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

[Livyjr]

For years and years and years, now .....

Going back and back in time .....

Back into the last century ....

And the one before that .....

The 1800's .....

The PEOPLE of the State of New York ....

Have had a problem with CORRUPTION in OUR state government .....

And none of this, of course, is any kind of secret .....

It is more a story that people in other parts of the United States do not know .....

Because it is not happening where they are .....

AND UP UNTIL THIS COMPUTER FORUM .....

It is a story that has received no real media attention ...

THE MEDIA BEING A PART OF THE PROBLEM .....

And so .....

"Report: NY recession beginning now, should last to early '09, but a slow recovery is forecast"

Associated Press

Last updated: 5:03 p.m., Thursday, May 1, 2008

ALBANY -- Fiscal analysts for Gov. David Paterson said Thursday a recession is beginning in New York and should continue into early 2009, followed by a slow recovery.

New York Budget Director Laura Anglin says that while the national recession should be short and relatively mild, New York historically starts later and lingers longer in these economic slowdowns.

Some indicators and forecasts in the report show New York's recession could rival the recession of the 1970s.

So what can New Yorkers do?

Anglin said taxpayers could help if they use their federal economic stimulus checks for new purchases, rather than to pay off old bills and sock away in savings.

AND AS THE ADMINISTRATION OF NYS GOVERNOR DAVID PATERSON CONTINUES TO PROMOTE FISCAL PROFLIGACY AND FINANCIAL IRRESPONSIBILITY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK ...

AS WELL AS SPITTING ON THE NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION ...

WE HAVE ...

"Lawmakers release 10,000 election year 'pork' grants worth $147 million to voters back home"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 6:52 p.m., Friday, May 2, 2008

ALBANY -- Lawmakers are showering $147 million in pork-barrel spending on 10,000 programs, agencies and charities back home this election year.

The grants that lawmakers prefer to call member items or Community Project Funds are doled out based on the political clout of a lawmaker.

The result is taxpayers statewide pay to support gun clubs and abortion-rights groups, clubs and charities -- whose funding never gets a public vote -- in addition to the health and social service programs that depend on the annual funds.

For example, members of the Assembly's Democratic majority get more grant money to disperse than the Republicans and the more veteran Assembly members get more than less senior Democrats.

The same advantage is true for more veteran Republicans in the Senate's GOP majority.

Democratic Gov. David Paterson also has $30 million in pork spending.

The traditional pork-barrel spending was spared from the reductions that faced most other areas of the state budget adopted last month.

Good-government groups have long criticized the practice as a way for incumbents to buy votes, contributing to a better than 90 percent re-election rate despite the public's low regard for the Legislature as a whole.

Political leaders in the conference may also direct more pork to lawmakers facing tough re-election contests.

"The most glaring unfairness of the whole system is that it's doled out based on political considerations, not by population or something that's fair," said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group.

AND SPEAKING ABOUT THE MAIN-STREAM MEDIA BEING A PART OF THE PROBLEM HERE IN THE CORRUPT EMPIRE OF NEW YORK ...

HERE WE HAVE A VIVID EXAMPLE OF WHAT A SUPERFICIAL "PUFF-PIECE" ON NYS GOVERNOR DAVID PATERSON, OR "SUCK-UP JOB" BY AP REPORTER MICHAEL GORMLEY LOOKS LIKE ...

And so ...

"Analysis: The accidental governor takes charge, talks tough, and turns heads"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 11:12 a.m., Saturday, May 3, 2008

ALBANY -- Gov. David Paterson says he's starting to settle into the biggest political job in the state, after he spent most of his first 50 days in political chaos.

He and his family suffered through the white-hot glare of Gov. Eliot Spitzer's fall when linked to a prostitution investigation and Paterson's own rise to become New York's first black governor and one of the nation's first blind state executives.

He made his own admission of past marital affairs, which he had expected to keep in the family until he got the job he never expected.

His pre-emptive disclosure drew acclaim in public opinion polls.

He's mended fences between the executive chamber and the Legislature that Spitzer had blow down.

He showed rare diplomacy these days when torn between Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, whom he supports for president, and her rival Sen. Barak Obama, who would be the first black president.

And Paterson talked tough during last month's budget negotiations.

Now comes the harder part, and the early reviews are strong.

On Tuesday he said "no" to good-government groups with whom he'd long been in sync back when he was senator in the minority of power.

But he said this week that the state can't support campaign finance reform that would particularly help minority-party candidates because it would cost too much at this time.

On Wednesday, he stood up to the polls and Senate Republicans running hard for re-election this year when he refused to support a popular idea -- eliminating the 32-cent a gallon state gas tax.

He said he simply doesn't trust the oil industry not to jack up the price and New York can't afford to lose the hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue in the face of more than $20 billion of projected deficits over the next three years.

"We have to bring fiscal reality back to this state," Paterson said.

He notes too much spending has led to too much taxing and that's led to "early voting in New York."

"They are voting with their feet."

"Sometimes," he said, "I wonder what we've been doing around here."

Well, he's been here.

In fact, as a leader of the minority party Democrats in the Senate he faced few spending plans he didn't like.

But it didn't matter then.

In Albany, if you aren't the majority in your chamber you're at the kids' table, seen but not heard.

But, as many are saying in Albany these days, the job can change a guy.

So thanks to a mix of widely held respect for Paterson, some honest talk by him in his first days in office, and a healthy dose of wishful thinking after everyone was put through a political wringer, Paterson is gaining supporters in the Legislature and beyond.

"He has a keen understanding of the Legislature and the Legislature's mindset, which his predecessor clearly did not," said E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, part of the fiscally conservative Manhattan Institute and one of Albany's most stinging fiscal critics.

McMahon likes the Harlem Democrat's tough and narrow course.

Paterson told agencies to cut spending 3.5 percent.

He's harping about growing future deficits.

And he told the Legislature that next year's budget must be cut by 5 percent to 10 percent.

Odd talk in a town where the word cut does not compute.

"It's been clear since last summer that the economy was going down," McMahon said.

"But nothing has been said about it until now."

There have been and will be some missteps.

Like on Friday when he told WFAN-AM radio in an hour conversation with Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton that there was "obviously" an element in the state police that was "out of control" keeping tabs on politicians, only to tell news reporters afterward he had only lawmakers' claims to back it up.

Known for his humor and lack of pretense, Paterson is more prone to that kind of slip when he's just chatting.

But when he talks about the budget, he's more focused, and deadly serious.

It's still early, but Paterson is getting more people thinking the accidental governor may be precisely what New York needs.

------

Michael Gormley is the Albany, N.Y., Capitol editor for The Associated Press. He can be reached by e-mail at mgormley(at)ap.org.

[Livyjr]

And if there was a genesis for this thread on the "PORK" in New York ....

This AMD story would certainly be a part of it ....

From the CORPORATE WELFARE side of it, anyway ....

The MODERN STATE has a DUTY to help out the needy corporations in America ....

To ensure that their stockholders will continue to rake in the fruits of the profits ...

Which is what "STEAMROLLER" Spitzer's new PORKOLOGIST, or PORKMEISTER, or PORK DISPENSER ...

Up from Pennsylvania at $190,000 per year is here to do ...

Keep that money flowing into the shareholder's pockets ....

By taking it out of OUR pockets to do so ...

Which the MODERN STATE sees as being "fair" ....

Since CORPORATIONS are the ones who put the BIG BUCKS back in the pockets of the politicians ...

Who CONTROL the MODERN STATE ...

To ENRICH themselves ...

At OUR expense ...

And so ...

"Money woes muddy plan for Malta site"

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, Associated Press

First published: Saturday, March 10, 2007

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The high-flying Advanced Micro Devices Inc. of 2006 has given way to a company in financial peril, saddled with debt and bleeding from a brutal price battle with its larger and suddenly resurgent Silicon Valley archrival, Intel Corp.

AMD -- which is planning a $3.2 billion computer chip factory for Saratoga County -- finds itself the subject of rumors of a possible takeover or private-equity cash infusion.

While it wasn't long ago that AMD was stealing a big slice of the microprocessor market and emerging as a long-term threat to Intel, those very gains may have left AMD's well running dry.

Industry analysts said both companies are suffering from the need to balance the near-term goals of shareholders and the huge expenditures required to stay competitive.

"What this comes down to is the companies are playing a long-term game," said Dean McCarron, principal analyst at Mercury Research.

"The financial people would be delighted to hear AMD would not be investing in any factories."

AND AS THE STATE OF NEW YORK CONTINUES TO PLOW TAXPAYER MONEY INTO CORPORATE WELFARE FOR THE AILING, FAILING AMD CORPORATION, WE HAVE ...

"Luther Forest road work under way - State funding $33M project at tech campus in Malta, which may become home of AMD computer chip factory"

By LARRY RULISON, Business writer, Albany, New York

First published: Saturday, May 3, 2008

MALTA -- Construction has started on the main entrance and roads leading into the Luther Forest Technology Campus, which may one day be home to a $3.2 billion computer chip factory.

Last month the Malta Town Board approved a $33 million contract for Rifenburg Construction Inc. of Troy to build 5.5 miles of roads at Luther Forest.

The money is coming from the state.

Michael Relyea, executive director of the Luther Forest Technology Campus Economic Development Corp., the nonprofit that operates Luther Forest, says road construction started within the last week or so.

The project will be spread over two years.

"We're getting into significant construction," he said.

Luther Forest is a 1,350-acre, mostly undeveloped, tract of forest being marketed as a business park for semiconductor manufacturing.

Parts of the site once were used for military missile testing.

State officials have offered Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the world's second-largest microprocessor manufacturer, $1.25 billion in incentives to locate its next factory at the park.

AMD has said it wants to build the facility, but has yet to officially commit.

The state's offer is good until July 31, 2009.

The work being done now is just north of Round Lake, about a quarter mile east of Route 9 on Route 67 going east toward Stillwater.

Relyea said the park's entrance will have a four-lane road, with a 10-foot grass divider.

There will be a lot of trees.

"That will be a beautiful entrance," Relyea said.

"We're trying to design a college campus setting."

The exact design of the entrance, including signage, is still being developed.

"We're in the middle of doing our landscape design plan," he said.

Relyea said he does not know where trucks serving the park's businesses would enter and exit, although he said a service entrance will be created.

Most people, he said, would get to the park either from Exit 11 or Exit 12.

The Round Lake Bypass, a state project that will allow traffic coming off Exit 11 on the Northway to circumvent the historic village of Round Lake, will connect to Route 9 close to where the Luther Forest entrance will be.

Currently, the main entry into Luther Forest is Hermes Road, which comes into the park off Dunning Street north of the park and is best accessed from Exit 12.

The new entrance is at the southern end of Luther Forest, best accessed by Exit 11.

Larry Rulison can be reached at 454-5504 or by e-mail at lrulison@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

"Paterson backs away from trooper comments - Governor says he has no proof that State Police targeted lawmakers"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

First published: Saturday, May 3, 2008

ALBANY -- Gov. David Paterson said Friday in a radio interview that he admitted past marital affairs in part because he feared an "out-of-control" element in the State Police that he said was investigating politicians.

But later Friday, he told reporters he had no proof that out-of-control troopers were targeting politicians.

"I don't know that that's actually the case."

"These are things that are said to me," Paterson told news reporters, after he made the disclosure to the sports program hosts on a radio show.

He said those reports were made by "over 10" lawmakers of both parties statewide about traffic stops and leaks by police to news organizations about brushes with the law.

It was the strength of those reports, made shortly after he took office March 17, that prompted the Democratic governor to request an investigation by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on whether State Police were keeping tabs on elected officials.

At the time, Paterson said he was reacting to legislators' concerns and a report in the New York Post.

But on Friday in a radio interview with WFAN-AM sports radio in Manhattan, Paterson said he knew these rogue troopers were operating and the concern prompted his revelations that he had affairs with women years ago when his marriage was in trouble.

He has since reconciled with his wife.

"That was also on my mind when I made my own personal revelations," Paterson said on the radio.

"There was obviously an element in the police force and it wasn't Republican or Democrat, it was just out-of-control people who had power that were clearly monitoring a lot of the elected officials and I was kind of afraid of leaks of inaccurate information about something and that was another thing that pushed me to speak."

[Livyjr]

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

We The People of the State of New York, grateful to Almighty God for our Freedom, in order to secure its blessings, DO ESTABLISH THIS 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.

http://www.senate.state.ny.us/lbdcinfo/senconstitution.html

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

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

First published: Friday, February 2, 2007

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

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

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

They never listed the uses in the budget.

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

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

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

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

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

Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady, said the vagueness of the previous lump sums and the new ones is troublesome.

Tedisco has complained about the $3.4 billion in "slush funds" created since 2000 and "controlled by the three men in the room," as the top state leaders are usually called.

The new pots seem like more slush, he said.

"If they're not listed on how the money will be allocated, what the formula will be, that's more of a slush fund," he said.

Senate Republicans say every dollar should be itemized in the budget, but that was not part of the deal that Spitzer and the leaders shook on recently.

ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION - Capitol confidential

“'Timely' But Via A 'Flawed' Process"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Obviously, however, the process that produced the budget was flawed."

"Next year, we will be able to start the process sooner and have the time to seek greater input from lawmakers and the public.”

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4285#comments

AND AS THE ADMINISTRATION OF NYS GOVERNOR DAVID PATERSON CONTINUES TO PROMOTE FISCAL PROFLIGACY AND FINANCIAL IRRESPONSIBILITY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK ...

AS WELL AS SPITTING ON THE NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION ...

WE HAVE ...

"Lawmakers release 10,000 election year 'pork' grants worth $147 million to voters back home"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 6:52 p.m., Friday, May 2, 2008

ALBANY -- Lawmakers are showering $147 million in pork-barrel spending on 10,000 programs, agencies and charities back home this election year.

The grants that lawmakers prefer to call member items or Community Project Funds are doled out based on the political clout of a lawmaker.

The result is taxpayers statewide pay to support gun clubs and abortion-rights groups, clubs and charities -- whose funding never gets a public vote -- in addition to the health and social service programs that depend on the annual funds.

Democratic Gov. David Paterson also has $30 million in pork spending.

The traditional pork-barrel spending was spared from the reductions that faced most other areas of the state budget adopted last month.

The Legislature's grants include cash for American Legion halls, such as $25,000 for an American Legion Post in Glens Falls provided through Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno.

Bruno, of Rensselaer County, directed or helped direct 139 grants worth more than $4.5 million to his district and around the state.

He also sent $50,000 to the Hendrick Hudson Fish & Game Club in Wynantskill and $30,000 to the Mechanicville Fire Department.

IN NEW YORK STATE, ACCORDING TO THE OFFICE OF NYS GOVERNOR DAVID PATERSON, THE "TYPICAL" NEW YORKER WITHOUT POLITICAL PROTECTION OR CLOUT IS GOING TO HAVE TO TIGHTEN HIS OR HER BELT AND DO WITHOUT WHILE PAYING HIGH TAXES TO THE STATE OF NEW YORK FOE ESSENTIALLY NOTHING ...

IN THE MEANTIME, SPECIAL INTERESTS WITH PROTECTION AND BUSINESSES TIED TO POWERFUL STATE POLITICIANS WILL GET HANDOUTS FROM THE "STATE" IN THE FORM OF "PORK" ....

DESPITE A CONSTITUTIONAL: PROHIBITION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK AGAINST SUCH HAND-OUTS ...

And so ....

DAVID PATERSON IS THE STATUS QUO IN ALBANY, NEW YORK PERSONIFIED ...

"MR. GO ALONG TO GET ALONG" ....

"MR. PAY-TO-PLAY" ...

And so ...

"State budget deficits deepen - Paterson aide says weakening economy will mean total deficits of $21.5 billion in next 3 years"

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

First published: Friday, May 2, 2008

ALBANY -- Savings measures outlined by Gov. David Paterson won't be enough to close looming budget gaps that are even bigger than the governor has indicated, budget director Laura Anglin revealed Thursday.

New York faces a three-year deficit of $21.5 billion, Anglin said.

That's $1.5 billion more than Paterson estimated the day before.

She also predicted tens of thousands of private sector job losses and an astounding drop-off of revenues.

Revenue fell off $700 million between July and last month, she said, adding, "the worst is yet to come."

"The revenue will not be there to bail this out," she said.

"The typical New Yorker is having to tighten their belt."

"The state needs to do the same thing."

The nationwide recession, she said, will be relatively mild and short but will linger in New York at least through early 2009.

It will take more time, she said, before revenues from Wall Street, which fuels a big chunk of the state treasury, rebound as the financial sector continues to bleed jobs and deals with the mortgage market crisis.

Paterson is trying to focus on next year now.

He says he will take measures to cut 5 percent to 10 percent of the state's operating budget, but will leave out major components such as education aid, health care spending and welfare programs.

The areas that are left account for about $37 billion of the $121.6 billion budget.

That means, if successful, he would cut between about $1.9 billion and $3.7 billion, still short of next year's budget gap of $5 billion.

Over the next two years, Anglin estimates shortfalls of $7.7 billion and $8.8 billion.

Other steps will have to be taken to balance budgets, including collecting one-shot revenues through measures such as sweeping surpluses from dedicated accounts in the budget that are reserved for specific programs.

She also said the state will have to create new revenue sources.

The goal, she said, is to avoid increasing taxes.

Assembly Democrats propose increasing income taxes on the very wealthy to raise $1.5 billion a year.

Anglin said plans to increase the state work force from 199,754 to 201,170 are no longer valid, because each agency must pare its budget.

This year's $121.6 billion is up 4.8 percent, she said.

The spending plan includes a 5 percent increase in state operating funds to cover, among other things, new union contracts.

Anglin said Paterson was aware of some of the indicators that served as the basis for her financial report Thursday, but the weaknesses in the economy have become clearer since the budget was approved April 9.

Anglin's report shows household income and consumer spending slowing considerably, corporate profits tumbling, layoffs on Wall Street continuing and housing sales contracting through the end of 2008.

E.J. McMahon, director of the Manhattan Institute's Empire Center for New York State Policy who attended Anglin's address, said the new data show this year's budget imperiled future budgets.

He blamed former Gov. Eliot Spitzer for introducing bloated budgets.

"It was clear the economy was headed down," he said.

Anglin said an internal panel of fiscal experts will analyze all spending areas to figure out where savings can be obtained.

"This whole exercise, examining root causes, is about 18 months overdue," McMahon said.

The dismal projections come despite an unexpected bump in income tax revenues in April, $1.6 billion higher than estimated.

Anglin said the windfall was largely the result of stronger-than-expected performance in the financial markets in early 2007, but that with the softening of the economy, she doesn't expect the extra money to lead to a surplus by the end of the current fiscal year.

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

[Livyjr]

DON'T WORRY ABOUT BEING FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE IN THE CORRUPT EMPIRE OF NEW YORK, THE "ALL IT TAKES IS A DOLLAR AND A DREAM" STATE ...

IF YOU ARE FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE, THE "STATE" IS THERE TO BAIL YOU OUT ....

WITH MONEY THAT IT HAS TAKEN FROM THOSE TAXPAYERS WHO WERE FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE ...

TO REWARD YOUR PROFLIGACY ...

And so ...

"Paterson seeks foreclosure help - Governor appeals to congressional delegation in hourlong breakfast meeting"

By JENNIFER A. DLOUHY, Washington bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Friday, May 2, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Gov. David Paterson, meeting for the first time with New York's congressional delegation since becoming governor, pressed the lawmakers Thursday to help homeowners facing foreclosure.

Members of the delegation emerging from the hourlong closed-door breakfast meeting praised the new governor's style, though they did not come out with a new plan to help homeowners with mortgage problems.

Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Greenport, one of about two dozen lawmakers in the meeting, said Paterson has been "very receptive to hearing" about issues affecting the Capital Region and upstate New York.

"He really reached out to our entire delegation," Gillibrand said.

Paterson's top priority Thursday was to push for relief for homeowners who are facing mortgage foreclosure as a result of rising payments on their mortgages.

Speaking with reporters after the meeting, Paterson noted that there had been 14,183 foreclosures in New York state during the first quarter of 2008 -- 32 percent in Brooklyn and Queens and 23 percent in Long Island.

However, Paterson said, "it's a problem that's (happening) all over the state."

Flanked by 10 House members and Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., Paterson said there are "tens of thousands of people who are struggling to pay their mortgages."

Gillibrand said she took advantage of the meeting to press for property tax relief for upstate residents and for the state to divorce property tax revenue from school funding plans.

Property taxes make up the main revenue stream for public schools.

[Livyjr]

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

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

And so ...

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

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

First published: Monday, April 21, 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ortiz said the foundation asked other lawmakers for funding.

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

She said she would have denied the request.

"Not now, not ever," she said.

"Politics: A process of give and take"

Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Monday, May 5, 2008

An organization that some consider a cult -- and was in line for a state grant -- was missing from the Assembly member item list unveiled Friday.

Although Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, D-Brooklyn, planned to give a $4,000 member item to the Aesthetic Realism Foundation, the item was put on "hold," an unusual occurrence.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's office could not provide details.

The Times Union disclosed the planned grant last month, also noting some former ARF members consider it a cult.

Ortiz had said the money would allow the group to offer new activities at senior centers in his district.

Both he and a senior center director said they were unaware of the allegations involving ARF, including that it tries to recruit elderly people.

He did not return a call about why he yanked the item.

Devorah Tarrow, a spokeswoman for the foundation, said about the assertions:

"That's nuts ... we are not recruiting."

Majority privileges

Speaking of member items, a breakdown of the Senate list shows -- surprise -- being in the majority really helps.

A review by New York Public Interest Group found GOP Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno at the top with $4.2 million, followed by all 32 Republicans, then the Democrats.

Minority Leader Malcolm Smith got $657,000.

Hugh Farley, R-Niskayuna, drew about $2.2 million.

Place your bets

After helping Democrats in some high-profile Senate contests, the influential 1199/SEIU health care union has decided to bet on Republicans, who still hold a 32-30 majority in the chamber, according to a person close to the union.

The union will provide resources exclusively to the GOP this fall, the person said.

Union leaders, joined by key health care industry figures, met Friday with Sen. Bruno to discuss how to help the GOP hold control.

The union ruffled feathers in February when it was revealed it had donated more than $250,000 to the Working Families Party in less than two months.

The WFP has made the Democrats' takeover of the Senate a priority this year.

The union, according to the Long Island-based newspaper Newsday, also bought a table at a fundraiser earlier this year for Sen. Craig Johnson, D-Port Washington.

SEIU had backed Johnson's opponent in a special election last year.

Big league bills

The average cost of educating a public school student in New York is $18,768 a year, according to the state Education Department, but a new report from the Empire Center for New York State Policy finds some districts have costs far surpassing an Ivy League tuition.

Those include some small Long Island districts like Island Park, which spends $42,369 per student; East Quoque, at $44,298; and Amagansett, at $67,102.

On the other end of the scale, Mohonansen in Rotterdam was the second-lowest in the state, spending $12,708 per student.

At the bottom was General Brown in Jefferson County at $12,141.

Contributors: Capitol bureau reporters James M. Odato and Irene Jay Liu and State Editor Jay Jochnowitz. Got a tip? Call 454-5424 or e-mail jjochnowitz@ timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

IN NEW YORK STATE, ACCORDING TO THE OFFICE OF NYS GOVERNOR DAVID PATERSON, THE "TYPICAL" NEW YORKER WITHOUT POLITICAL PROTECTION OR CLOUT IS GOING TO HAVE TO TIGHTEN HIS OR HER BELT AND DO WITHOUT WHILE PAYING HIGH TAXES TO THE STATE OF NEW YORK FOE ESSENTIALLY NOTHING ...

IN THE MEANTIME, SPECIAL INTERESTS WITH PROTECTION AND BUSINESSES TIED TO POWERFUL STATE POLITICIANS WILL GET HANDOUTS FROM THE "STATE" IN THE FORM OF "PORK" ....

DESPITE A CONSTITUTIONAL: PROHIBITION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK AGAINST SUCH HAND-OUTS ...

And so ....

DAVID PATERSON IS THE STATUS QUO IN ALBANY, NEW YORK PERSONIFIED ...

"MR. GO ALONG TO GET ALONG" ....

"MR. PAY-TO-PLAY" ...

And so ...

"State budget deficits deepen - Paterson aide says weakening economy will mean total deficits of $21.5 billion in next 3 years"

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

First published: Friday, May 2, 2008

ALBANY -- Savings measures outlined by Gov. David Paterson won't be enough to close looming budget gaps that are even bigger than the governor has indicated, budget director Laura Anglin revealed Thursday.

New York faces a three-year deficit of $21.5 billion, Anglin said.

That's $1.5 billion more than Paterson estimated the day before.

She also predicted tens of thousands of private sector job losses and an astounding drop-off of revenues.

Revenue fell off $700 million between July and last month, she said, adding, "the worst is yet to come."

"The typical New Yorker is having to tighten their belt."

"Good-government group says pork stinks - Group's analysis of NY legislative 'pork' spending shows inequal treatment for New Yorkers"

Associated Press

Last updated: 5:52 p.m., Monday, May 5, 2008

ALBANY -- The New York Public Interest Research Group says its analysis so far of pork-barrel spending shows the Legislature doesn't treat all communities equally.

NYPIRG says the average Republican in the GOP-controlled Senate disbursed $2.3 million to his or her home district this election year.

Democrats in the minority of the chamber each received an average of $296,251 for their constituents.

Democrats who control the Assembly disbursed an average of $541,102 to their districts, compared to an average of $121,875 for Republican members.

On Friday, the Legislature released $147 million in pork-barrel spending on 10,000 programs, agencies and charities back home this election year.

NYPIRG says pork-barrel spending is unfair because it's doled out on a political basis.

[Livyjr]

"Ex-corrections lawyer in NY no-show probe quits law firm - NY lawyer who quit part time state job over no-show claims resigns from private practice"

Associated Press

Last updated: 5:22 p.m., Monday, May 5, 2008

ALBANY -- A lawyer who quit his part-time state job after New York's inspector general claimed he didn't show up for work is now leaving his private practice job.

James McCarthy has left his job at the Girvin & Ferlazzo firm in Albany.

That's according to McCarthy's attorney, Karl Sleight.

The inspector general said Friday that McCarthy didn't show up at his work stations to handle extradition of criminals.

But his former employer, the state Department of Corrections, says McCarthy always completed his work and it has apparently not been questioned in court.

The Girvin & Ferlazzo firm has also drawn attention from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in an investigation of private attorneys who take part-time jobs with local school districts but collect full-time benefits.

[Livyjr]

"New York school unions lobby against property tax cap - Teachers' union lobbies against property tax cap plan to limit school spending in New York"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 1:12 p.m., Sunday, April 27, 2008

ALBANY -- A special commission created to find a way to cap New Yorkers' property taxes may not call for a cap after all.

The powerful New York State United Teachers union opposes the cap that would limit how much most school districts could raise through the local tax levy.

Suozzi, a Democrat, said the state needs a "circuit breaker" that kicks in a tax break on the most hard-pressed New Yorkers, but New Yorkers also need a cap on local tax levies.

That could limit the amount of money a school district could raise in taxes to a fixed amount, such as 4 percent or 120 percent of the consumer price index, whichever is lower.

But that goes against the teachers unions, which emerged as the most powerful lobbying force in Albany this budget season.

The group, which spends millions on lobbying and campaign contributions, last month helped win a record increase in school aid despite hard fiscal times, fought off a tougher requirement for getting tenure, and even got a statewide day of commemoration for teachers.

"When asked to choose between quality schools and lower taxes, parents and community members repeatedly vote in favor of investing more in public education," said Alan B. Lubin, NYSUT's executive vice president.

"NYC teachers paid to stay in limbo - Keeping educators accused of wrongdoing out of the classroom costs city $65M, report says"

Associated Press

First published: Monday, May 5, 2008

NEW YORK -- The number of city teachers yanked from their classrooms because of accusations of wrongdoing has doubled in four years, and some spend years collecting their salaries while awaiting disciplinary hearings, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Their pay costs the nation's largest public school system an estimated $65 million a year, not including the cost of hiring substitutes or renting space for the so-called "rubber rooms" where accused teachers spend their work days, the Daily News reported.

Accused of offenses ranging from excessive tardiness to sex abuse, an average 700 teachers at any given time read magazines, play cards and nap in the "rubber rooms" -- officially, Temporary Reassignment Centers, the newspaper reported.

It cited city data.

As of Jan. 29, one teacher accused of sexually abusing a child had been assigned to a rubber room for 5 years, the newspaper said.

The average accused teacher waits four months for investigators to decide whether to bring formal charges.

If they do, it takes an average of nine more months for a hearing and another six months for a decision.

School officials said teachers are pulled from classrooms only if evidence suggests they are dangerous to children, and state laws and teachers' contract rules make it difficult to speed the process.

"I'm not sitting here telling you that I think this is an ideal system," said the city Education Department's chief lawyer, Michael Best.

"We're in a situation where we need to balance our obligation to safeguard children with our legal obligation for fairness to teachers."

Teachers union president Randi Weingarten called for swift investigations, saying the rooms were "demoralizing, horrible places."

[Livyjr]

WITH RESPECT TO "PORK" IN NEW YORK, AND CORPORATE WELFARE AT THE EXPENSE OF THE STATE'S TAXPAYERS OF NEW YORK WHO ARE LITTLE MORE THAN FEEDLOT CATTLE IN A LOT OF RESPECTS AS FAR AS THE "STATE" IS CONCERNED ...

SOME YEARS AGO NOW, THERE WAS A BIG "PRESS CONFERENCE" HELD BY REPUBLICAN STATE SENATE MAJORITY LEADER AND "BOSS" JOSEPH L. BRUNO IN EAST GREENBUSH IN JOE BRUNO'S PERSONAL FIEFDOM OF RENSSELAER COUNTY IN NEW YORK TO ANNOUNCE DUMPING A BUNCH OF STATE MONEY INTO THIS ALBANY INTERNATIONAL COMPANY AS AN "INVESTMENT" IN NEW YORK'S FUTURE, YADA, YADA, YADA ....

AS IF JOE BRUNO AND THE STATE OF NEW YORK HAD CONTROL OVER THE FUTURE ...

WHICH IS REMINISCENT OF THE PLANS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE COMMUNIST RULERS OF THE NOW-DEFUNCT SOVIET UNION, AND CHAIRMAN MAO IN COMMUNIST CHINA ...

TODAY, THE BUILDING THAT WAS BUILT FOR THIS ALBANY INTERNATIONAL COMPANY IN EAST GREENBUSH WITH STATE TAX DOLLARS SITS VACANT WITH A "FOR SALE" SIGN OUTSIDE ....

BUT THERE ARE NO PRESS CONFERENCES NOW TO QUESTION WHERE ALL THAT STATE MONEY DISAPPEARED TO ...

WHERE ARE ALL THOSE PROMISES?

WHERE ARE ALL THOSE DREAMS?

And the answer is, in the opium pipe where they always were ...

And the money is up in smoke ...

And so ...

"Menands company has rough quarter - Albany International posts $1.5 million loss, cites restructuring"

By LARRY RULISON, Business writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Tuesday, May 6, 2008

MENANDS -- Manufacturer Albany International Corp. said Monday that it posted a $1.5 million loss during the first quarter of the year, due in large part to restructuring charges.

During the same period last year, the company earned $9.3 million.

And despite the fact that overall sales at the company were $273 million -- a 9 percent increase over the same period in 2007 -- Chief Executive Joseph Morone warned that deteriorating economic conditions could hurt the company's paper manufacturing equipment business in North America.

For instance, sales of the company's paper machine clothing -- industrial fabric used in paper mill machines -- were down 12.9 percent during the quarter in North America.

"We'd be pretty optimistic except for this general economic weakness," Morone said.

Albany International is in the middle of a three-year program to reorganize its paper machine clothing business, which has historically been the source of most of its revenue.

That plan has resulted in several factory closures, including one in East Greenbush earlier this year and layoffs at the company's Menands headquarters, where manufacturing also takes place.

The most recent announcements were the closure of a facility near Boston and a factory in Alabama.

The company said the closure of the Alabama plant and some other restructuring costs were responsible for $5.4 million in charges during the quarter.

"We're not imagining the restructuring goes on forever," Morone said.

"Once we're done, we're done."

Morone was optimistic about the company's engineered composites unit, which makes aerospace parts.

Sales at that unit, which is not yet profitable but is getting there, were up 42.6 percent for the quarter.

On Sunday, Albany International announced the pending sale of its Filtrations Technologies business, which serves power plants, for $45 million.

That unit is based in Australia and China.

Shares of the company (NYSE: AIN) ended trading Monday at $35.66, down $1.22, or 3.31 percent.

[Livyjr]

AND GETTING BACK TO THE PROBLEM OF THE PLAGUE OR INFESTATION OR SWARM OF PARASITIC LAWYERS IN NEW YORK STATE WHO HELP TO KEEP THIS STATE FUNCTIONING AS ONE OF THE MOST CORRUPT AND INEPT STATE GOVERNMENTS IN THE UNITED STATES, AND PERHAPS THE WORLD, AS WELL, WE HAVE ...

"Old ruling adds to pension dispute - 2004 state Supreme Court decision could bolster effort to deny credits in state system to private lawyers"

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

First published: Tuesday, May 6, 2008

With private lawyers under state scrutiny for getting themselves listed as public employees in order to get into New York's pension system, a 2004 court case has come to light that clearly stated the practice was not allowed.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo have been casting a widening net across New York's legal landscape, exploring instances in which lawyers have been listed as employees of school districts or BOCES organizations in order to gain taxpayer-financed pension credits.

Because such lawyers, who typically work at outside law firms, don't meet the usual definition of an employee, Cuomo maintains they don't qualify for public pensions.

He has criticized such practices as "payroll padding" by school systems.

But some lawyers and school officials have said they did nothing wrong, at least not knowingly, since the comptroller, attorney general and state Education Department had not previously disallowed the practice.

However, in a little-known case in state Supreme Court in Albany County, a judge in 2004 ruled a lawyer for a central New York BOCES could not accrue pension credits for his legal work for the same reasons noted by Cuomo and DiNapoli -- that people must meet certain conditions in order to be listed as employees, such as working regular hours and under supervision.

In that case, Marc H. Reitz had sued the Teachers Retirement System, seeking pension credits from the 1980s until 2002 for his work as a legal adviser to the Oswego County BOCES and the South Jefferson and Oneida school districts in central New York.

Justice Joseph Cannizzaro in his decision sided with the retirement system, ruling that Reitz should not have been listed as an employee at Oswego BOCES, South Jefferson and Oneida.

He found Oneida had agreed to "pay and report petitioner as an employee" in order to boost his final average salary for retirement purposes.

DiNapoli and Cuomo are looking into whether lawyers were also improperly included in the State and Local Retirement System, which is separate from the teachers system.

Last month, for instance, lawyers from Albany's Girvin & Ferlazzo law firm -- Jay Girvin, Jeffrey Honeywell, Kristine Lanchantin and Kathy Ann Wolverton -- were stripped of state pension credits when DiNapoli said they shouldn't have been listed as employees of the Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES, which hired them to do legal work for member school districts.

And people familiar with the situation said Cuomo and DiNapoli are at least looking at whether the Syracuse firm where Reitz is listed as a partner, Ferrara, Fiorenza Larrison Barrett & Reitz PC, also may have had people improperly listed as earning pension credits from the State and Local Retirement System.

Cuomo is also continuing to probe Girvin & Ferlazzo.

The 2004 case appears to bolster arguments by DiNapoli and Cuomo about contractors not being entitled to those credits.

"The court case is crystal clear," said one Albany lawyer, Matthew B. Tully, who added, "I would think the attorney general is in a much stronger position because of this case."

Reitz didn't return a call on Monday.

Jeff Honeywell of Girvin & Ferlazzo, though, said he was unaware of the 2004 case, which was unreported, meaning it hasn't been widely reprinted in law books or other sources.

Honeywell said the Reitz case involved a separate retirement system.

Additionally, Reitz appeared able to keep other pension credits, according to the ruling, due to his earlier employment with the Oswego BOCES prior to becoming a lawyer.

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

[Livyjr]

AND AS THE ADMINISTRATION OF NYS GOVERNOR DAVID PATERSON CONTINUES TO PROMOTE FISCAL PROFLIGACY AND FINANCIAL IRRESPONSIBILITY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK ...

AS WELL AS SPITTING ON THE NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION ...

WE HAVE ...

"Lawmakers release 10,000 election year 'pork' grants worth $147 million to voters back home"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 6:52 p.m., Friday, May 2, 2008

ALBANY -- Lawmakers are showering $147 million in pork-barrel spending on 10,000 programs, agencies and charities back home this election year.

The grants that lawmakers prefer to call member items or Community Project Funds are doled out based on the political clout of a lawmaker.

The result is taxpayers statewide pay to support gun clubs and abortion-rights groups, clubs and charities -- whose funding never gets a public vote -- in addition to the health and social service programs that depend on the annual funds.

Democratic Gov. David Paterson also has $30 million in pork spending.

The traditional pork-barrel spending was spared from the reductions that faced most other areas of the state budget adopted last month.

Good-government groups have long criticized the practice as a way for incumbents to buy votes, contributing to a better than 90 percent re-election rate despite the public's low regard for the Legislature as a whole.

Political leaders in the conference may also direct more pork to lawmakers facing tough re-election contests.

The Legislature's grants include cash for American Legion halls, such as $25,000 for an American Legion Post in Glens Falls provided through Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno.

Bruno, of Rensselaer County, directed or helped direct 139 grants worth more than $4.5 million to his district and around the state.

He also sent $50,000 to the Hendrick Hudson Fish & Game Club in Wynantskill and $30,000 to the Mechanicville Fire Department.

JOE BRUNO IS THE "STATE OF NEW YORK" ...

THE "STATE OF NEW YORK" IS JOE BRUNO ...

A SIMPLE FORMULA, ACTUALLY ...

AS IS THE FACT THAT THE HENDRICK HUDSON FISH & GAME CLUB IS AN EXCLUSIVE "MEMBERS ONLY" ORGANIZATION THAT DOESN'T HAVE DOODLY SQUAT TO DO WITH THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK ...

UNLESS IT IS THE OBLIGATION OF THE LESS WELL-OFF IN NYS TO SUPPORT THEIR "BETTERS" IN SUCH EXCLUSIVE "FISH & GAME CLUBS" WITH STATE TAXPAYER DOLLARS ...

And so ...

"State GOP bulks up vulnerable candidates - Advocacy group says Bruno doles out millions in member-item funds where tough campaigns expected"

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

First published: Tuesday, May 6, 2008

ALBANY -- The Republican-led Senate is pouring millions of dollars in taxpayer money into "pork" projects where GOP incumbents face difficult re-election campaigns this fall.

That pattern, and the trend by the Legislature's majority conferences to give minority lawmakers only a fraction of the discretionary funds, is part of an "outrageous" and "indefensible" practice, said Blair Horner, legislative director for the New York Public Interest Research Group.

NYPIRG's analysis of member-item data posted on the Senate and Assembly Web sites on Friday showed Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, R-Brunswick, trumping all others in member-item spending with $4.2 million for this year, up 38.4 percent from last year.

He was followed by three top lieutenants: Sen. Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Centre, at $3.74 million, up 69.4 percent; Sen. Thomas Libous, R-Binghamton, $3.49 million, up 52 percent; and Sen. Owen Johnson, R-Babylon, $3.3 million, up 20.5 percent, according to NYPIRG.

Next highest were some of the more vulnerable junior GOP members and those who face tough re-election challenges.

For instance, Sen. Joseph Robach, R-Rochester, received $2.6 million, up 27.5 percent from last year.

He is expected to face former Sen. Richard Dollinger, D-Rochester, in a district that is very competitive because of its large Democratic enrollment.

Others getting ample funds for district groups included Sens. Dale Volker, R-Depew; Serphin Maltese, R-Queens; and Frank Padavan, R-Bellerose.

Mark Hansen, a spokesman for Bruno, said "member initiatives" were approved based on community needs as well as the senators' seniority.

Dollinger said it appears politics is at work.

"This is what the state Senate Republicans think of publicly funded campaigns," he said.

The minority conference received an average of $293,348 per member compared with $2.3 million per GOP member, NYPIRG said.

The Democratic average would have been lower if not for the $850,000 Sen. Carl Kruger, D-Brooklyn, received, higher than Minority Leader Malcolm Smith's $657,000.

The Queens Democrat's allocation fell 32.6 percent from last year.

Republican and Democratic legislative officials credited Kruger's friendly relationship with Bruno.

"Karl Kruger basically works for Sen. Bruno," said Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan.

Kruger said he got the extra funds "because I have programs that are worthy of investment," but added, "We should either get no member items or we should get the same amount."

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, amassed just over $3 million in member items, the most in the Assembly and a far cry from the roughly $400,000 for Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady.

Tedisco said he awarded member items based on seniority, at the insistence of Silver, who controls how much the minority gets.

Silver said he generally provided funds based on years of service.

He also said although his members received an average of $541,000 compared with $122,000 for Republicans, the Democrats used tens of millions of dollars in discretionary funds for programs that should have been in the state budget, such as legal services for indigents.

The system is unfair and won't change until voters make it an election issue, said Assemblyman James Hayes, R-Amherst.

Scrutiny of member items has intensified in recent years after revelations that some members abused or misused the funds, sending money to organizations that benefits relatives or themselves.

As a result, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo began a certification program in 2007 that requires grant recipients to fill out forms stating they have no links to the sponsoring lawmaker and that the project has a public purpose.

Cuomo last week said member-item recipients aren't submitting the contracts necessary to collect grants or are failing to fill out the paperwork.

In the 2006-2007 fiscal year, more than 6,500 member items worth $200 million were included in the budget.

Yet just 3,785, worth $122 million, arrived in contract form, said Cuomo.

Cuomo said he approved 2,756 as submitted and denied the rest because they didn't meet the test for funding.

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

[Livyjr]

"NY Power Authority under scrutiny over deleted e-mails - Cuomo wants NY Power Authority to account for deleted e-mails related to probe of state police"

By VALERIE BAUMAN, Associated Press

Last updated: 6:02 p.m., Wednesday, May 7, 2008

ALBANY -- Attorney General Andrew Cuomo wants the New York Power Authority to provide the names of employees who deleted e-mails from a computer and phone used by the authority's inspector general, Daniel Wiese.

Cuomo also asked NYPA to do everything it can to restore the missing e-mails from backup systems and provide them to his office.

Wiese, a former state trooper, was named in Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares' investigation of aides to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer who used the state police to gather information on Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, Spitzer's chief political rival.

Soares found no criminal wrongdoing but concluded Spitzer, who later resigned in a prostitution scandal, may have lied about his role in the plot.

Gov. David Paterson asked Cuomo to investigate allegations state police have been improperly monitoring elected officials for years, but the probe has been stymied by the deletion of e-mails from Wiese's computer and Blackberry.

In a letter sent Tuesday to NYPA President and CEO Roger Kelley, Cuomo said Wiese's e-mails were deleted on April 1 -- the same day the investigation was announced.

"It appears that NYPA's IT system deleted many past e-mails on Wiese's computer system."

"These e-mails are relevant to this investigation."

"Undoubtedly you appreciate the seriousness of this extremely troubling conduct," Cuomo said in the letter.

Wiese was put on indefinite paid leave last month, and was placed on non-paid administrative leave as of the end of business Wednesday, Power Authority spokeswoman Christine Pritchard said.

"We will do everything in our power to get to the bottom of the matter and take appropriate action -- including holding accountable any personnel who acted in an inappropriate manner," Pritchard said.

[Livyjr]

"NY Assembly approves 1-year delay in foreclosures - NY lawmakers advancing proposals to delay foreclosures and ease effect of subprime loan crisis"

By MICHAEL VIRTANEN, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:02 p.m., Wednesday, May 7, 2008

ALBANY -- The state Assembly passed legislation Wednesday to impose a one-year delay on foreclosures when New York homeowners default on mortgage payments, while the Senate was poised to consider a related measure backed by Gov. David Paterson.

Both are meant to limit the impact here of the national crisis in subprime lending.

Lawmakers and staff said they expect some version of the legislation to pass in the next several weeks.

The Senate Banks Committee will hold a hearing Monday on Paterson's proposal to delay foreclosure for 60 days after lenders get an owner's offer to renegotiate.

"There's nothing wrong with the governor's proposal."

"It's a welcome proposal and would do a lot of good I'm sure," said Assemblyman James Brennan.

But the Brooklyn Democrat said his bill for a year-long delay, which passed the Assembly 118-10, is also aimed at stopping predatory lenders trying to foreclose while giving homeowners respite to refinance as other national, state and commercial relief measures get off the ground.

Brennan pointed to data showing 14,000 foreclosure filings in New York during the first three months of this year, with 6,700 in March, a trend projected to total 80,000 in 2008 and roughly quadruple the number in 2004.

The subprime lending problems resulted from variations on low adjustable-rate mortgages that rise sharply for borrowers marginally qualified to meet payments.

"The mortgage industry aggressively marketed mortgages with low 'teaser' interest rates.'

"...Other questionable loans include interest-only mortgages and mortgages made with little or no income verification," said Assemblyman Darryl Towns, another Brooklyn Democrat who chairs the Assembly Banks Committee.

"These schemes have also placed millions of Americans, particularly in low-income communities and communities of color, at risk of foreclosure."

Testimony to the Senate Banks Committee indicated 98 to 99 percent of mortgages in New York were being paid on time last year, but with pockets of problems and higher foreclosure rates in the Bronx, Queens and more recently Brooklyn.

Subprime loans account for a fraction of total lending.

"Most of the statistics seem to show New York is sort of in the middle of the country," said Peter Edman, staff director of the Senate Banks Committee, adding the reliability of some data is in dispute.

"But we have seen significant increases in the number of foreclosures compared to a year ago, two years ago, three years ago."

New York already requires a judicial process for foreclosure that can take an additional year once a second or third missed mortgage payment starts the process.

Michael Smith, president of the New York Bankers Association, said New York already has the longest foreclosure process of any state, which can average 445 days.

Prolonging it "benefits neither the borrower nor the lender," he said.

Senate Banks Committee Chairman Hugh Farley, a Niskayuna Republican, said Paterson's measure will likely be the vehicle for state lawmakers to deal with the issue, which will require three-way agreement.

"What we're trying to do is address the problem," he said, "and not dry up the credit market."

Paterson's proposal would also require lenders to notify delinquent homeowners at least 60 days before starting foreclosure actions, as well as a court-supervised conference with the lender and homeowner in an attempt to work out a compromise.

Both Paterson's and an Assembly measure would establish new requirements for lenders verifying borrowers' ability to repay loans.

Another measure passed by the Assembly would authorize temporary financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure, with up to three months' mortgage payments.

However, the budget approved earlier this year only authorizes $25 million for legal services and counseling for those in default or foreclosure.

[Livyjr]

NO MONEY FOR STATE GOVERNMENT IN NEW YORK STATE FOR ESSENTIAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES ....

BUT THERE IS ALWAYS STATE MONEY FOR PRIVATE INTERESTS ....

SO THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO SPEND THEIR OWN MONEY ....

And so ...

"Paterson announces $25 million for NY affordable housing - Paterson announces $25 million to build, renovate affordable housing in Western NY and NYC"

Associated Press

Last updated: 4:02 p.m., Wednesday, May 7, 2008

ALBANY -- Gov. David Paterson says $25 million in grants will go toward building and renovating 396 units of affordable housing in New York City and the western part of the state.

The boards of the New York State Housing Finance Agency and its subsidiary, the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation, approved the grants Wednesday.

The agency and corporation make grants to not-for-profit housing organizations around the state to help subsidize the cost of newly constructed homes and the renovation of existing housing.

The largest portion of the grant -- $18 million -- will go to rehabilitate the 125-unit Caroline Apartments, a Section 8 apartment building in the Inwood section of Manhattan.

------

On the Net: http://www.nyhomes.org/home/index.asp

[Livyjr]

"More NY lawyers' state retirement benefits suspended - Comptroller suspends more lawyers' benefits in probe of New York pension system abuses"

Associated Press

Last updated: 1:42 p.m., Wednesday, May 7, 2008

ALBANY -- New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is suspending or reducing the public pensions of five more lawyers and an accountant in his ongoing investigation of contractors wrongly listed as public employees.

DiNapoli says membership in the New York State and Local Retirement System has been revoked for Niagara Falls attorney Maria Massaro, Long Island attorneys William Cullen and Nathan Swergold, and Albany-area attorney M. Cornelia Cahill.

He rescinded service credit for attorney Maureen Harris, also from the Albany area, and Salvatore Evola, an accountant from Long Island, which reduces their benefits.

Most of the cases involve school districts wrongly reporting the contractors as employees, but officials are reviewing the practice in all the state's local governments.

[Livyjr]

"AMD strategy poses risk to chip fab plan - Firm wants to outsource manufacturing work and go 'asset-light'"

By LARRY RULISON, Business writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, April 26, 2007

MALTA -- As part of its bold new cost-cutting strategy, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is going to adopt a so-called "asset-light" approach in which the computer chip manufacturer may outsource more of its operations.

Whether that will impact the company's plans to build a $3.2 billion computer chip factory in Saratoga County remains to be seen.

During a conference call with analysts last week, AMD announced it will cut 2007 capital spending by $500 million after posting a $611 million loss for the first quarter.

The spending cuts will have an immediate impact on manufacturing operations in Dresden, Germany, where AMD's two computer chip factories, or "chip fabs," operate.

Much of the savings will come from slowing the rate by which the company converts its older factory there -- known as Fab 30 -- to newer technology.

That conversion was announced in May as part of a $2.5 billion project to quadruple manufacturing capacity in Dresden.

Andy Ng, an analyst with Morningstar Inc., a Chicago-based research firm, said that although AMD has not provided specifics, the company may be looking to outsource more of its manufacturing to "foundries," which are third-party companies that make computer chips for companies that design them.

AMD currently uses the foundry company Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing in Singapore when it needs additional capacity.

"If they were to proceed with this asset-light strategy, then the Albany plant could be at risk," Ng said.

"AMD shares climb on rumor of reorganization - Investors betting that company's strategy involves chip design, development from manufacturing"

By LARRY RULISON, Business writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, May 7, 2008

MALTA -- Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. surged Tuesday -- the most in almost five years -- on speculation the company may announce plans to split itself up.

It was unclear just how such a change -- if true -- might affect AMD's plans to build a $3.2 billion computer chip fabrication plant at Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta.

Shares (NYSE: AMD) closed Tuesday at $7.12, up 59 cents, or 9 percent, for the day.

The shares climbed as much as 13 percent earlier in the session, the biggest gain since August 2003.

Bloomberg News quoted CRT Capital Group analyst Ashok Kumar as saying the run-up was due to investors betting the company will soon reveal details of a plan to separate its manufacturing business from its chip design and development operations.

Michael Relyea, executive director of Luther Forest Technology Campus, said Tuesday afternoon he had just left a meeting with AMD officials who were working on the company's plans for the park off Northway Exit 11.

Nothing has changed, he said.

Relyea called the report "more speculation."

AMD Chief Executive Hector Ruiz said last year that he was exploring ways to cut the company's costs and return it to profitability in a strategy he dubbed "asset smart."

Since then, there have been numerous media reports that AMD would get out of manufacturing chips, or even sell the company altogether.

AMD's financial woes have only heightened speculation of a sell-off.

"The street has been waiting with bated breath," said Kumar, who advises buying the stock in anticipation of a breakup.

"In its current state, the business model isn't viable."

AMD spokesman Travis Bullard said the company couldn't comment.

"Sorry, but this is similar to previous rumor and speculation around our asset-smart strategy, and we can't comment until we are ready to make an announcement," he said.

Sunnyvale Calif.-based AMD will hold its annual shareholders' meeting Thursday in Austin, Texas.

Kumar said the company isn't likely to use that meeting to make any announcement.

Morningstar analyst Andy Ng, who follows AMD, also called the split of AMD "pure speculation," especially since Ruiz hasn't revealed any details of the asset-smart strategy.

If AMD were to change structure, he said, that wouldn't necessarily mean the chip fab plans would be scrapped.

New York state has offered AMD $1.25 billion in incentives to begin construction by July 31, 2009.

"Even if they partner with someone, maybe they still do something in New York," he said.

AMD reported a sixth straight quarterly loss last month as it struggled to compete with larger rival Intel Corp.

The first-quarter net loss narrowed to $358 million from $611 million a year earlier.

Larry Rulison can be reached at 454-5504 or by e-mail at lrulison@timesunion.com. Bloomberg News contributed to this story.

[Livyjr]

"State pension abuse issue draws legislation - Lawmakers offer bills seeking to curb practice of double dipping, plug loopholes in system"

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

First published: Wednesday, May 7, 2008

As Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli continue their crackdowns on alleged abuses of the state pension system, lawmakers are starting to take action with proposed legislation.

The bills come in the wake of recent media reports of school lawyers and other educational administrators accruing benefits from the state pension system they may not have been entitled to.

For example, two Long Island lawmakers -- Assemblyman Robert Sweeney, D-Lindenhurst, and Sen. Owen Johnson, R-West Babylon -- are offering a bill that would prevent double dipping.

Under the proposal, some retired public employees' pensions would be suspended if they return to a similar job and if their pensions are similar to their new salaries.

The bill is working its way through the Senate and Assembly.

While the bill was submitted earlier this session, it gained some prominence this week after Newsday published a story about a Long Island school superintendent who retired in 2006 with a $316,000 pension, the largest in the state.

He then returned to work running another school system for an additional $200,000 -- generating a $500,000 income.

Not everyone agrees double dipping should be disallowed.

"It's not really that common for superintendents to retire and then collect a pension and then become a permanent superintendent," said Bob Lowry, deputy director at the New York State Council of School Superintendents, an advocacy and research group for the state's public school chiefs.

More common, Lowry said, is the practice of retired superintendents returning to work until a permanent school leader is found.

Lowry also said schools could save money by hiring retirees since districts don't have to make more pension contributions.

Retirees' health care is also often covered by prior employers.

The public's awareness of pension abuse was raised in recent months with revelations lawyers on Long Island and upstate have been listed as school district employees and also of the Johnstown-based Hamilton Fulton Montgomery BOCES organizations.

Cuomo and DiNapoli say the lawyers are independent contractors and not eligible for pension credits.

The arrangement has also sparked legislation by Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg, D-Long Beach, and Sen. Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Centre, to prohibit BOCES contractors from being compensated as employees.

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

[Livyjr]

"2 men get 2 years in $2 million fraud case - Federal judge cites cooperation in giving them reduced sentences; alleged victim outlines loss"

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

First published: Wednesday, May 7, 2008

ALBANY -- A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a pair of Clifton Park men to two years in prison for their part in an elaborate mortgage fraud scheme that cost banks and brokerage houses nearly $2 million.

Matthew J. Kupic and Francis Thomas Disonell, both 38, each pleaded guilty last year to felony bank fraud and tax evasion charges.

Under federal sentencing guidelines they could have faced between three and four years in prison.

But U.S. District Judge Gary L. Sharpe cited a variety of factors, including their cooperation, as he handed down the reduced sentence.

Federal prosecutors had requested substantially more prison time for the pair, alleging they were the leaders of a criminal ring that involved lawyers, corrupt appraisers and complicit buyers who defrauded 24 banks and lending institutions in a scheme involving 54 properties, most in Albany and Troy.

"They ran the company."

"They led the criminal activity," Assistant U.S. Attorney Tina Sciocchetti told the judge.

In some cases, uncharged conspirators lured complicit buyers into the scheme and were paid fees ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 per mortgage, Sciocchetti said.

In one particular case involving a house on Fourth Street in Troy the men pocketed about $30,000 in brokerage fees from the sale of a $70,000 house.

Neither Kupic nor Disonell were licensed brokers.

Sharpe said it's sketchy to conclude the men headed a criminal network because no one else has been charged in the case.

But that may be more an issue of investigative resources, the judge said, citing the fact the FBI, which handled the investigation with the IRS, has devoted more resources to counterterrorism since the 9/11 attacks.

Still, citing "common sense, these people were all criminal participants," Sharpe said.

"You'd have to be a knothead to engage in that kind of conduct ..."

"How can they do what they did without the complicity of the lawyers?"

In addition to prison terms, Sharpe ordered the pair to repay $887,311 in restitution to the banks that were defrauded.

They also were ordered to forfeit $600,000 in proceeds from their crimes.

It's not clear if the forfeiture money could be used for the restitution.

The pair was remanded immediately to the custody of federal marshals to begin serving their prison sentences.

The attorneys for Kupic and Disonell, E. Stewart Jones and John Casey, said the pair had offered to work undercover for the government, including wearing recording devices.

But the offer was rescinded and no grand jury ever convened an investigation, they said.

The defense attorneys said the men should receive a reduced sentence even if the government decided not to prosecute others who were involved.

The fraud took place between March 2000 and August 2003 behind a pair of former companies they operated: Team Title Abstractors and Real Estate Consultants, both located on Route 9 in Clifton Park.

Their offices were raided in 2005 by federal agents but by then they had quit the fraud business and were operating a legitimate title company, their attorneys said.

The court received at least one letter from a person identifying themselves as a victim.

Mary Ellen O'Connor, who is president of the Albany Public Library Board of Trustees, wrote a letter to Sharpe last July saying federal prosecutors had refused to identify her as a victim even though she was financially devastated by her dealings with Kupic and Disonell.

In order to help secure retirement income, O'Connor wrote, she had purchased five houses from the men at an average cost of $65,000 per house.

At the closings they gave her a couple thousand dollars for each house as "fix up money," she said.

The inflated sale prices left her in a sea of debt with bad tenants and on the brink of bankruptcy, she said.

"It wasn't until the following year that I found out the houses cost between $20,000 and $30,000 (at the most) and after paying off the seller they put the rest of the mortgage money in their pockets," O'Connor wrote.

"I have used all of my retirement savings and, as of the date of this letter, I am not certain that I will be able to financially survive this."

"And if I do, it will take the rest of my life to get out of debt."

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

[Livyjr]

"Bruno probe focus on ethics opinions - FBI investigation looks at legislative panel's 10-year-old rulings"

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

First published: Thursday, May 8, 2008

ALBANY -- An FBI investigation of Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno is focusing on several opinions he received more than a decade ago from the Legislative Ethics Commission that relate to his personal business ventures, including real estate development and horse breeding, the Times Union has learned.

Two FBI agents hand-delivered a federal grand jury subpoena to the ethics commission staff about two months ago requesting copies of the opinions, which were promptly turned over, a person familiar with the matter said.

Another person close to the investigation said federal authorities are closely examining the process by which Bruno may have received authorization from within state government for his various private business dealings.

Bruno, R-Brunswick, has sought at least four opinions from the commission, which was known as the Legislative Ethics Committee before being renamed last year.

The opinions, which have never been made public, were issued more than 10 years ago in the early 1990s, the person familiar with the ethics rulings said.

One of the opinions relates to First Grafton Corp., a secluded Rensselaer County development in which Bruno was a 25-percent investor.

Bruno was a principal of First Grafton until 1992, when his investment in the development group was placed in a trust.

That took place around the time he received an opinion from the ethics committee regarding his financial interest in the project, a source close to the committee said.

Another opinion Bruno received from the ethics committee was in connection with the senator's ownership of horses and business dealings with his friend, Columbia County veterinarian Jerry Bilinski.

Bilinski is a former chairman of the Racing and Wagering Board, and a principal of Excelsior Racing Associates, which had bid on the franchise to run races at the three NYRA tracks.

Two years ago, Bilinski also received a federal grand jury subpoena related to his horse ownership records as part of the investigation of Bruno.

"I'd never seen anything treated with such importance as that was," said a person who was involved with the ethics committee's work in the Bilinski matter 12 years ago.

"It was like a meeting of the war department."

The ethics commission was revamped last year as part of what state leaders said was a sweeping ethics reform bill.

It is touted by those leaders as a bipartisan panel that provides lawmakers with opinions and clarifications about ethics rules.

But its work is not subject to the state's Open Meetings or Freedom of Information laws.

However, an individual lawmaker is free to publicly release any opinion he receives from the commission.

Bruno's office declined to do so on Wednesday when asked by the Times Union.

Melissa Ryan, executive director of the Legislative Ethics Commission, said she could not discuss details of opinions or disclose information about subpoenas received by the commission.

"There is an investigation," Ryan said in a recent interview.

"We've been fully cooperative with it, as has Senator Bruno's office."

In an interview on Wednesday, Ryan said she could not confirm her office's receipt of the federal subpoena two months ago.

"I can't talk about any requests that are made in a specific case," she said.

The FBI's review of the ethics' opinions comes as the federal investigation of Bruno is in its second year with no indication of whether any charges, or any action by a federal grand jury, will be forthcoming.

In recent months there has been a new round of federal subpoenas in the investigation, according to people with knowledge of the investigation.

Bruno's office declined on Wednesday to respond to questions about the investigation, including whether any Senate staffers have been subpoenaed.

No one in the office would say how many staffers have retained attorneys or how those attorneys are being paid.

"We will respond when we are ready," said Mark Hansen, Bruno's spokesman.

"You guys do whatever you are going to do, when you are going to do it."

"We just finished session and we are not going to answer you tonight."

A person involved in the case said several "secretaries" for the Senate majority have retained counsel in recent months.

Also, Francis Gluchowski, legislative counsel for the Senate majority, has retained Latham attorney Peter Moschetti in connection with the investigation, the person said.

Gluchowski was formerly counsel to the legislative ethics panel and, in his position for the Senate majority's office, is heavily involved in crafting draft ethics opinions that are forwarded to the panel for consideration, according to people familiar with the process.

Gluchowski and Moschetti did not respond to requests for comment.

Bruno's attorney in the criminal investigation, William Dreyer, declined to comment for this article.

Dreyer's law firm has been paid more than $203,000 over the past two years from campaign funds connected to Bruno, records show.

A 1989 state Board of Elections opinion holds that campaign funds may be used to pay legal expenses of public officers who are the target of a criminal investigation "if the criminal matter arises out of the campaign or the holding of public office."

Bruno has publicly said that he has "followed the letter of the law" and has done nothing wrong.

He confirmed the FBI probe in December 2006 but denied he was a target, even though his name has appeared at the top of several federal grand jury subpoenas.

U.S. Attorney Glenn T. Suddaby and federal prosecutors handling the investigation have declined to comment.

Copies of some of the subpoenas show the probe of Bruno is broad.

There have been subpoenas related to his real estate dealings, his ownership and breeding of horses, his ties to state labor unions and his work as a consultant for a Connecticut investment firm that has handled investments for those unions.

Bruno abruptly resigned from that investment firm, Wright Investors Service of Milford, Conn., last year.

He has declined to disclose how much he was paid as their consultant.

Bruno also has declined to identify the clients of his private business, Capital Business Consultants.

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