defines unprofessional conduct as "willfully making or filing a false report, or failing to file a report required by law or by the Education Department, or willfully impeding or obstructing such filing, or inducing another person to do so."

I can no longer vouch for the integrity of our programs and will not place my professional standing in jeopardy.

It is my professional opinion stated in writing to yourself that the programs I am responsible for have been very seriously undermined and compromised.

As my internal investigation proceeds, the probability of actions for damages against the Department increases, due to errors of omission and commission of former engineers and the Public Health Director.

As the Public Health Law requires me to conduct investigations into incidents involving public health nuisance or hazard, I find myself in the course of such investigation returning to our own files with consistent violation of code on the part of County staff.

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

Originally, topo, yes, this matter started out as an investigation pursuant to the Rules of the NYS Board of Regents as they pertain to licensed professional engineers and surveyors, specifically, section 29.3(a)(1), to wit:

§ 29.3 General provisions for design professions.

Unprofessional conduct shall also include, in the professions of architecture and landscape architecture, engineering and land surveying:

1. being associated in a professional capacity with any project or practice known to the licensee to be fraudulent or dishonest in character, or not reporting knowledge of such fraudulence or dishonesty to the Education Department;

end quotes

Had that investigation been allowed to go its course, none of this discussion would be taking place in here, at all ...

But that investigation, topo, was derailed ...

Here are the facts as determined by a federal judge in Albany in 2005, and yes, Eliot Spitzer was involved in the matter at that time, so he and the State of New York are aware of these facts, and THESE FACTS WERE NEVER IN DISPUTE:

III. FACTS:

On May 22, 2001, Jeffey Pelletier was issued a sewage system construction permit by the County of Rensselaer.

On July 7 (2001), PLAINTIFF conducted an investigation of defendants Aiken (engineer) and McGrath’s “deliberate falsification of inspection data and fraudulent submissions” resulting in the issuance of the Pelletier permit.

During PLAINTIFF'S investigation, Pelletier assaulted him.

On August 9 (2001), defendant Reiter (Rensselaer County Director of Veterans’ Services) warned PLAINTIFF to “back off” the Pelletier investigation because he (Pelletier) was a “protected person” in the county.

On August 17 (2001), defendant Jimino (Rensselaer County Executive) allegedly phoned PLAINTIFF threatening to harm him if he did not stop his investigation.

Thereafter, he claims that Jimino conspired with Cybulski (County Director of Community Services) to obtain a fraudulent involuntary commitment order and a medical certification from Samaritan Hospital.

end quotes

Jeffrey Pelletier WAS A "PROTECTED PERSON" in Rensselaer County, and the engineer and surveyor were as well ...

That is an UNDISPUTED FACT ...

And as Mike implies, that is POLITICAL REALITY in upstate NY, DESPITE ANY LAWS OR REGULATIONS to the contrary ...

THE SELLING OF PROTECTION FROM THE LAW IN NYS IS JOE BRUNO'S BUSINESS ...

And however it was accomplished, Jeffrey Pelletier was able to "PROCURE" from a doctor in Troy, NY a fraudulent certification that stated, falsely, that the engineer was a dangerous mental patient with a criminal history who required "TREATMENT" in a secure mental facility at Samaritan Hospital in Troy, New York ...

Without ever seeing this engineer, the doctor prescribed treatment for him, anyway ....

In this big STEROIDS BUST by the Albany County DA, that same conduct by other doctors was considered a felony ...

BUT NOT IN THIS CASE ...

And Eliot Spitzer became involved right at the outset, right after the incarceration occurred, through Lisa Ullman, when, pursuant to the NYS Mental Hygiene Law, the engineer tried to find out who the doctor was and who else was involved ....

That is when the COVER-UP began at the state level ...

So what started out as a "local dispute" quickly escalated ...

And now, we are here discussing it, because to me, anyway, this particular case gets right to the heart of what the ALBANY CULTURE OF RETALIATION AND RETRIBUTION is really all about, and this case serves to put a spotlight on Eliot Spitzer's role in MAINTAINING AND ACTUALLY STRENGTHENING THAT CULTURE ...

Which then serves to put a spotlight on his subsequent public statements that he is in Albany to "clean up" corruption ...

Which I think, based on the UNDISPUTED FACTS in this particular case is a bunch of BULL **** ...

YOU DO NOT CLEAN UP CORRUPTION IN ALBANY BY VIGOROUSLY AND ZEALOUSLY DEFENDING THAT SAME CORRUPTION ...

YOU DO NOT ATTACK THE SELLING OF PROTECTION FROM THE LAW BY ZEALOUSLY DEFENDING THOSE WHO SELL THAT PROTECTION!

Which has Mike and I now chatting back and forth about that, with you as a neutral observor ...

And everyone else in here, as well, as a "jury" so to speak, in this "COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION" that is this OPEN UNCENSORED BLOG ...

A true GOD-SEND to us common citizens in here who are without a voice in upstate NY ...

And so ...

Posted by: John Galt | July 30, 2007 8:02 AM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...itz.html?page=2

"FBI probes 14 companies over home loans"

By ALAN ZIBEL, Associated Press

Last updated: 7:02 a.m., Wednesday, January 30, 2008

WASHINGTON -- The FBI on Tuesday said it is investigating 14 companies for possible accounting fraud, insider trading or other violations in connection with home loans made to risky borrowers.

Agency officials did not identify the companies under investigation but said the wide-ranging probe, which began in spring 2007, involves companies across the financial services industry, from mortgage lenders to investment banks that bundle home loans into securities sold to investors.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is working in conjunction with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the corporate-fraud probe, said Neil Power, chief of the FBI's economic crimes unit in Washington.

As the nation's housing crisis worsens, there has been a dramatic spike in the number of mortgage fraud cases under investigation.

An agency spokesman said 1,210 such cases are open, up from roughly 800 a year ago.

The announcement comes weeks after authorities in New York and Connecticut said they are investigating whether Wall Street banks hid crucial information about high-risk loans bundled into securities sold to investors.

Power said the FBI is looking into the practices of so-called subprime lenders, as well as potential accounting fraud committed by financial firms that hold these loans on their books or securitize them and sell them to other investors.

Referring to certain unnamed bankrupt subprime lenders, Power said there are "some irregularities there that we're looking into," including the timing of stock sales by executives.

Dozens of subprime lenders have filed for bankruptcy in the past year, most prominently New Century Financial Corp.

"We're looking at the executives to see if they were committing insider trading," Power said.

Power also said law enforcement officials are looking at whether homebuilders manipulated financial statements to inflate revenues.

An SEC spokesman declined to comment.

The agency has said about three dozen investigations related to the mortgage market meltdown are ongoing.

Defaults on subprime loans have risen over the past 12 months and are primarily responsible for the credit crunch that has disrupted global financial markets.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bear Stearns Cos. all disclosed in regulatory filings Tuesday that they are cooperating with requests for information from various, but unspecified, regulatory and government agencies.

Officials at the companies either declined to comment, or could not immediately be reached.

FBI officials also highlighted what they called a growing pattern of suspected mortgage loan fraud potentially committed when loans were made to shaky borrowers.

They cited a surge in "suspicious activity reports" that banks are required to file with the government.

The number of those reports is projected to rise to 60,000 this year after hitting 48,000 last year, up from about 7,000 in 2003.

"We're going to have to take a hard look at these things," said Assistant FBI Director Ken Kaiser.

Earlier this month, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo were looking whether banks properly disclosed the high risk of default on so-called "exception" loans -- considered even risker than subprime loans -- when selling those securities to investors.

In November, Cuomo said he issued subpoenas to government-sponsored mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in his investigation into what he claims are conflicts of interest in the mortgage industry.

He said he wanted to know about billions of dollars of home loans they bought from banks, including the largest U.S. savings and loan, Washington Mutual Inc., and how appraisals were handled.

------

Associated Press Writers Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington and Joe Bel Bruno in New York contributed to this report.

[Livyjr]

"Loan crisis hits home - Subprime mortgages pose a threat to region's housing stability as lending rates revealed"

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

First published: Saturday, January 26, 2008

TROY -- A ZIP code that includes much of Troy has the area's highest total of subprime mortgages, leading to fears of rising foreclosures and destabilized neighborhoods.

ZIP code 12180, which also includes the town of Brunswick, has the Capital Region's highest number of subprime loans held by borrowers who occupy the buildings, according to a statewide analysis released Friday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

And 12180 has the state's highest number of subprime mortgages held by borrowers who don't live in the buildings.

In the 12180 ZIP code, 10 percent of subprime loans borrowers were in foreclosure, while more than 20 percent had fallen at least 30 days behind on payments.

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

Good ol' Troy.

You think that's just a coincidence, John?

You know the territory much better than I do.

What's your take?

Posted by IronMike on January 27, 2008 12:54 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...3.html#comments

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

My take is and has been, Mike, that Joe Bruno's TROY in New York State's Rensselaer County is the EPICENTER of this SCAM ....

And I base that on a stack of official government records, including Federal Bureau of Investigation records, plus direct experience in Rensselaer County as a New York State licensed professional engineer from 1986 on who was also certified as an associate level public health engineer in New York State ....

Joe Bruno's PONZI, Mike ...

Joe Bruno's carefully constructed HOUSE OF CARDS IS coming tumbling down ....

Fancy people are going to be caught with their pants down in public is my thought, Mike ....

It's like Salmon swimming back to where they were born, is one way of looking at it .....

Certainly, chickens are coming back home to roost .....

BOGUS APPRAISALS ....

BOGUS HEALTH DEPARTMENT CERTIFICATIONS AND APPROVALS ....

QUESTIONABLE TITLE SEARCHES ....

A PONZI ....

Flip some property back and forth with some shills .....

And then sucker some fool ....

EXCEPT ....

Worthless property is worthless property .....

And eventually ....

The price of the PONZI gets to be too great, like all PONZIS ....

And then, they collapse ....

I would say that it was a money funnel, Mike .....

People from elsewhere had money that needed to be cleaned up, so running it through land subdivisions and property transfers was a good way to do that, because nobody looks at where that money came from, or how ....

And once the LAUNDRY is up and running good, YOU CAN'T STOP!

People who need to move big sums of money have to keep that money moving, so they need more and more property transfers ....

But the "reality" of what is actually being sold cannot bear them ....

A WORTHLESS PROPERTY IS IN THE END STILL WORTHLESS DESPITE WHAT YOU PAID FOR IT ....

As the engineers say, that is a SUNK COST ....

And there you are ....

Just as if you owed a bundle for a boat that just sank to the bottom of the sea .....

SUCK IT UP, DUDE, YOU'RE NOW THE ONE WHO HAS JUST BEEN SCREWED ...

And so ....

Posted by John Galt on January 27, 2008 2:42 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...3.html#comments

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

WHEN YOU READ THE WORDS OF FED CHAIRMAN BEN BERNACKE IN THIS NEWS ARTICLE, Mike ....

TO ME, IT IS AS IF HE IS SPEAKING DIRECTLY TO TROY AND RENSSELAER COUNTY RIGHT HERE IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK ...

"Fed endorses home mortgage protections"

By JEANNINE AVERSA, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:52 p.m., Tuesday, December 18, 2007

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve moved Tuesday to protect home buyers from dubious lending practices, its most sweeping response to a mortgage meltdown that has forced record numbers of people from their homes.

The Fed has been under attack for not doing more to stem the crisis as hundreds of thousands of people lost the roof over their head.

The situation raised the odds the country will fall into recession, unhinged Wall Street, racked up multibillion losses for financial companies and resulted in political finger-pointing over who was to blame.

"Unfair and deceptive acts and practices hurt not just borrowers and their families, but entire communities, and indeed, the economy as a whole."

"They have no place in our mortgage system," Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said.

"We want consumers to make decisions about home mortgage options confidently, with assurance that unscrupulous home mortgage practices will not be tolerated," he said.

end quotes

UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE PRACTICES = RENSSELAER COUNTY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK ...

And so ...

Posted by John Galt on January 27, 2008 2:58 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...3.html#comments

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

And it isn't as if any of this has ever been any kind of a secret, Mike ....

Here is what the FBI had to say about matters in Rensselaer County vis-a-vis BOGUS land certifications and appraisals by the CORRUPT REPUBLICAN-contolled Rensselaer County Department of Health in a March 16, 1989 Report of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which was before Bush-appointee federal District Court Judge Gary L. Sharpe in Albany in 2005 as an exhibit in a Motion for Injunctive Relief submitted to federal District Court for the northern District of New York in 2005 by the engineer Paul R. Plante up here in Rensselaer County:

"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!"

end quotes

FACILITATE DEVELOPERS AND DEVELOPMENT!

FACILITATE: to make easier ...

- Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary

And so ....

Posted by John Galt on January 27, 2008 3:12 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...3.html#comments

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

AND TALK ABOUT FACILITATION, ALRIGHT!

HERE ARE FINDINGS OF FACT OF FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT JUDGE GARY L. SHARPE IN 2005 AS TO EXACTLY WHAT KINDS OF CONDUCT BY LAND DEVELOPERS WERE BEING FACILITATED IN RENSSELAER COUNTY AS LATE AS 2001 ....

WHICH IS THE SAME KIND OF CONDUCT THAT WAS BEING FACILITATED IN RENSSELAER COUNTY WHEN THE FBI POSTED ITS FINDINGS IN 1989 ....

And so ....

III. FACTS:

On May 22, 2001, Jeffey Pelletier was issued a sewage system construction permit by the County of Rensselaer.

On July 7 (2001), PLAINTIFF (Paul R. Plante, NYSPE) conducted an investigation of defendants Aiken (engineer) and McGrath’s “deliberate falsification of inspection data and fraudulent submissions” resulting in the issuance of the Pelletier permit.

During PLAINTIFF'S investigation, Pelletier assaulted him.

On August 9 (2001), defendant Reiter (Rensselaer County Director of Veterans’ Services Robert "BOB" Reiter) warned PLAINTIFF to “back off” the Pelletier investigation because he (Pelletier) was a “protected person” in the county.

On August 17 (2001), defendant Jimino (Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen Jimino) allegedly phoned PLAINTIFF threatening to harm him if he did not stop his investigation.

end quotes

"DELIBERATE FALSIFICATION OF INSPECTION DATA AND FRAUDULENT SUBMISSIONS" RESULTING IN THE ISSUANCE OF A RENSSELAER COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT SEWAGE SYSTEM CONSTRUCTION PERMIT ......

There is the GAME, Mike ....

THERE IS THE SCAM ....

BOGUS APPRAISALS OF LAND ....

And as I said ....

It never was a secret .....

Just a story not widely told before this ....

And so ....

Posted by John Galt on January 27, 2008 3:23 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...3.html#comments

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

JOE BRUNO'S PONZI ....

THE LAND SCAM ....

Here's Joe pushing it in the newspapers right out in plain sight while on the public's dime ....

And so ....

"Bruno: Big economic news ahead - Senate majority leader offers few details; says new name to emerge in governor's race"

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

First published: Friday, December 30, 2005

ALBANY -- Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno braced reporters Thursday for exciting economic news coming to the Capital Region and a mystery candidate who may emerge soon to run for governor.

"If you own property you're happy people."

"If you don't own property, go buy some."

"It's going to be a great investment around here."

Asked about assertions that Attorney General Eliot Spitzer threatened former Goldman Sachs Chairman John Whitehead in a telephone conversation in April, Bruno said the charges of bullying are so serious that an independent review is in order.

Posted by John Galt on January 27, 2008 6:55 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...3.html#comments

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

And it isn't as if any of this has ever been any kind of a secret, Mike ....

Here is what the FBI had to say about matters in Rensselaer County vis-a-vis BOGUS land certifications and appraisals by the CORRUPT REPUBLICAN-contolled Rensselaer County Department of Health in a March 16, 1989 Report of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which was before Bush-appointee federal District Court Judge Gary L. Sharpe in Albany in 2005 as an exhibit in a Motion for Injunctive Relief submitted to federal District Court for the northern District of New York in 2005 by the engineer Paul R. Plante up here in Rensselaer County:

"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!"

end quotes

FACILITATE DEVELOPERS AND DEVELOPMENT!

FACILITATE: to make easier ...

- Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary

And so ....

Posted by John Galt on January 27, 2008 3:12 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...3.html#comments

"FBI director: mortgage fraud substantial"

By JAYMES SONG, Associated Press

Last updated: 3:12 a.m., Friday, February 1, 2008

HONOLULU -- FBI Director Robert Mueller said Thursday that the agency is committed to investigating and prosecuting companies involved in mortgage fraud and other violations in connection with home loans made to risky borrowers.

Mueller said probes were being conducted across the country, including in Hawaii, where he stopped on his way back from a trip through Asia.

"There is not a state that does not have some investigation," he told reporters at the FBI office in Honolulu.

"It is a substantial problem but we've been through problems like this in the past."

The FBI said Tuesday it was working with the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate 14 companies, from mortgage lenders to investment banks, for possible accounting fraud, insider trading or other issues connected to subprime mortgage lending.

Mueller declined to identify the companies.

The FBI allocated substantial manpower and resources to address the savings and loan crisis in the early 1990s and corporate fraud earlier this decade, and Mueller said he was prepared to do the same to address fraudulent lenders.

"I anticipate that we will see the same extensive investigations that we saw then with successful prosecutions following those investigations," Mueller said.

As the nation's housing crisis worsens, there has been a dramatic spike in the number of mortgage fraud cases under investigation.

An FBI spokesman said 1,210 such cases are open, up from roughly 800 a year ago.

The bureau is looking into the practices of so-called subprime lenders, as well as potential accounting fraud by financial firms that hold subprime loans on their books or securitize them and sell them to other investors.

During his trip to Asia, Mueller met Chinese officials in charge of security for this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing.

He also was in Cambodia to inaugurate an FBI office at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh.

[Livyjr]

"Bruno's labor ties probed - Albany area unions get federal subpoenas for information about investments made through the Senate majority leader's former employer"

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

First published: Sunday, February 3, 2008

ALBANY -- Federal agents have demanded business records from several Albany-area labor unions that have sent tens of millions of dollars to investment firms that employed state Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno over the past decade, according to labor representatives and other sources.

FBI agents served subpoenas last week on the unions' pension and welfare fund leaders.

The unions include Laborers Local 190 and Teamsters Local 294, among others.

The FBI told the labor organizations to produce records involving Wright Investors Service of Milford, Conn., and its holding company, Winthrop Corp., Bruno's longtime employers before his abrupt resignation in December.

The subpoenas, signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Coombe of the Albany office, also call for any union records involving Bruno and his Brunswick consulting company, Capital Business Consultants.

Coombe said Saturday she had no comment.

James E. Long, a lawyer for Local 190, said the labor group received a subpoena on Wednesday.

He said his client has not yet produced the records but will cooperate.

The demand for the documents requires they be turned over by Feb. 14.

Teamsters Local 294 lawyer Bruce Bramley, who also represents several other area labor groups, said he could not confirm or deny "anything."

The FBI has been looking into some of Bruno's outside business interests for about two years.

Bruno, the top Republican in the state and majority leader since 1995, served as a business development agent for Wright, or Winthrop Corp., since about the time he took over his leadership post in the Senate.

Both the firm and Bruno said in December it was better to break ties because people have been focusing on his employment with Wright.

That, Bruno said at the time, "has taken attention away from more pressing issues such as our efforts to address the critical needs of our state going forward."

He has maintained that he has done nothing illegal or improper.

Federal investigators have been taking information from Bruno's business associates for a federal grand jury, according to subpoenas and interviews.

The probe, which stretched to Bruno's friends, acquaintances and horse-breeding business, seemed to have stalled in recent months as Bruno's wife, Barbara, struggled with a chronic illness.

She died Jan. 7.

The emergence of the union subpoenas last week is the first sign this year that the FBI has not discontinued its interest in Bruno's financial affairs.

Bruno spokesman John McArdle on Saturday would not say if Bruno had been served a subpoena or a request for information regarding his work with Wright, Winthrop or Capital Business Consulting.

Nor would he say if Bruno had been paid a salary, or a commission, for steering business to the investment management house over the years.

"Sen. Bruno has cooperated fully and completely with the inquiry and ended his employment with Wright Investment last year," McArdle said.

When asked by reporters, the senator has been unwilling to disclose details of his work for Wright and has refused to reveal his consulting clients.

Wright, through a spokesman, said Saturday the firm would not say if it had received subpoenas.

It stated: "Bruno has assured us ... that relevant authorities concluded that his business relationship with us posed no substantive conflict-of-interest issues."

Wright handles pension investments for several labor unions, many based in the Albany area.

The amount of money invested through Wright has been substantial over the years, although some of the unions, such as those representing bricklayers, have diversified and reduced Wright's involvement.

For instance, an article in Pensions & Investments magazine in 2003 said Local 190 retained Wright to manage $36 million from its $80 million pension plan after using Independent Fiduciary Services (IFS) as an adviser.

Long said the union's pension fund was dissatisfied with the returns and doesn't use Wright anymore.

A smaller welfare fund sends some of its $5.5 million portfolio to Wright managers, he said.

Albert Catalano, the leader of the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 2 from 1998 to 2005 and now regional director for the international unit of the union, said Wright managed about $20 million of the group's pension fund beginning in the early 1990s.

"I was never made aware during my relationship with Wright that they had Joe Bruno," he said.

He said that before he left office, the union began decreasing the sums it sent Wright to manage.

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

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK TIMES

"Investigation Into Bruno Broadens"

By DANNY HAKIM

Published: February 4, 2008

Federal authorities have widened their investigation of the Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno, issuing subpoenas to pension funds affiliated with union locals in and around the senator’s Albany-area district, people with knowledge of the investigation said.

Half a dozen union locals in the Albany area have invested tens of millions of dollars with a Connecticut investment firm that has long employed the senator.

Mr. Bruno and the investment firm, Wright Investors’ Service, severed their ties shortly after The New York Times revealed the investments in December, but neither has been willing to detail what the senator’s job was, beyond saying it was related to “business development.”

The subpoenas, which were issued last week and seek records related to Wright and Mr. Bruno, were reported Sunday in The Times Union of Albany.

It is the first indication in several months that the roughly two-year-old federal investigation into Mr. Bruno’s outside business interests remains active.

It is not clear how many of the union locals have been subpoenaed.

Mike Roberts, who recently became head of an Albany-area branch of Unite Here, a union of hotel and restaurant workers, said his local had been subpoenaed.

“We’re just obviously perusing the documents and cooperating,” he said.

The Times Union reported that James E. Long, a lawyer for Laborers’ Local 190 in Albany, said the local had been subpoenaed Wednesday.

Another lawyer in Mr. Long’s office said on Sunday that Mr. Long would not comment further.

John McArdle, a spokesman for Mr. Bruno, said:

“We’ve cooperated with the inquiry."

"He’s not been accused of anything, and I think that’s all we’re saying.”

In a statement, Wright Investors’ Service said, “Mr. Bruno has assured us that he consistently disclosed his employment with Wright Investors’ Service in public filings and that relevant authorities concluded that his business relationship with us posed no substantive conflict-of-interest issues.”

William C. Pericak, who is head of the Albany office of the United States attorney’s office for the Northern District of New York, declined to comment on the investigation.

For more than a decade, Mr. Bruno earned a salary from Wright, based in Milford, Conn., in addition to his legislative pay of $121,000.

His affiliation with the company began shortly before he became majority leader in 1995.

Neither the amount of his salary nor the specifics of his job have been disclosed, and such disclosure is not required under state ethics laws.

A review of tax records by The Times, however, found that pension funds affiliated with a number of union locals have invested tens of million of dollars with Wright; many of the investments appear to have been initiated or increased during Mr. Bruno’s tenure.

A number of the pension funds’ trustees also have longstanding political relationships with Mr. Bruno, who has been a close ally of labor unions in the Legislature.

Some of the trustees even personally lobbied Mr. Bruno about legislative issues, state records and interviews with the officials revealed.

Records also show that prominent locals in New York City invested at various times with Wright, including the New York City District Council of Carpenters and Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International union.

Mr. Bruno, the state’s top Republican, first revealed the federal investigation in December 2006 but said it had been going on for some time.

Previously, the investigation appeared to focus in large part on a consulting business that Mr. Bruno has run out of his home.

The F.B.I. has subpoenaed a number of friends and associates of the senator who are clients of the consulting business.

But it has never been clear what kind of consulting work the senator does, and he has never released a list of his clients.

Whether any ethics rules or criminal laws have been broken remains to be seen.

State ethics law allows officials to have outside employment, but they cannot engage in activities that create or appear to create a conflict with their public duties.

They can be prosecuted for obtaining unwarranted privileges for themselves or others.

[Livyjr]

On August 21, 2001, REPUBLICAN Rensselaer County Public Health Director Denise Ayers watched the PLAINTIFF in this matter under discussion in here walk into the office of Rensselaer County Director of Environmental Health Roy Champagne to make inquiry into the location of a map that had been omitted, apparently by Ayers, from a Freedom of Information request that the PLAINTIFF had made of the Rensselaer County Department of Health prior to initiating a lawsuit against Ayers and Champagne in New York State Supreme Court for questionable approval practices of sewage disposal systems in Rensselaer County, in the State of New York ...

According to witness accounts, and statements made in connection with this matter, Ayers then called REPUBLICAN Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen Jimino to report the PLAINTIFF's presence in the Rensselaer County Office Building, and his purpose for being there ....

And sometime later that same day, according to witness statements, Jimino called Ayers back and told her not to worry, that "arrangements" had been made, and PLAINTIFF would no longer be a "problem" for her or Champagne ....

And that was that ....

Jimino spoke true ...

Hence this thread ....

Just days earlier, Friday, August 17, 2001, to be exact, Jimino herself had called the PLAINTIFF at his home to warn him against pursuing charges against either Karl Richard Aiken, a New York State licensed professional engineer doing "sign-offs" for people in Rensselaer County "desiring" a Rensselaer County Department of Health sewage system construction permit for land that did not conform to the requirements of the Rensselaer County Sanitary Code, or Jeffrey Pelletier, Aiken's "client" .......

When Jimino heard that the PLAINTIFF had ignored her personal warning to keep out of the affairs of the Rensselaer County Department of Health, she put into effect the "machinery" which resulted in the PLAINTIFF herein, a New York State licensed professional engineer, being locked up as a dangerous mental patient in the secure mental health facility of the Stratton VA Hospital in Albany, New York on August 22, 2001, the day following ....

On March 31, 2005, Hon. Gary L. Sharpe, a Bush-appointee serving as a district court judge in the Federal Court for the Northern District of New York awarded a GRANT OF IMMUNITY to Jimino, Ayers and all of those who comprised the "machine" that fateful day, to include Doctor John Christian Braaten, a CORPORATE DOCTOR at Samartian Hospital in Troy, New York who unlawfully certified a "DIRECT ADMISSION" for PLAINTIFF to the secure mental health facility of the Stratton VA Hospital, despite never having seen nor examined the PLAINTIFF in his life ......

This GRANT OF IMMUNITY by Judge Sharpe on March 31, 2005 reversed the course of some thirty years of Federal constitutional law ....

A GRANT OF IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION which was subsequently upheld by the Federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City on December 15, 2005 ....

That is what this thread is talking about in here .....

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE and WHY ....

This is a real American story ....

In that all of the events discussed in here actually did transpire ....

And all the people are themselves real people ...

Not actors ....

Why are we talking about this otherwise obscure event in here, especially since the PLAINTIFF, a disabled veteran, did not prevail?

Because it happened is why .....

When according to OUR laws in what is alleged to be a NATION OF LAWS, none of this should ever have been ....

At least not without the perpetrators themselves, Jimino et al, having to account for their actions in a court of law, here in OUR America ....

We hear much these days about courts ...

And judges ....

And what is alleged by CONSERVATIVES like United States Senator Rick Santorum, to be a court system in OUR America that is out of control ......

Which is why, according to him, the Bush-appointee Samuel Alito should be put on the United States Supreme Court ...

So as to get OUR federal court system ..

"Back on the right track ..."

Well, here is a real-life case that serves as a role model for the BUSHIAN vision of how OUR federal court system should function ...

Which is as an organ of protection for the powerful in OUR America ....

While at the same time serving as an organ of discrimination to OUR nation's disabled veterans ....

When they seek to challenge corruption here in OUR America ....

Every now and then, someone will ask me isn't it dangerous for me to be speaking out this way, and I would say, OF COURSE ....

And that is why I am doing it .....

Because it has gotten dangerous ....

And so ....

"Blueprint for bribery"

For seven years, a secret FBI investigation has targeted corruption in state government, slowly moving ever higher up Albany's political food chain.

Only now is the extent of the inquiry emerging.

By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Tuesday, September 6, 2005

For Ronald Laberge, it should have been a night to remember fondly.

Laberge drove across Loudonville that summer evening in 1998 for a private dinner with Gov. George Pataki and a small group of influential and well-respected businessmen.

It was a chance to mingle with the state's most powerful public official at a time when Laberge's self-built engineering and real estate firms were thriving.

But Laberge hid a dark secret when he dined with the governor that Sunday night.

Less than a month earlier, he had authorized one of his employees to pay a $2,500 bribe to a state leasing agent, which was to be a down payment in an illicit deal aimed at winning Laberge a multimillion-dollar lease with the state of New York.

Years later, as the scandal broke, it would force an abrupt end to Laberge's storied career and leave him a disgraced felon.

It turns out he was determined not to go down alone.

A court document unsealed last week as a result of legal action by the Times Union shows that Laberge, in an attempt to avoid prison, agreed to help FBI agents get where they really wanted to go: inside the shadowy world of state contracts and campaign donations, where authorities suspect lucrative state government deals are awarded through political loyalties and money that changes hands with a wink and a nod.

"NY employee accused of extorting companies to use historic armory"

By DEEPTI HAJELA, Associated Press

Last updated: 4:23 p.m., Wednesday, February 6, 2008

NEW YORK -- A former superintendent of a landmarked National Guard armory has been indicted on charges of extortion and bribery for demanding thousands of dollars from companies that wanted to use the historic site for events including Marc Jacobs fashion shows, state officials said.

James Jackson, a 30-year employee of the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs, was arraigned Wednesday on a 31-count indictment that charged him with taking cash bribes and material goods, including exercise equipment, from companies in exchange for their use of the 69th Regiment Armory, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Inspector General Kristine Hamann announced at a news conference.

The armory is being used for current Fashion Week events.

Cuomo said the public had the right to pay a fair price for using a state space, which the armory is, and should not accept any attempts at extorting more money.

"You pay the fair value for that space," he said.

"What you don't pay is a gratuity or a bribe or an illegal tip to get you into that space."

Jackson, who resigned from his post shortly after his arrest in October, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment.

His attorney, Alan Abramson, declined to comment.

If convicted, Jackson, 56, could face more than 20 years in prison.

The indictment charged Jackson with taking bribes in connection to Marc Jacobs shows from February 2000 to September 2007 and other trade shows in 2007 and with defrauding the government.

Cuomo said Jackson received more than $30,000.

Cuomo said the bribes for the fashion shows were paid by KCD, a public relations company that the fashion house used.

Neither KCD nor Marc Jacobs was named in the indictment.

The investigation was continuing, though, and Cuomo said the payment of bribes could be a crime depending on the circumstances.

KCD attorney Ken Breen said the company was cooperating with Cuomo's investigation.

In a statement, a Marc Jacobs representative said the fashion house, which is using the armory for shows this Fashion Week, was aware of the charges against the armory superintendent and was cooperating with the state attorney general's office in its investigation.

"We are using the armory for this week's fashion shows with the full knowledge and consent of the attorney general's office," the statement said.

The 69th Regiment Armory, which occupies much of a Manhattan block at 25th Street and Lexington Avenue, was built to serve as a training center and social clubhouse for the National Guard.

It was entered into the State and National Register of Historic Places in 1994 and was listed as a National Historic Landmark two years later.

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

And it is indeed interesting that in his quotes in the Friday, August 31, 2007 RICK KARLIN story in the TU entitled "Troopergate called unethical but not criminal - Cuomo calls probe of scandal involving Spitzer aides adequate despite limitations", young Andy Cuomo states clearly and unequivocally that:

"The use of police is an issue that troubles people," Cuomo said.

"This is a conversation that we should have had 15 years ago."

end quotes

Fifteen years ago from now would be the year 1992, and on November 30, 1992, Assistant Rensselaer County District Attorney Richard McNally was standing before then-Rensselaer County Criminal Court Judge M. Andrew Dwyer in the Rensselaer County Court House, being forced to admit before all the people in that courtroom that day that he had no evidence whatsoever to substantiate his malicious prosecution of former Rensselaer County Associate Public Health Engineer Paul R. Plante, P.E. in the various town courts of Rensselaer County from January of 1990 to that time ...

After Plante was the victim of a hit-and-run driver on Liberty Lane in the Town of Poestenkill, Rensselaer County on December 29, 1989 ....

A politically-connected hit-and-run driver who was PROTECTED by the New York State Police ...

And who was then allowed to bring false criminal charges in Poestenkill Town Court against Plante to cover up the hit-and-run, which false charges McNally then prosecuted for him:

JUDGE: There is a MOTION on, that I might as well dispose of first.

That is PEOPLE v. PLANTE.

Apparently, it is pro se.

Mr. McNally, are you here for the PEOPLE?

This is a legal question.

I don’t see that argument is necessary!

MCNALLY: This is a Motion to Dismiss!

]JUDGE: A Motion to Reargue a Motion to Dismiss!

MCNALLY: I have no position, other than to say, the Court, in its previous position, left me without any recourse other than to not oppose a Motion to Dismiss, in my opinion!

JUDGE: That is your position?

MCNALLY: That is my position!

JUDGE: THEN YOU CONSENT TO THE DISMISSAL?

MCNALLY: I do, Judge, based upon the fact that the Court, in its previous Decision, left me with an untenable position at trial!

JUDGE: How closely did you read the decision?

MCNALLY: Very!

JUDGE: The District Attorney consented?

MCNALLY: It was the Court’s opinion at trial that there was other evidence out there, and I can affirm that there IS NOT OTHER EVIDENCE ON WHICH TO BASE A PROSECUTION AND THE COURT RULED THE EVIDENCE THAT WAS PRESENTED INSUFFICIENT, AND I HAVE NO OTHER EVIDENCE!

JUDGE: And you take the position that you have no further evidence, at all?

MCNALLY: No further evidence, Judge!

JUDGE: Then it is dismissed!

(Whereupon, matter concluded)

- EXCERPTED from pages 121-124 of the O’Connor BIBLE submitted to the federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City on behalf of defendant REPUBLICAN Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen Jimino and her co-defendants, in or about November of 2005

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

And so ....

Posted by: John Galt | September 3, 2007 6:39 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...1.html#comments

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

And this business with former Assistant Rensselaer County District Attorney Richard McNally ....

Who did Joe Bruno a big political favor by falsely and maliciously prosecuting Plante to protect the BRUNO-ITE GOON who had run Plante down in December of 1989 ...

Is relevant to what is taking place on the political stage here in NYS right now ....

Because the Working Families Party has endorsed McNally to be the next District Attorney up here in Joe Bruno's Rensselaer County ...

And there is a real good chance that with that WFP endorsement, McNally is going to win, and become OUR next Rensselaer County District Attorney ....

As P. David Soares is DA over there in Albany County ...

With a similar endoresement by the WFP ....

And it is our information and belief ...

That the WFP endorsed McNally precisely BECAUSE McNally could demonstrate, through his false and malicious prosecution of Plante, that McNally will and has bent and twisted the law for political purposes ....

To protect political friends ....

And to punish political enemies ....

Which would make the WFP a "PLAYER" up here, having someone like McNally in its stable of politicians ...

Along with P. David Soares ....

Who is said to be giving Eliot Spitzer aid and comfort in connection with this TROOPERGATE FIASCO ...

And so ...

Posted by: John Galt | September 3, 2007 7:02 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...101.html?page=2

"Democratic committee endorses DA candidate"

Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Saturday, May 26, 2007

TROY -- Democrat Richard J. McNally Jr. has secured his first endorsement on his way to being the party's candidate for Rensselaer County district attorney.

The county Democrats' Executive Committee endorsed McNally of Valley Falls on Thursday night.

"McNally launches bid for DA - Democrat cites lengthy courtroom experience in Rensselaer County"

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

First published: Tuesday, June 12, 2007

TROY -- Democrat Richard McNally announced his run for district attorney Monday, referring to himself as a "lunch-pail lawyer" and taking some shots at the current Republican administration.

In a fiery speech on the courthouse steps before a large crowd of local and state Democrats, McNally cited his nearly 20 years of experience in area courtrooms.

"I have tried cases in every court in this county from Hoosick Falls to Castleton, from Stephentown to Schaghticoke," McNally said with his wife, Karen Carlson, and daughters Sarah, 9, and Eloise, 6, by his side.

"I have been on both sides of the courtroom in some of the most serious criminal cases in this county in the past 20 years."

"Rensselaer County probe fades"

By KENNETH C. CROWE II, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 5:48 p.m., Friday, February 8, 2008

TROY - The term of a Rensselaer County grand jury investigating complaints against the county Democratic chairman for soliciting political donations from patronage appointees expired Friday without any action being taken, according to court records.

County Democratic Chairman Thomas Wade testified before the grand jury in the fall about allegations that he was forcing Democratic employees at the county Board of Elections to make contributions to the county committee.

The grand jury's term was extended in December at the request of Patricia DeAngelis, the former Republican district attorney.

District Attorney Richard McNally, a Democrat, did not request a third term for the grand jury, according to a check of court documents.

"I can't comment at all," McNally said Friday regarding the grand jury's actions.

Wade and his attorney, Brian Premo, said the allegations were groundless.

The Wade case was the sixth politically related complaint made to DeAngelis' office in 2007.

It was the only case in which a special prosecutor was not requested.

Albany County District Attorney David Soares was named as a special prosecutor in April, 2007, to investigate those five complaints.

Heather Orth, a spokeswoman for Soares, said the cases remain open and the office would not comment on them.

Two of the five complaints included allegations by Colleen Regan, a former Rensselaer County Legislature Republican employee, that county employees had to do political work for Victory Lane, a political consulting company owned by Legislature Majority Leader Robert Mirch and Richard Crist, the GOP majority spokesman; and that Regan had to make a political attack advertisement at Troy City Hall for Mirch.

Mirch in turn filed two complaints about Troy Democratic Councilman Clement Campana allegedly making political calls from Hudson Valley Community College and Legislature Minority Leader Virginia O'Brien asking Mirch to assign city crews to clean up a property.

The fifth complaint by Legislature Vice Chairman Richard Salisbury requested an investigation of Susan Steele, the Democratic minority's spokeswoman, taking photos of Crist during a county Legislature meeting that were used in a political mailing.

[Livyjr]

"Lawyer sentenced in kickback scheme"

By JACOB ADELMAN, Associated Press

Last updated: 6:02 p.m., Monday, February 11, 2008

LOS ANGELES -- William Lerach, a former partner at a well-known New York law firm, was sentenced Monday to two years in federal prison for his role in a lucrative kickback scheme involving class-action lawsuits against some of the nation's biggest corporations.

Lerach, 61, was also sentenced to two years probation, fined $250,000 and ordered to complete 1,000 hours of community service.

"This whole conspiracy corrupted the law firm and it corrupted it in the most evil way," U.S. District Judge John Walter said during the hearing.

Authorities said Lerach's former firm, now known as Milberg Weiss, made an estimated $250 million over two decades by filing legal actions on behalf of professional plaintiffs who received kickbacks.

The firm paid $11.3 million in kickbacks to people who became plaintiffs in lawsuits targeting companies such as AT&T, Lucent, WorldCom, Microsoft and Prudential Insurance, prosecutors said.

Seven people, including three former partners at the firm, have pleaded guilty in the case.

Lerach, whose high-profile legal victories included a $7 billion judgment against now-defunct energy giant Enron Corp., pleaded guilty in October to one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and make false statements.

"I pleaded guilty in this case because I was guilty," Lerach said before sentencing.

"It was, as they say, felony stupid."

Lerach, who wore a dark suit, sat quietly with his fingers interlaced on a desk in front of him as the sentence was read.

It was the maximum that Lerach had agreed to serve as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

Walter said he would have imposed a stiffer sentence on his own and considered rejecting the plea arrangement because of the gravity of Lerach's offense.

He said Lerach subverted the authority of judges by misleading them and deprived legitimate class-action plaintiffs of their fair share of settlements from lawsuits.

The judge said he ultimately decided to accept the deal out of deference to prosecutors and because he believed Lerach's most meaningful punishment was his disbarment.

"The most significant fact is that Mr. Lerach is not going to be able to go into his office and practice law," Walter said.

"Never again will he do something which he was obviously so good at."

The first person to be sentenced in the case was Seymour Lazar, a retired attorney who was sentenced last month to six months home detention and two years probation.

He also was fined $600,000.

Federal prosecutors said Lazar, 80, was paid about $2.6 million to be a professional plaintiff and help the law firm, previously known as Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, in its pursuit of the lawsuits.

Lazar pleaded guilty in October to obstruction of justice, subscribing to a false tax return and making a false declaration to the court.

The kickback scheme allowed the firm's attorneys to be among the first to file litigation and secure the lucrative position as lead plaintiffs' counsel, according to court documents.

The firm dominated the industry in securities class-action lawsuits, which involve shareholders who claim they suffered losses because executives misled them about a company's financial condition.

Along with Lerach, other former partners who have pleaded guilty were Steven Schulman and David Bershad.

Schulman pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge.

He agreed to forfeit $1.85 million to the government and to pay a $250,000 fine.

Bershad pleaded guilty to conspiracy and agreed to cooperate with the government.

Firm co-founder Melvyn Weiss has pleaded not guilty to one count each of conspiracy, mail fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice in a revised indictment.

The Milberg Weiss firm itself has pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy and one count each of obstruction of justice and making false statements.

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK TIMES

"Editorial - On Investigating a Republican"

Published: February 9, 2008

The federal investigation involving Joseph Bruno, the New York Senate majority leader, reportedly broadened this week.

The wider investigation raises new questions about Mr. Bruno’s own conduct, of course.

But, the sluggish pace also makes us ask whether White House politics could be dragging out an investigation of considerable importance to New Yorkers and to Washington.

Mr. Bruno first said that he was part of a federal inquiry in December 2006, but he indicated that the investigation had been going on for some time.

The questioning seemed to focus in part on a consulting business he runs, the details of which have always been unnecessarily sketchy.

This week, The Times reported that the investigation had expanded to include subpoenas to pension funds affiliated with various union locals.

The unions, which often have business before the Legislature, have large sums in an investment fund that once employed Mr. Bruno.

Mr. Bruno has denied any wrongdoing or that he is a target.

And there have been no charges filed.

Still, New Yorkers have a strong interest in having these matters settled as quickly as possible.

By virtue of his control over the State Senate, Mr. Bruno is an enormously important figure in state government.

He not only has a large say in how laws are written and taxpayers’ money is spent, but he is also the state’s top Republican official.

This year, Mr. Bruno’s efforts are crucial as he heads up the fight to keep the State Senate in the hands of his fellow Republicans.

Because Democrats control the lower house and Gov. Eliot Spitzer is a Democrat, losing the narrow Republican majority in the Senate would be a big deal far beyond Albany.

New York’s Democrats would then control Congressional redistricting after the 2010 census and could use their power to wrest seats in the House from the Republicans.

Given all of this, it is hard not to be at least a tad skeptical of the pace at which the investigation is proceeding.

Last year, it became clear that the Bush Justice Department was driven by political partisanship.

After revelations pointing to political motives in hiring and firing United States attorneys, which led to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’s resignation, the Justice Department hardly deserves the benefit of the doubt in its handling of investigations of Republicans.

In the end, Mr. Bruno may well be fully exonerated, but right now these serious questions are out there hanging over the Senate and its leader.

New Yorkers are entitled to have the matter wrapped up as quickly as possible, to resolve any doubts about Mr. Bruno and about those charged with investigating him.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/opinion/...runo&st=nyt

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK POST

"ELIOT'S ENFORCER - STRONG-ARMING INSURERS ON WTC CLAIMS"

February 11, 2008 -- Gov. Spitzer says he wants to make nice to financial firms - brokers, insurers, investment banks.

The very companies he targeted with a vengeance as attorney general.

Does he mean it?

Read on.

Last month, Spitzer chaired the first meeting of an obscure panel he set up to lighten the regulatory load on these businesses.

His avowed goal: "keeping New York the financial capital of the world."

Yet who'd he tap to head the panel?

One of the purported brains behind many of his attacks as AG on the financial industry, now-State Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo.

Dinallo is often credited with "rediscovering" the Martin Act - a (until then) little-used 1921 law that gives the AG considerable regulatory and prosecutorial muscle over financial firms.

It was reportedly Dinallo's idea for Spitzer to probe "abuses by investment advisers."

Dinallo and Spitzer, of course, have new goals now that they're no longer enforcement agents.

Plus, Spitzer is a Big Government Big Spender, addicted to tax revenues from industries like finance.

So you'd think the last thing they'd want to do is scare away these firms with probes and burdensome regulation.

But at least some in the industry see them as sticking to their old ways.

Those impressions come from some of the lawyers for World Trade Center insurers who worked with Dinallo to resolve remaining 9/11 claims.

The biggest sticking point in those claims - whether the attacks counted as one "occurrence" or two - had already been resolved.

But in 2006, when then-Gov. Pataki and other officials struck a new financial deal for WTC reconstruction, they neglected to clear it with the insurers, who ultimately were to provide most of the cash.

Oops.

The insurers raised new concerns - and fears of more delays at Ground Zero.

Pols raced to bash them preemptively.

"These insurance companies," Mayor Mike warned, will "pay up one way or another, whether they do it because it's right, or they do it because they have to."

Enter Spitzer-Dinallo.

Within months of taking office, the new governor suddenly announced that all loose ends with insurers had been tied off.

Nearly six years after 9/11, rebuilding would proceed.

Spitzer was hailed for persuading the firms to do what was right; behind the headlines, Insurance Superintendent Dinallo was the man who had made it all happen.

But a court transcript portrays the Spitzer-Dinallo powers of persuasion in a somewhat different light.

"The insurers right now are bearing the brunt of the pressure from Mr. Dinallo," Harvey Kurzweil, a lawyer for one of the firms, complains to US District Judge Harold Baer.

"I don't care to speculate as to why that is the case, but it is the case."

Baer appears perplexed by Dinallo:

"There must be some motivation that I am missing," Baer says.

Kurzweil says Dinallo "hammered us . . . about the head and shoulders with a sledgehammer" in an attempt to resolve the issue in favor of WTC leaseholder Larry Silverstein.

Another lawyer, John Massopust, also hints vaguely about Dinallo's threats; a third, Jane Stevens, spells it out point-blank: The superintendent, she says, threatened to "launch an investigation into everyone's claim practices."

In other words, if the insurers didn't go along, Spitzer's muscle man could virtually shut them down by drowning them in probes, an exec from one firm says.

Worse, he was threatening to "throw us in jail" - because if you probe every claim, eventually you might find something on which to hang a criminal charge.

Dinallo denies that he threatened to jail anyone or to paralyze their operations, noting that he lacks "criminal-prosecution authority."

He also insists that he was "even-handed" in applying pressure.

And he makes no apologies for his toughness:

"I thought the city and state needed to close the book" on WTC insurance claims.

Dinallo doesn't deny threatening to probe "everyone's claim practices."

Rather, he suggests that it would have been appropriate for him to do so, if he found the insurers acted "unreasonably."

A lawyer for Silverstein, Marc Wolinsky, backed that, noting that Silverstein's folks complained about the insurers' behavior and that Dinallo would have been obligated to investigate to establish a "pattern" of bad-faith claims-handling.

Still, if allegations of threats by Spitzer or an aide sound familiar, they should: The gov's folks have a long record of such accusations.

Kurzweil also hints about why firms didn't fight back: Dinallo is the state's "primary regulator," he says.

"We are certainly not anxious to antagonize him."

"We will be living with him for the next four years."

Nor has fear of the superintendent vanished now that the case has been resolved.

Apparently, some insurers are still battling with the Port Authority over other claims - amounting to some $1.5 billion - and at least one of them wonders whether Dinallo will resort to his old tricks.

And what do corporate types think of New York's "regulatory environment"?

Well, few will criticize Spitzer publicly.

But privately, one calls New York "Uganda" - suggesting a climate where playing ball with the gov comes ahead of the rule of law.

Maybe Dinallo, Spitzer and the rest will change, will warm to these firms, on whose revenue they depend so much to fund their $124 billion budget.

But a recent report by The Post's Fredric U. Dicker is hardly encouraging: Just last month, Spitzer and an aide "privately threatened" the Business Council, Dicker says, after it crossed him.

A source told Dicker that Spitzer had an explosive phone conversation with Business Council President Kenneth Adams.

Such reports, again, are hard to confirm on the record.

But if they're true, Spitzer sure has a funny way of cozying up to folks whose money he is going to need.

abrodsky@nypost.com

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02112008/posto...0661.htm?page=0

[Livyjr]

"AP: NYRA gets renewed franchise"

Staff and wire reports

Last updated: 3:41 p.m., Tuesday, February 12, 2008

ALBANY -- State officials say the New York Racing Association will continue to operate the Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga race tracks for another 25 years under a deal struck among political leaders in New York.

NYRA's board still has to approve the deal, which was confirmed by two state officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement hasn't been officially announced.

Speaking during a radio show on WAMC, Gov. Eliot Spitzer said there is not a deal, but "we are extraordinarily close."

Under the tentative agreement, NYRA would get $105 million from the state to get out of bankruptcy and would agree to end its claim on the race track properties.

NYRA has held the franchise since 1955.

But the deal approved by Gov. Eliot Spitzer and legislative leaders will mean a new NYRA, with greater accountability and an expanded board of directors to include more representatives of horse owners, breeders and government.

The agreement is intended to improve racing and bolster the 40,000-employee industry in New York and would end two years of efforts by competitors from the racing and gaming industries to topple NYRA despite its strong ties to New York politicians.

Competitors from Australia to Churchill Downs promised more revenue to the state and industry and an end to years of state and federal investigations into NYRA's management, which led the business into bankruptcy court despite other state bailouts in recent years.

But the situation was complicated by NYRA's threat to fight for ownership rights to the tracks and some high-priced property around Aqueduct.

Spitzer, former Gov. George Pataki and legislative leaders have long said that the state owns the land.

Details of the deal haven't been released.

But the framework of a tentative agreement outlined by Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno last week included a third bailout of NYRA, this time with $75 million to pay off some of its debt and get out of bankruptcy court.

Another $30 million in state money would be used for operating expenses this year.

NYRA would still be about $200 million in debt.

In addition, a gaming company would be selected separately to operate video slot machines at Aqueduct, but no video slot machines would be installed at Belmont at this time.

All sides agreed Saratoga Race Course, the jewel of New York racing, wouldn't be changed.

[Livyjr]

"Gov.'s environmental plan panned"

By BRIAN NEARING, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 4:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 12, 2008

ALBANY - State lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are panning Gov. Eliot Spitzer's plan to balance the budget by raiding $125 million from the state Environmental Protection Fund.

Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Peter Grannis was on the hot seat at a joint hearing today where Republican state Senator Carl Marcellino questioned why he now supports the measure now when as an Assembly member he opposed a similar practice by Gov. George E. Pataki.

Assemblyman Robert Sweeney, a Democrat, also raised concerns about the diversion when Grannis testified today.

The governor wants to divert money from the protection fund -- created in 1993 to pay for environmental projects -- and leave a promise to repay sometime in the future.

This would be on top of $322 million in IOUs left in the fund by Gov. George Pataki, who borrowed between 2002 and 2007 to cover red ink in the state budget.

That has some environmentalists questioning when and how money will be repaid, and whether deserving environmental projects will go wanting in the meantime.

The IOUs only indicate that the money will be repaid, likely through more borrowing, if needed.

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

February 14, 2008

"Spitzer Warns Of 'Financial Tsunami'"

Here is a copy of the testimony on bond insurance that Gov. Eliot Spitzer is scheduled to deliver at 11:30 a.m. before the House Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises.

He's accompanied by state Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo.

UPDATE: In case you're inclined to watch Spitzer deliver his testimony, it will be streamed live here.

Reuters has the story, but here are some excerpts from the speech, during which Spitzer's wonkish is prominently displayed:

"...let’s be clear, the problems of the bond insurers are spreading and threaten serious problems well beyond the financial markets."

"The problems in this market will affect many average Americans."

"It will affect the cost of college loans."

"It will affect museum budgets."

"It will affect state and local taxes."

(Snip)

"There is a general tightening of credit, which means less money available for companies to borrow so they can expand and consumers to borrow so they can buy homes, cars, appliances and other goods".

"This comes at a time when the economy is already weak."

"In sum, if we do not take effective action, this could be a financial tsunami that causes substantial damage throughout our economy."

(Snip)

"Clearly, we would not be here today if the mortgage brokers and lenders and appraisers had maintained reasonable standards."

"But we would also not be here today if the relevant regulators had stopped these bad lending practices."

By Elizabeth Benjamin on February 14, 2008 9:36 AM

Comments

ELIOT "STEAMPIPE" SPITZER SAYS: "Clearly, we would not be here today if the mortgage brokers and lenders and appraisers had maintained reasonable standards"

JOHN GALT LAUGHS RIGHT OUT LOUD IN RETURN: YEAH, RIGHT, "STEAMPIPE" ...

Tell it just like it really is, there, dude .....

CLEARLY, FOLKS ...

WE REALLY WOULD NOT BE HERE TODAY AT ALL IF THE APPRAISERS HAD MAINTAINED REASONABLE STANDARDS .....

BUT THEY DID NOT ...

And so ...

TELL US WHY, Eliot ....

Please, tell us why ....

And I can do that for Eliot ....

By pointing to this following set of facts about CORRUPTION IN THE LAND APPRAISAL PROCESS IN NYS which Eliot defended in federal District Court for the Northern District of New York in Albany in 2005 in Matter of Paul R. Plante, P.E. v. KATHLEEN JIMINO, Renss. Co. Exec. et. al., to wit:

III. FACTS:

On May 22, 2001, Jeffey Pelletier was issued a sewage system construction permit by the County of Rensselaer.

On July 7 (2001), Plante conducted an investigation of defendants Aiken (engineer) and McGrath’s “deliberate falsification of inspection data and fraudulent submissions” resulting in the issuance of the Pelletier permit.

During Plante’s investigation, Pelletier assaulted him.

On August 9 (2001), defendant Reiter (Rensselaer County Director of Veterans’ Services) warned Plante to “back off” the Pelletier investigation because he (Pelletier) was a “protected person” in the county.

On August 17 (2001), defendant Jimino (Rensselaer County Executive) allegedly phoned Plante threatening to harm him if he did not stop his investigation.

Thereafter, he claims that Jimino conspired with Cybulski (County Director of Community Services) to obtain a fraudulent involuntary commitment order and a medical certification from Samaritan Hospital.

end quotes

There is a vivid portrait of WHY appraisers in NYS on Eliot Spitzer's watch as NYS AG were NOT maintaining REASONABLE STANDARDS ....

BECAUSE ELIOT SPITZER WAS ENCOURAGING THEM NOT TO ....

BY PROTECTING THEM WHEN THEY DIDN'T ...

AND HAD BEEN CAUGHT RED-HANDED AT IT BY A NYS LICENSED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER WHO HAD DOCUMENTED THE FACTS AND WAS SET TO BRING THE MATTER BEFORE THE PROPER AUTHORITIES ...

ELIOT SPITZER WAS FOR FAST AND LOOSE IN NEW YORK STATE WHEN IT CAME TO APPRAISALS ....

And now ....

Those chickens are coming home to roost here in New York State ....

And it is going to be quite the show ....

Better than anything in the movies ....

Or on TV ....

This is a MADE-FOR-THE-INTERNET-DOCU-DRAMA unfolding before our eyes in here ....

And Eliot Spitzer is right smack dab in the middle of it ....

Up tp his elbows in it, in fact ....

MR. DIRTY?

Or JOE CLEAN?

You decide ....

And so ...

Posted by John Galt on February 14, 2008 4:56 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...ancial-tsu.html