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

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"Lay off Spitzer & go after real Albany abuses"

By TED LAZARUS

Monday, July 30th 2007, 4:00 AM

Dishonest.

Shameless.

Nixonian.

Critics of Gov. Spitzer, many of whom have borne the brunt of what they perceive to be the self-righteous governor's moralizing about the dysfunction of state government, can hardly contain their glee in denouncing an alleged abuse of power by a politician who so publicly prides himself on exposing abuses of power.

But despite the breathless speculation as to what the governor knew and when he knew it, the attorney general concluded that although two of the governor's aides acted inappropriately in using the state police to compile records of Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno's travel expenses, no laws were broken.

And there is not a shred of evidence that Spitzer himself has done anything wrong.

Moreover, the public is entitled to examine the records of Bruno's travel expenses.

Indeed, if the Spitzer administration had received a Freedom of Information Law request before seeking these records, it would have been required to compile and produce any existing documents.

Unfortunately, the missteps of Spitzer's aides and the state police, and the subsequent out-of-control furor, have unjustifiably jeopardized the reform agenda that the voters of this state demanded when they elected the governor with 70% of the vote last November.

Already, the leaders of the state Senate have threatened to back out of their agreement to enact the campaign finance reform measure that the governor so vigorously supported.

Apparently, Spitzer's opponents have decided that the best way to respond to unethical behavior is to block efforts to strengthen the state government's ethical standards.

Even by Albany standards, this is nonsensical.

To the contrary, this whole tempest should heighten the pressure on the Legislature to pass reform measures.

Lost in the reporting about when the records were sought and how is a scandal far more significant for taxpayers: State legislators like Bruno routinely spend tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars for fund-raising trips.

For example, as reported last week, Bruno commandeered a state helicopter on April 5 to fly from Albany to Manhattan, where he attended to state business for approximately 30 minutes.

He spent the remainder of the day in political meetings.

When Bruno returned to Albany, state troopers were waiting in a state-owned car to chauffeur him to his next political meeting.

This state-sanctioned use of public money for personal political purposes is precisely the type of behavior that Spitzer is seeking to stop - and his pledge to do so is precisely the reason he was elected.

The governor himself has denounced the actions of his aides - in fact he has suspended his communications director and banished the liaison to the state police from his staff - and would likely concede that they served to reinforce the perception that he is a bully.

However, this "scandal" is not Nixonian, but rather Clintonian: inept and ill-advised (but not illegal) behavior has emboldened critics and distracted the public from the merits of a policy agenda that the majority of the electorate supports.

Bill Clinton ultimately overcame several missteps largely due to the overzealousness and ethical shortcomings of critics blinded by personal enmity, and the country was better for it.

While enjoying his "victory lap," Bruno should remember that.

Lazarus is a lawyer in New York City and former deputy campaign manager for Andrea Stewart-Cousins' campaign for state Senate.

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

[Livyjr]

And while we are on the subject of "THE PEOPLE'S BUSINESS" in the State of New York, we have ...

"Deficits in Colonie cause lenders worry - Town sinks below city of Albany in credit rating, cites costs"

By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, August 2, 2007

COLONIE -- Citing persistent deficits and a lack of a "realistic" plan for near-term reversal, Wall Street has issued a grim analysis of the town's fiscal health, clouding its image as Albany's most prosperous suburb.

Moody's Investors Service offered a negative outlook for the town's bond rating, which is hovering one level above non-investment grade -- or junk bonds.

The analysis, released earlier this summer as the town prepared to issue $4.9 million in public-improvement bonds, points to six straight years of deficits with the general fund running a cumulative $8.5 million in the red by the end of fiscal 2006.

Colonie's bond rating -- or Wall Street's estimation of the town's ability to meet its obligations to repay the bonds -- was lowered in May 2006.

The newly assigned negative outlook is an indication of the financial community's belief that it may get worse before it gets better.

But town officials argue the Moody's outlook paints a misleading portrait of Colonie's finances by focusing on deficits while ignoring multimillion-dollar surpluses in other accounts.

"There's still a lot of demand for the town of Colonie's paper," said Comptroller Ronald Caponera, adding that the bonds sold quickly.

"It's not a town or city that's on the downslide."

The rating follows two years of tax increases -- including the creation of a highway tax that, as first proposed, would have boosted commercial tax rates nearly 70 percent in a single year.

It also comes as the region's largest suburb has gone to arbitration with its police union over whether officers should contribute toward their health insurance coverage.

The Colonie Police Benevolent Association hired its own economist to disect the town's finances and bolster its argument that officers should not be penalized because the town drained millions in reserves.

"Even while they're going deeper and deeper in debt, they're spending like the old town of Colonie," said attorney Dick Walsh, who represents the PBA.

But Caponera, Colonie's chief money manager, said the PBA dispute and the highway tax are evidence of the town's efforts to reverse direction, attributing the deficits largely to soaring health care costs and contributions to the state pension system.

To offset the blow of the new highway tax, the town began requiring nonunion employees to contribute to their health insurance, a move officials promised to extend to unionized employees when the contracts expire.

The highway tax was necessary, officials said, to pay for rising costs associated with new state requirements to control storm water runoff.

Caponera said Moody's was pleased with the town's efforts in those areas as well as its decision not to use reserve funds in either of the last two budgets.

"I think we're very diligently trying to address the situation," said Supervisor Mary Brizzell.

"Am I concerned?"

"Yes."

"But I'm not overly alarmed."

Brizzell also pointed to unfunded state mandates and said it's a hard balance to strike to hold the line on taxes while maintaining services in a town with aging infrastructure.

In the past, she said, officials have been criticized for holding surpluses.

But opponents of the Republican administration say the town's justifications aren't adequate.

"The challenges that they're talking about are things that other governments have faced as well," said Phillip G. Steck, the town Democratic chairman.

"The burden is on Mary Brizzell now to come forward and say what her plan is for addressing this situation."

For too long, Steck said, Colonie has lived off its reputation of being flush with cash, when, in reality, officials have balked at raising taxes or reducing services to avoid political fallout.

"The bottom line is that if they were doing things properly, this report would not exist," Steck said.

Among Moody's other findings were:

The general fund reserve shrank from $12.2 million in 2001 to a $7.7 million deficit in 2005.

By the end of 2005, landfill revenues decreased because of delays in creating a new landfill cell, leading to a cumulative deficit of $6.7 million in the Landfill Fund.

The town transferred $3.1 million from the Landfill Fund, increasing the deficit there, to support the general fund.

The position of the Highway Fund improved slightly in 2006, with its deficit reduced to $1.2 million.

"There is no viable plan to restore balanced operations and (address) the accumulated deficit in the near term," the report said.

"While the 2007 budget shows the potential for improved operations," the report stated, "it is worth noting that the significant accumulated deficit, combined with pressures of unsettled labor contracts, pose considerable challenges to the town's financial recovery."

Municipalities issue bonds to raise money for capital projects.

A lower bond rating usually means higher interest rates and larger long-term payments, which cost taxpayers more.

The ratings can be seen as a measure of financial health.

The grade assigned to Colonie by Moody's, known as Baa1, is part of a category known as lower medium grade.

It puts the town, where the tax base is $8.4 billion and growing, a notch above the city of Schenectady and a notch below the city of Albany.

Colonie's rating falls well below that of other Albany County suburbs, such as Guilderland and Bethlehem, which have much smaller, less diverse tax bases.

The Moody's report coincides with the start of a routine, though unrelated, state audit of the town's finances by the state Comptroller's Office.

Jordan Carleo-Evangelist can be reached at 454-5445 or by e-mail at jcarleo-evangelist @timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

"Court says lobbyist close to Bruno must hand over documents"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 1:52 p.m., Thursday, August 2, 2007

ALBANY -- A state appellate court on Thursday ruled that a lobbyist investigated over a private flight provided to Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno must comply with a subpoena he fought.

The Appellate Division panel upheld most of a lower court's decision denying the effort by Jared Abbruzzese, a lobbyist and Albany area businessman, to quash a subpoena issued by the state lobbying commission.

Thursday's decision modifies the lower court ruling by saying the documents sought, which include "trip sheets" that show who paid for private flights Bruno was on, should be reviewed by a judge or referee, but not in open court.

The case isn't related to the scandal that is rocking Albany over two aides to Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

They used state police to track Bruno's use of a state helicopter and state police driver on days he mixed state business with political fundraisers, according to the attorney general's office.

The appellate court addressed an earlier controversy involving Bruno's use of private aircraft, dating to 2005.

It relates to Abbruzzese's role then as president and CEO of the Friends of New York Racing, according to the decision.

An ongoing federal investigation into Bruno's private business dealings stems from this case, which began with a lobbying commission probe of Bruno's relationship with Abbruzzese.

Bruno directed $500,000 in state grants over the past two years to a private company linked to Abbruzzese.

Bruno has said he did nothing wrong and was cooperating with the investigation.

David Grandeau, the executive director of the lobbying commission, issued the subpoena for documents and answers to questions about private flights provided to Bruno, an avid horseman.

Records already obtained by Grandeau from an airplane charter firm, Richmor Aviation Inc., show Bruno took a half-dozen flights with staff members and once with a relative.

One "trip sheet" showed a Dec. 1, 2005, flight from Schenectady to a private airport in New Jersey that included the notation: "Mr. Abbruzzese is paying for the senator's portion," according to documents obtained by the lobbying commission.

State lobbying laws require businessmen trying to influence lawmakers to register as lobbyists and report their spending and activities.

At the time, lobbying law prohibited lobbyists from providing gifts of more than $75 to lawmakers.

Gifts to lawmakers are now banned under a reform measure passed into law this year.

Abbruzzese also owned a stake in Empire Racing Associates, one of four groups seeking the state's lucrative franchise to run Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga thoroughbred tracks and video slot machines at Aqueduct and Belmont.

But Empire bought him out in December.

The Legislature is scheduled to pick an operator before the New York Racing Association's franchise expires Dec. 31.

Abbruzzese's lawyer, Brendan Tully, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Grandeau has said Bruno could be asked to testify in the case.

Grandeau said Thursday the court challenge was only for the subpoena seeking documents, but he had issued another subpoena seeking testimony from Abbruzzese.

Now, Grandeau said, both subpoenas will go forward.

He declined to discuss the investigation.

Abbruzzese has contributed more than $70,000 since 2000 to New York Republicans and more to the national party, has made corporate jets available to Bruno, and hired Bruno as a consultant.

Abbruzzese's wife has bought land from a real estate investment company that had ties to Bruno.

Meanwhile, businesses with links to Abbruzzese have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in state funding controlled by Bruno and, until the end of last year, by former Gov. George Pataki.

Bruno spokesman John McArdle declined comment on the court decision Thursday, saying it "has nothing to do with us."

The lobbying commission's investigation focuses on whether Abbruzzese violated any lobbying laws designed to limit the influence of special interests on government decisions.

The commission regulates lobbyists and has no authority to take action against lawmakers.

The investigation began after a newspaper article reported that Bruno had taken a private flight Dec. 1, 2005.

The lobbying commission investigated whether Abbruzzese paid for the flight, which could violate lobbying law.

The court decision states that records later found Abbruzzese didn't pay for Bruno's flight, but "in the course of the investigation, additional information was obtained which raised new concerns of possible lobbying act violations regarding other flights."

Abbruzzese fought the subsequent subpoena seeking the trip sheets and other documents related to the flights.

The court found the lobbying commission's investigation found enough evidence to continue, but called for a private review of records to avoid disclosure of "irrelevant communications."

Abbruzzese couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

He could appeal the unanimous decision to the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court.

[Livyjr]

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

"TROUBLE IN ALBANY - A Special Counsel for Spitzer - New York's governor needs to come clean."

BY JOSEPH L. BRUNO

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is now traveling the state trying to put a scandal behind him that risks enveloping his administration.

It's going to be a hard task.

Here's what we know, thanks to some enterprising reporting by the New York Post and an investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo: Two close advisers to the governor apparently used the New York State Police to carry out a political smear campaign against me by creating documents designed to generate negative press reports about me.

And it nearly worked.

Now, with an outline of what really happened made public, there is only one way forward for Mr. Spitzer.

He needs to support a full airing of the truth.

That support must include publicly testifying under oath, and making advisers available to publicly testify under oath, as part of an independent investigation that should not be limited to a panel of his appointees.

It would be best to appoint an independent counsel to look into the issue.

The abuse of power now being alleged is a very serious matter that has placed a cloud over state government.

It is especially damaging because the scandal involves misusing state troopers and alleged misconduct by the governor's top aides, including the state assistant secretary for Homeland Security.

New Yorkers have made it clear in several polls that they believe the governor knew about the smear campaign and should publicly testify about what he knew and when he knew it.

It is troubling that a governor who campaigned on ethics, openness and accountability, is now trying to sweep the "Troopergate" matter under the rug.

But it is not surprising.

This is not an isolated incident.

It is just the most serious example of a pattern of behavior that raises very serious questions about the governor's judgment, temperament and ability to govern New York State.

When Mr. Spitzer took office earlier this year, the Republican Senate majority--and I, as majority leader--pledged to work with him on critical issues such as strengthening our economy, creating jobs, keeping communities safe and cutting taxes.

But we quickly found that we did not have a willing partner.

We found a man who did not respect opposing viewpoints and who verbally threatened those who disagreed with him.

In his public statements and behind the scenes, the governor has refused to work in a bipartisan manner.

Instead, he has politicized his office like no other governor in history.

Rather than negotiating and compromising with people who challenged him, Mr. Spitzer tried to eliminate them.

That is dangerous for democracy.

And this governor does need to be challenged.

Here's a partial list of his unfulfilled campaign promises and misplaced priorities:

• Mr. Spitzer promised to provide tax relief, but he proposed a budget that included more than $1 billion in new taxes and fees.

The Republicans in the Senate stopped these tax hikes and were successful in getting new tax cuts for businesses.

• Mr. Spitzer promised to promote greater economic opportunity, but instead worked to block the Senate's efforts to make new capital investments in key projects to strengthen New York's economy, particularly upstate.

• Mr. Spitzer promised to be tough on crime, but he hasn't done anything to help the Senate's efforts to impose the death penalty for criminals who kill police officers.

• Mr. Spitzer promised property tax relief, but has tried to thwart every effort by the Senate Republicans to provide relief to people paying the highest property taxes in the country.

• Mr. Spitzer promised to work cooperatively with the state legislature, but then announced that he would run the government without the legislature by using his state agencies.

This type of autocratic rule is not what the Founding Fathers had in mind.

• Mr. Spitzer promised to enact sweeping campaign finance reforms, but instead launched one the most hypocritical and aggressive fundraising campaigns ever--complete with massive "bundling" of million-dollar contributions, and promises of access depending on the size of a donation.

The Senate, which recently opened a probe of the governor's past fundraising practices, has been the only institution willing to point out the governor's hypocrisy.

Mr. Spitzer is not shy about using threats and verbal abuse against those who oppose him.

Wall Street Journal readers will remember that John Whitehead, formerly chairman of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, detailed on theses pages a bizarre and threatening phone call from then New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in 2005.

The call came after Mr. Whitehead wrote an article for this newspaper critical of Mr. Spitzer.

There have been profane and abusive phone calls to members of the Senate and Assembly.

And, of course, the governor also admitted that he lied to Michael Goodwin of the Daily News about whether his father helped bankroll his campaign for attorney general in 1998.

In light of these incidents, New Yorkers are beginning to raise serious questions about the governor's temperament.

And all of this helps place the "Troopergate" scandal in context.

This most recent abuse of power represents an intentional effort to damage me politically and--by extension--to destroy the Republican majority in the state Senate.

Apparently, with the state Assembly and every statewide office controlled by Democrats, Mr. Spitzer came to view Senate Republicans as the only thing standing in his way.

On this particular point, the governor is absolutely correct.

Mr. Bruno, a Republican, is majority leader of the New York Senate.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/fe...ml?id=110010413

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

And with respect to your SNOW JOB, Mr. Ravi Batra, to expose it, all we have to do is to go back to the TU story "Pact puts Capitol on notice - DA Soares, Cuomo vow to share resources to clean up corruption in state government" by MICHELE MORGAN BOLTON, Staff writer, Times Union, first published Friday, January 12, 2007, wherein is stated:

ALBANY -- In what they touted as a historic pact, Albany County District Attorney David Soares and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo launched a joint effort Thursday to root out corruption in state government.

"This is not the changing of the guard," Cuomo said.

"It's the changing of an era."

end quotes

SOOOOO ....

Okay, Mr. Ravi Batra ...

To root out CORRUPTION in New York State government, and "TO CHANGE AN ERA" of rampant and endemic corruption in Albany, on January 12, 2007, young Andy Cuomo held a big PRESS CONFERENCE up there in Albany which got a lot of media coverage, and young Andy got to smile a lot and show off his teeth ...

And at this BIG PRESS CONFERENCE, young Andy Cuomo told US that it was "THE CHANGING OF AN ERA" ....

Teamed up with Albany County DA David Soares, young Andy Cuomo was going to change an era and stamp out corruption forever in Albany ...

And then, Mr. Ravi Batra, WITH THIS "TROOPERGATE" SCANDAL, young Andy Cuomo was handed a GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY to clearly demonstrate to US that an "ERA HAD TRULY CHANGED", and that he was really going to ROOT OUT CORRUPTION in OUR government ....

AND WHAT HAPPENED, Mr. Ravi Batra?

Eliot Spitzer is what happened, of course ....

Eliot Spitzer "invited" young Andy Cuomo to "CHANGE THE ERA BACK" to what it was before ...

"AND DON'T ROOT OUT CORRUPTION, YOUNG ANDY, LIKE YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO DO; I'M THE GOVERNOR, THESE ARE MY PEOPLE, I WANT YOU TO LEAVE THEM ALONE ..."

And there is YOUR INVITATION, Mr. Ravi Batra ....

By the look of things, Eliot "STEAMROLLER" Spitzer invited young Andy Cuomo to turn his back on his "HISTORIC PACT" with DA David Soares and Eliot Spitzer invited young Andy Cuomo to leave corruption in Albany alone ....

And by the look of things, Mr. Ravi Batra, young Andy Cuomo did ....

And so ...

Posted by: John Galt | August 2, 2007 5:34 PM

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

[Livyjr]

Monday, July 16, 2007

"Brennan Center and Friends of the Court File Briefs before U.S. Supreme Court Seeking Affirmance of Decisions Enjoining New York’s Judicial Selection"

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes:

“I am persuaded, from my long experience as a prosecutor, voter, citizen, and lawyer that…the problems of corruption in Brooklyn involving Supreme Court judgeships are not attributable to a single corrupt party boss."

"Rather, as the public record demonstrates, corruption in judicial politics has a long history paralleling the long history of the judicial district convention system,” Hynes wrote.

In addition to noting the statewide nature of the problem, Hynes strikingly explains to the Court that the “corruption brought about by the architecture of the Supreme Court nomination system does not end once the judge is tapped by party leaders to serve on the Supreme Court, or when the judge is elected."

"It often continues, in the form of corruption in the administration of justice.”

Thomas Mann, Norman Ornstein, the Reform Institute and the Campaign Legal Center:

“Although New York’s judicial selection scheme genuflects at the altar of democracy, it prays to a very different god: patronage.”

“By effectively lodging the power to control the nomination of state Supreme Court Justices in local political party leaders, New York’s mandated system makes state Supreme Court Justices—and many below them on the judicial ladder—beholden to local party officials."

"The judges, their law clerks, and other judicial employees become mere patronage spoils.”

http://reformny.blogspot.com/2007/07/brenn...s-of-court.html

"Zwack, Donohue nominated to Court of Claims - The state Senate could confirm as early as today"

By: James V. Franco, The Record12/13/2006

Lt. Gov. Mary Donohue and former County Executive Henry Zwack were both nominated for the nine-year terms that pay $136,700 a year.

Zwack, who resigned as county executive in 2001 after getting indicted, last worked as executive deputy commissioner for the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.

Donohue, a one-time Rensselaer County District Attorney and state Supreme Court judge was elected as Pataki's No. 2 in 1998 and again in 2002.

"I am certain when she is confirmed she will rejoin the bench with the same integrity, vigor and commitment to service that she has demonstrated throughout her public life," Pataki said in a statement.

It looks as if both nominees will sail through the Senate during a special session today.

"Mary Donohue and Henry Zwack are two highly qualified candidates who would work extremely hard on behalf of this state and its residents," said Kris Thompson, a spokesman for state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, an ally to both Donohue and Zwack.

"In addition to his vast experience as a public administrator, Henry Zwack has been a practicing attorney since 1979 and has previously represented the interest of a number of municipalities, including Stephentown, New Lebanon and Petersburgh," Thompson added.

Zwack was elected county executive in 1995 to serve the remainder of John Buono's unfinished term after Pataki appointed Bruono to head the Thruway Authority.

He was elected to a full term in 1997.

By 2001, two separate scandals, dozens of indictments and two trials forced him to resign.

In 2001, a jury acquitted him of 10 counts of perjury related to the county's infamous no-show job scandal.

It was discovered Dirk Van Ort was collecting a county pay check as a 911 coordinator while working a carnival in Florida.

But, a special prosecutor indicted Zwack for his testimony in front of a grand jury that ended up indicting Victor Cipolla and Susan Martin for allowing Van Ort to get away with it for so long.

The pair later successfully sued the county for an undisclosed amount of money.

A year later, Zwack, four of his top aides and a Democratic Party boss were indicted for selling political influence in return for civil service favors.

It was alleged that Zwack put pressure on county personnel department employees to give North Greenbush Democratic Party Chairman James Germano's grandson another chance to pass the physical fitness aspect of the civil service exam so he could be a town cop.

The long-running scandal came complete with a high powered legal defense team, secretly made tape recordings and was intertwined with enough innuendos and political intrigue to be a made for television movie.

After Zwack and his co-defendants were acquitted, the Stephentown native went to work for a lobbying firm and later to OASIS.

He could not be reached for comment, Tuesday night.

Charles "CB" Smith, a long time government watchdog and long time thorn in Zwack's side drove the no-show job scandal.

In 2000, the last time it was rumored that Zwack would get a judgeship, Smith penned a letter to Pataki asking him to reconsider.

The nomination never transpired.

"The governor should know by now he should keep the name Zwack as far away from the word judge as humanly possible," Smith said.

"Who knows?"

"He may have a no show law clerk."

http://www.troyrecord.com/site/news.cfm?ne...=7021&rfi=6

"Rensselaer Co. dispute includes judge"

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

Last updated: 12:24 a.m., Friday, August 3, 2007

TROY - The chairman of the Rensselaer County Democratic Party says a judge should recuse himself from hearing a dispute over the adoption of revised party bylaws.

One town party chairman, Jeffrey Spain of North Greenbush, said the new bylaws will "centralize power" in the hands of County Chair Thomas W. Wade and should be thrown out because they were not properly adopted, according to court documents.

The case is before acting Supreme Court Justice Henry F. Zwack and should be decided next week.

The substance of the case, court documents show, centers around how much notice was given before the bylaw changes were voted on at the county committee's June 11 meeting and whether the court has jurisdiction to intervene in the matter.

But separate from that, Wade said it was "outrageous" that Zwack is hearing the case, because Wade once testified against the judge during a 2002 corruption trial.

Zwack, a Republican, resigned as County Executive in May 2001.

He was then cleared of charges at a pair of trials in September 2001 and April 2002 in which he was first accused of covering up a no-show job scandal and then charged with orchestrating a civil service job-for-votes trade.

Zwack was appointed a judge in December 2006.

In a response to the request for recusal dated July 27, he wrote that "I did not recall that Mr. Wade gave testimony until your correspondence."

He continued: "His testimony at the time did not give me reason to have personal bias or prejudice against Mr. Wade."

"Considered today, of what I can recall of his testimony, it still gives me no reason to any personal bias or prejudice concerning him."

The State Code of Judicial Conduct states that judges should recuse themselves if "the judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned," and Wade was not satisfied with the reply.

"Any lawyer or law student or citizen can see the obvious need for a judge to step aside in a case where he can be accused of exercising a vendetta or simply following the directions of the hierarchy in his political party," he said.

[Livyjr]

THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION CAPITAL CONFIDENTIAL BLOG:

And what in the hell is going on with OUR court system here in NYS?

I just read a story in the TU entitled “Rensselaer Co. dispute includes judge” by JIMMY VIELKIND, Staff writer, last updated 12:24 a.m., Friday, August 3, 2007, that disgraced former REPUBLICAN RENSSELAER COUNTY EXECUTIVE Henry Zwack is now sitting in Rensselaer County Supreme Court as an “acting Supreme Court Justice” ….

And what a mockery of justice that is …

Henry Zwack could never get elected to a position on the bench as a Supreme Court Justice with his record, and yet, through a BACKDOOR maneuver by someone in a position of authority in the court system, there he now sits …

WHAT A TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE THAT IS!

Zwack is a Court of Claims judge who was put in there by Pataki and Joe Bruno in a special Senate Session on 12/13/2006 ….

And now, here he is back in Rensselaer County as an acting Supreme Court Justice …

WHAT A BUNCH OF CRAP, HON. JUDITH KAYE!

This reminds me of the words of Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes and Thomas Mann, Norman Ornstein, the Reform Institute and the Campaign Legal Center in the story “Brennan Center and Friends of the Court File Briefs before U.S. Supreme Court Seeking Affirmance of Decisions Enjoining New York’s Judicial Selection” at:

http://reformny.blogspot.com/2007/07/brenn…s-of-court.html

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes:

“I am persuaded, from my long experience as a prosecutor, voter, citizen, and lawyer that…the problems of corruption in Brooklyn involving Supreme Court judgeships are not attributable to a single corrupt party boss.”

“Rather, as the public record demonstrates, corruption in judicial politics has a long history paralleling the long history of the judicial district convention system,” Hynes wrote.

In addition to noting the statewide nature of the problem, Hynes strikingly explains to the Court that the “corruption brought about by the architecture of the Supreme Court nomination system does not end once the judge is tapped by party leaders to serve on the Supreme Court, or when the judge is elected.”

“It often continues, in the form of corruption in the administration of justice.”

Thomas Mann, Norman Ornstein, the Reform Institute and the Campaign Legal Center:

“Although New York’s judicial selection scheme genuflects at the altar of democracy, it prays to a very different god: patronage.”

“By effectively lodging the power to control the nomination of state Supreme Court Justices in local political party leaders, New York’s mandated system makes state Supreme Court Justices—and many below them on the judicial ladder—beholden to local party officials.”

“The judges, their law clerks, and other judicial employees become mere patronage spoils.”

end quotes

THE JUDGES, THEIR LAW CLERKS, AND OTHER JUDICIAL EMPLOYEES BECOME MERE PATRONAGE SPOILS …

CORRUPTION IN THE SELECTION OF OUR STATE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES OFTEN CONTINUES IN THE FORM OF CORRUPTION IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE …

Damn right it does …

And here appears to be another case of it happening right before our eyes with this loser Henry Zwack wearing the robes of a Rensselaer County Supreme Court Justice ….

Thanks to a BACKROOM DEAL by someone in politics who wants Henry there, despite the fact that the PEOPLE would never elect him …

As OUR Constitution requires …

And so …

Comment by John Galt — August 3, 2007 @ 6:04 pm

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=5156#comments

[Livyjr]

"Spitzer energy adviser resigns amid threat investigation"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:15 p.m., Friday, August 3, 2007

ALBANY -- A top Spitzer administration adviser resigned Friday to rejoin the private sector as investigators wrap up a probe into claims he threatened a Republican on the Public Service Commission.

In April, Spitzer energy adviser Steven Mitnick was accused by PSC member Cheryl Buley, an appointee of former Republican Gov. George Pataki, of threatening her career.

She said Mitnick tried to get her to back off efforts to investigate Consolidated Edison over last summer's major blackout in New York City.

During a public PSC meeting, Buley said Mitnick had threatened her career five or six times since Gov. Eliot Spitzer took office Jan. 1.

The Spitzer administration rejected her claim then, but referred the case to the state Inspector General's Office, which is continuing its probe.

"Everything I did was totally on the right side of the rules and totally honorable," Mitnick said of the allegations Friday.

He said he didn't resign because of the investigation.

The resignation of the former Washington-based energy industry attorney comes as Spitzer faces investigations into the activities of two aides who used state police to gather information in a campaign to discredit Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno.

A state Attorney General's Office investigation said the two aides -- one who has been suspended and another transferred out of the governor's office -- used state police to track the state's top Republican when he used state helicopters and state police drivers while mixing state business with political fundraisers in New York City.

Republican Sen. Thomas Libous of Broome County used Mitnick's resignation to criticize Spitzer on behalf of the Senate Republicans.

"Since he took office, Gov. Spitzer has created a climate that encourages tactics and behavior that apparently fostered Mitnick's actions," Libous said in a prepared statement.

Mitnick said he wanted to return to the private sector and that his resignation was "definitely" not forced by the Buley accusations.

He said he has fully cooperated in the inspector general's investigation, providing sworn testimony and documents.

He also said he wasn't involved in, and has not been questioned in, the current administration scandal involving Bruno's travel.

"I have always been in business, I had a lot of great success there, and I took a leave of absence to help the governor with a transition right after election day," Mitnick said.

"It's been nine months so far and I am keen to return to business in Washington and my family."

"I am this super energy nerd," he said.

"I'm not a politician."

He said he never intended to remain with the administration for the full four or more years.

"He brought his vast knowledge of energy policy to the job and we wish him well as he returns to the private sector," said Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson.

When the probe was launched, the Spitzer camp dismissed Buley's charge as a misunderstanding, arguing that the administration favored Buley's position that a PSC investigation of the blackout was warranted.

Two days later, Spitzer asked his appointed inspector general to investigate Buley's accusation against Mitnick.

"The Inspector General's Office is completing a thorough investigation of this matter, and has taken testimony from more than 30 individuals, some interviewed more than once," said inspector general spokesman Steve DelGiacco.

"We are preparing a detailed report of our findings that we expect to issue by the end of this month."

Buley is the estranged wife of Albany lawyer-lobbyist Jeffrey Buley, a longtime top election law adviser to the state GOP.

She didn't immediately respond to a request for comment left at her home.

In January, the Energy Association of New York State applauded Mitnick's addition to Spitzer's "extraordinary team" of professionals and experts in their fields, rather than political or governmental lawyers and administrators.

Mitnick was named assistant secretary for energy and telecommunications in January at a salary of $145,800 a year.

From 2005 to 2006, he was a senior adviser at McKinsey and Co., an international management and consulting firm.

Before that, beginning in 2002, he was chief executive officer of Conjunction LLC and had been CEO of Energyleader.com and practiced at the Hagler Bailly law firm.

The resignation submitted Friday morning is effective next Friday.

"The governor feels very, very strongly about strong ethics," Mitnick said.

"One of his executive orders in January was on the very subject of what a person like me can do when we leave state government."

"So I am trying to be the perfect guy in terms of talking to companies and in what I can do next."

"And the only way I can really do it, because the rules are pretty sticky, is to leave state government and then look."

[Livyjr]

"Spitzer aide reassigned in wake of political flights scandal"

Associated Press

Last updated: 5:23 p.m., Friday, August 3, 2007

ALBANY -- An aide to Gov. Eliot Spitzer involved in the scandal over using state police to track a political rival will have his pay cut with his reassignment to another agency.

Spitzer had promised to reassign assistant secretary for homeland security William Howard immediately after the attorney general on July 23 detailed efforts by Howard and another aide to compile records on state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's travels to New York City on state aircraft.

But the administration did not reveal until Friday that Howard has been reassigned to coordinator of preparedness and response at the State Office of Homeland Security.

His new salary is $157,000, compared to $179,500 in his old job.

Howard will still report to New York's chief of homeland security, Michael Balboni, though he will no longer work in the governor's office at state Capitol.

He will work at an office on the other side of Albany.

Spitzer has denied knowing anything about the scheme to compile embarrassing information about Bruno's mix of political and state business on the trips to New York City.

Besides reassigning Howard, the governor suspended communications director Darren Dopp without pay.

Through Attorney General Andrew Cuomo found no evidence of criminality in his probe, Albany's district attorney and the state Ethics Commission are looking into administration's actions.

The governor's office said Howard will support the state's emergency preparedness and response operation in his new job.

Howard had also served under Gov. George Pataki.

[Livyjr]

"Region's foreclosure filings skyrocket - Alarming increase at odds with rest of state, where number declined slightly from last year"

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

First published: Friday, August 3, 2007

Home foreclosure filings in the Capital Region increased at a staggering pace during the first half of the year, even as filings statewide ebbed, according to newly released statistics.

The region saw 690 foreclosure filings between January and June.

That's far more than the 582 filings the region had for all of 2006, as reported by RealtyTrac, a California company that monitors foreclosure filings.

And the filings exploded in parts of the Capital Region where they previously have not been seen in great numbers.

Saratoga County had 37 foreclosure filings for all of 2006, but had 93 filings for the first half of this year.

Rensselaer County, meanwhile, had just 26 foreclosure filings in the first half of 2006 -- but that number jumped to 149 this year.

Meanwhile, statewide foreclosure filings -- defined as default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions -- declined slightly, from 26,527 for the first six months last year to 26,146 for the half this year.

The same property could receive more than one foreclosure filing.

Rising foreclosure rates have received significant attention nationally, with the problem largely blamed on so-called "subprime loans" given to people with shaky credit or low incomes.

Many of those loans have adjustable rates that offer low payments at first, but then rise sharply.

It's unclear if subprime loans are behind the apparent surge in filings in the Capital Region.

But Ronald Kim, a bankruptcy attorney in Saratoga Springs, said Thursday he frequently and increasingly sees clients struggling with adjustable mortgages.

"They're suddenly in a situation where the mortgage is going up every six months," Kim said.

"You're moving the goal posts on these people."

"Unless their incomes go up, it's a real challenge."

Kim said the clients he sees are not poor: They are middle-class people with homes valued at $150,000 to $300,000.

Often they have a tarnished credit history that led them into a subprime loan.

Of course, not every homeowner facing foreclosure took out a loan with adjustable rates.

Viola Glaze, a 38-year-old nurse, and her husband, Sean, were perfectly able to make the fixed-rate payments on their home in Watervliet -- until they both lost their jobs in 2005.

They fell behind on their mortgage payments and have never fully recovered.

The couple is facing foreclosure, even though Glaze said she and her husband now are employed and able to make their payments.

She said unresponsive lenders have been unwilling to help them recover.

"It has really taken a toll on both of us," Glaze said.

Typically, the Capital Region has had very low rates of foreclosure, compared with other metropolitan areas.

And despite the recent increase in filings, that still appears to be true, although RealtyTrac said Thursday it has not yet assembled data for the first half of the year that compares metro areas.

In the first quarter, however, the Capital Region had the 95th lowest rate of foreclosure filings among the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas.

But the trend in the Capital Region is troubling, and RealtyTrac's numbers suggest the problem might be accelerating.

For example, RealtyTrac said Saratoga County had just seven foreclosure filings for the first three months of 2007, but had 86 filings in the next three months.

Likewise, Albany County had 71 filings in the first quarter, but 180 in the second quarter, RealtyTrac said.

Numbers like that have been seen in other parts of the country, particularly in the Sunbelt, leading to calls for legislation that would restrict subprime lending and programs that would help struggling homeowners.

In New York, Gov. Eliot Spitzer last week announced the creation of a $100 million refinancing program designed to aid homeowners with risky mortgages.

The initiative allows at-risk homeowners to refinance mortgages with 30- or 40-year fixed-rate mortgages at competitive interest rates.

RealtyTrac said the national rate of foreclosure filings increased by 56 percent in the first half of the year, compared with the same period last year.

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

Foreclosure filings in the Capital Region, by county:

County / 1st half 2006 / 2nd half 2006 / 1st half 2007

Albany / 150 / 150 / 251

Rensselaer / 26 / 25 / 149

Saratoga / 14 / 23 / 93

Schenectady / 117 / 76 / 192

Schoharie / 1 / 0 / 5

Source: RealtyTrac

[Livyjr]

"225 jobs victim of paperless world - Albany International cites slump in East Greenbush closure, Menands cuts"

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

First published: Friday, August 3, 2007

MENANDS -- Albany International Corp., a manufacturer of fabrics used in paper mills across the world, is closing its East Greenbush factory and significantly reducing the work force at its historic plant in Menands.

A total of 225 people will lose their jobs in the move, which Chief Executive Officer Joseph Morone described as one of the toughest decisions he's had to make since assuming the company's top job last year.

Albany International was founded in 1895 and has had operations in Menands since 1902.

"This is where it all started," he said.

"And it made it all the more painful."

Morone broke the news to employees at the Menands headquarters Thursday afternoon.

The layoffs will occur between now and January.

Morone said the company must negotiate a settlement with the union for the workers, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

"Their first reaction was shock and a lot of unhappiness," Morone said of telling his employees the news.

Local government officials had a similar response Thursday after the announcement.

"We are surprised and disappointed by this news and intend to reach out to Albany International on two fronts," Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen Jimino said in a statement.

The county will offer employees help at its One Stop Employment Center, she said, and will also try to "bring jobs back to this facility in the future."

Menands Mayor Thomas Coates was caught off guard by the news as well.

"We have not heard a word about it," he said Thursday afternoon.

"We didn't even hear the rumors until the press started calling."

Albany International has 6,000 employees worldwide at 32 plants, and had more than $1 billion in sales in 2006, making it one of the highest grossing companies headquartered in the Capital Region.

Locally, Albany International has 394 employees, down from a peak of about 800 in the 1960s.

Of the 225 jobs being eliminated, 137 are at the East Greenbush plant, which will eventually be sold.

Another 88 factory jobs will be eliminated in Menands, where manufacturing occurs on several floors.

When the cuts are completed, 169 jobs will remain at the Menands facility.

Although the majority will be administrative and executive positions, there will be 54 manufacturing jobs.

Those jobs are to make PrimaLoft, a goose down substitute used in bed comforters and winter jackets, and belts used in corrugated box manufacturing equipment.

The two local factories make different fabrics used in paper-manufacturing machines, a business that makes up a significant portion of Albany International's annual sales.

The East Greenbush facility is part of the company's press fabric manufacturing division, while so-called dryer fabrics are made in Menands.

The dryer is at the back of a paper machine and dries pulp into paper.

Morone said the rapid consolidation of the North American paper industry was the root cause of the need to reduce its own manufacturing on the continent.

"The paper industry in North America has been shrinking fast," Morone said.

"As each one of them shuts down, a chunk of our market evaporates."

"We're caught in a squeeze here."

Morone blamed the consolidation of the paper industry in North America on the growth of the information age, in which people use the Internet more and more instead of paper.

"They're using computers more," he said.

"They're not reading newspapers as much."

Albany International operates three press fabric facilities in North America, including one in South Carolina and another in Canada.

Morone said the company now only needs two, and the East Greenbush facility is too small to be one of them.

Work that has been done in Menands will be shifted to Mexico.

One year ago, the company was forced to shut down another dryer fabric facility in Quebec as part of the same problem with industry consolidation.

Company spokesman Ken Pulver said factory workers in East Greenbush and Menands earn between $40,000 and $60,000 a year.

Morone has been pushing Albany International into growing paper markets in Asia and South America since taking over the CEO post last year.

He has also tried to diversify the company more by getting into advanced materials manufacturing for the aviation industry and other technology markets.

Despite the near elimination of manufacturing here, Morone said the company is not interested in moving its headquarters anywhere.

"We are committed to keeping the headquarters in Albany," he said.

Shares of Albany International (NYSE: AIN) closed trading Thursday at $38.98, up 65 cents, or 1.7 percent for the day.

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

[Livyjr]

THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION CAPITAL CONFIDENTIAL BLOG:

This crap of someone putting REPUBLICAN Henry Zwack on the bench in Rensselaer County Supreme Court through some kind of political BACKROOM DEAL reminds me of a passage at pp. 12,13 in the book New York State Government, 2d Edition by Robert B. Ward of the New York State business Council wherein was stated with respect to “STEAMROLLER” Spitzer’s alleged “reform agenda” as follows:

A year before Election Day 2006, at the Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany, candidate Spitzer gave a detailed presentation on his vision for government reform.

The address touched on many of the major issues facing the state.

For instance, Spitzer called for:

* Changes to the court system , promoting the “rule of law” with reforms such as merit appointment rather than election of judges and ***** creation of more integrated courts to reduce costs AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF JUDICIAL DECISIONS.

end quotes

That last is a very telling statement in the light of this appearance of REPUBLICAN Henry Zwack as an acting Supreme Court justice on the bench in Rensselaer County Supreme Court through a BACKROOM DEAL, because nobody would elect REPUBLICAN Henry Zwack to such an important judicial position in a million years …..

IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF JUDICIAL DECISIONS ….

Hhhhmmmm …

Something to think about, alright ….

Eliot Spitzer wants to IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF JUDICIAL DECISIONS in the State of New York by eliminating OUR courts, and populating what remains with political hacks, losers and lackeys like Joe Bruno’s ally Henry Zwack ….

Yes, yes, Eliot ….

I think I can see where you are going with this ….

YOU WILL BE THE SOURCE OF THOSE DECISIONS AS GOVERNOR, AND THOSE WHO WILL DO YOUR BIDDING WILL BE YOUR JUDGES …

And we will be right back where we were when we had ROYAL GOVERNORS and a KING in England appointing OUR JUDGES ….

Which means that we are going to get screwed royally in this deal …

And so …

Comment by John Galt — August 3, 2007 @ 7:00 pm

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=5156#comments

[Livyjr]

"Zwack won't recuse himself from case - Judge says he is not prejudiced against Rensselaer Democrat who testified against him"

By TIM O'BRIEN and JIMMY VIELKIND, Staff writers, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Saturday, August 4, 2007

TROY -- Rensselaer County's Democratic Party chairman is seeking the removal of a judge from a legal case because he once testified against the jurist.

The party leader, Thomas Wade, is being sued over the handling of changes to the party's bylaws by Jeffrey Spain, chairman of the East Greenbush Democratic Committee.

The case was heard Tuesday by acting state Supreme Court Justice Henry F. Zwack.

Wade testified in a 2001 trial against Zwack, a former county executive.

Zwack was acquitted in two separate trials.

Wade testified in a trial where Zwack was acquitted of trying to rig a civil-service test for the grandson of the then-chairman of the North Greenbush Democratic Committee in return for political support.

"I was subpoenaed to testify as a witness for the prosecution in the corruption trial of Henry Zwack."

"Based on that alone, that is sufficient for any person to presume there is a conflict of interest," Wade said.

In a letter to Wade's attorney, Thomas V. Kenney, Zwack declined to recuse himself.

He said he had forgotten that Wade had testified until the request for recusal.

"On reflection, I recall that his testimony was more than five years ago; that Mr. Wade was a fact witness who testified only briefly and in his official capacity, relating to public records/election returns of the Board of Elections," Zwack wrote.

"I do not recall that his testimony was of any significance, or that it contradicted my recollection of the election records he testified to."

Zwack said he then had no reason not to hear the current case.

"His testimony at the time did not give me reason to have personal bias or prejudice against Mr. Wade," he wrote.

Regina Treffiletti, court attorney for the Third Judicial District administrative office, said it is up to a judge to recuse himself or herself.

If the person making the request is unhappy about the decision, he or she may file an appeal to the Appellate Division.

Spain is asking for changes to the county Democratic Committee's bylaws adopted June 11 to be tossed out.

Spain argues the changes centralize power in the county chairman and diminish the power of the town party leader.

Wade said the dispute mainly focuses on a single word added to the bylaws.

The party's rules said that a town or city committee leader was the person empowered to call a meeting to fill vacancies on the county committee.

The city of Rensselaer and some towns do not have their own committees, he said, so a motion was made at the county committee meeting to change the bylaws to enable the county chairman to call such a meeting.

"Someone should have the ability to nominate someone to fill vacancies when there is no town or city chairman," he said.

But the changes also would enable the county chairman to call meetings to nominate candidates when a town leader declines to do so, he said.

Wade argued that is needed because some town committee leaders have made deals with the GOP in the past not to nominate competing candidates.

Spain maintains that the county committee did not follow its own rules, failing to provide a copy of all proposed changes before the meeting and not filing a certified copy of the rule changes with the state Board of Elections within 10 days.

Tim O'Brien can be reached at 454-5092 or by e-mail at tobrien@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

Dear John,

DA Soares had not participated before in the investigation by the AG's Office.

In fact, you quote above a prior newspaper, to wit:

"In a statement Monday, Mr. Soares said his office had found “no basis for criminal prosecution” of Mr. Bruno, and added, without elaborating, that he had not joined the inquiry into the conduct of the governor and his staff."

So, this is a new criminal investigation by a sitting District Attorney whose mission is to protect the public and enforce criminal laws in the exercise of sound prosecutorial discretion.

Your next point is about the "pact."

That didn't apply before, as the investigation done by the Attorney General's Office was by "invitation" and not because it was within the AG's "jurisdiction" by law.

If it had been within the AG's lawful jurisdiction, then the AG would have had subpoena power.

As a way of example, sometime ago, former US Atty Mary Jo White was retained as a private counsel to investigate the Church and the sexual molestation allegations.

While she did it she lacked subpoena power.

Senator George Weiner for example lacks subpoena power unless the Senate is considering legislation and it subpoenas are necessary incident thereto.

I, like all other lawyers in private practice, as former US Atty Mary Jo White, have subpoena power incident to a pending lawsuit.

Your last point about trusting P. David Soares is based upon predicate misunderstandings about the AG's invitation-based investigation and the inapplicability of the "pact."

He is endowed with the awesome responsibility, as are all DAs, to protect the public and use the many arrows in the quiver that is the Penal Law of the state in the sound discretion of the prosecutor.

While DA Soares isn't the legendary DA Bob Morganthau, but he is surely walking on that hard, honor and integrity-based path.

Dated: 8/2/07
/s/
Ravi Batra

Posted by: Ravi Batra | August 2, 2007 9:11 AM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli..._pr.html?page=1

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

Dear John,

It is out of respect for you and your service to our nation that we have a dialogue; hopefully, meaningful.

We seem to be speaking past each other.

I was speaking of law and its jurisdictional bright line, and you wish for a newspaper article to supplant the law.

The "pact" in question had to do with "member items" and to insure that they were conflict free as required by law of all fiduciaries.

AG Andrew Cuomo, having accepted the invitation, did what he could absent legal jurisdiction.

The criminal matters that the AG's Office can look at are not what's at issue, hence, the necessary "invitation" by the Governor.

While it is perfectly legal to be cynical, and even a partisan cynic, it does not legal jurisdiction make.

Finally, I don’t talk “down” to anyone for that would be uncivil and hubris-laden.

However, I do abstain when the discussion falls below the floor of civility, as blogtalk often seems to as verbal indecency.

You fought for our nation and became disabled as a result of such service and sacrifice, because you have complete trust in a legal document: the Constitution.

All I ask of you is to trust the law, and let it do its thing in a deliberate way.

It is the most noble of all callings, for it seeks to get more perfection out of imperfect beings and is idealism applied.

Dated 8/2/07
/s/
Ravi Batra

Posted by: Ravi Batra | August 2, 2007 9:48 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli..._pr.html?page=1

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

The "pact" is historic as it seeks to insure that the people's money is spent for the people's benefit.

The joining of forces to combat selfish conflicted behavior is indeed an era change.

That said, however, even that strategic alliance cannot be used as a model to expand jurisdictions.

It can be, and was, used to expand resources of existing jurisdictions of both the Albany DA and the AG.

Posted by: Ravi Batra | August 3, 2007 7:35 PM

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

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

John, I agree with most of what you and topo are saying.

If the engineer in question had the bucks to take it up through the Federal Courts (or drew the attention of a big-time Constitutional lawyer who would agree to take the case for free to make a name for himself or herself), said engineer perhaps could--and certainly should---get an order for an unredacted copy, depose the individuals involved in this conspiracy to deprive said engineer of his civil rights under color of law and pursue a lawsuit for damages and perhaps injunctive relief.

HOWEVER, your single-minded focus on Spitzer, culpable as he was, ignores the realities of the political configuration of New York State and Rensselaer County Government.

Spitzer was Attorney General in 2002; George Elmer Pataki was Governor.

Notwithstanding the hallowed language of the Constitution, the political reality is that the AG is supposed to be the Government's lawyer.

The AG represents the Government of the State of New York, its agencies, boards, commissioners, and yes, the Governor.

They love to say they are "the peoples' lawyer", but the truth is, the people are somewhat removed.

The GOVERNMENT decides what "the peoples'" real interests are, and oftentimes, that means representing the official government policy position, as enunciated by the Executive Branch.

In other words: "just find some legal rationale somewhere for what we want to do".

Think US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Which is why it was so stunning to all that Andrew Cuomo's report was not a whtewash of the Governor.

We have discussed in the past how you give no free pass to Bruno regarding his and his allies' connection to this unfortunate chain of events involving the engineer, but you accept that Bruno is untouchable while howling for Spitzer's scalp.

And are Cathy Jimino and the others; county and State, who did their respective masters' biddings also "untouchable" and unworthy of further mention?

You're going to think I'm defending Spitzer.

I'm not doing that.

I'm asking you to see the larger picture.

Believe me, I know that it's easy to single out one person as the villain when you feel that you've been wronged.

Unfortunately, reality is much more complicated than that.

Posted by: Mike | July 29, 2007 10:16 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...itz.html?page=1

[Livyjr]

AND ONCE AGAIN, GOING BACK AND FILLING IN SOME BACK GROUND, WE HAVE ...

"Spitzer's staff faces fallout - Aides involved in political scandals affected; one resigns, other demoted"

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

First published: Saturday, August 4, 2007

ALBANY -- Gov. Eliot Spitzer's office on Friday announced staff shake-ups involving two top aides sharply criticized for their actions in recent months.

The governor's office revealed energy policy adviser Steven Mitnick resigned amid an investigation into his alleged bullying of a Public Service Commission official.

He quit his $145,800 post, effective next Friday, to pursue other opportunities.

The administration also officially demoted William Howard, the former deputy for homeland security.

Howard, who a few days ago was shifted to a job as coordinator of preparedness and response at the State Office of Homeland Security at the University at Albany, had his pay cut by more than $18,000.

Mitnick's resignation comes as the state Inspector General's Office prepares a report on PSC Commissioner Cheryl Buley's assertions that he repeatedly tried to get her to vote against an investigation of Consolidated Edison's handling of a blackout last summer in Queens.

Buley, who made the extraordinary allegations April 18 in a public meeting of the commission, said she received six to 10 unwelcome telephone calls from Mitnick, assistant secretary to the governor for energy and telecommunications.

Buley, a former commissioner and chairwoman of the Racing and Wagering Board, said Mitnick threatened her position if she did not cooperate and proposed moving her to a better-paying job in an attempt to influence her behavior.

Spitzer has said he was unaware of such activities by Mitnick and the governor's press office has denied he acted improperly.

But a Republican senator, Thomas Libous of Binghamton said the allegations about Mitnick's behavior reflect the "bullying and outright intimidation that this administration has used to try to get its way."

"Governor Spitzer has created a climate that encourages tactics and behavior that apparently fostered Mitnick's actions," he said.

"This helps put the current Troopergate scandal into context by showing that it was not an isolated incident."

Libous also complained that Inspector General Kristine Hamann has yet to issue findings in her investigation, which began shortly after the accusations surfaced.

Her spokesman, Steven Del Giacco, said a report on the investigation, which has included interviews of more than 30 people, will be made public this month.

Mitnick, who left the private sector to join Spitzer in January, will be returning to a private-sector job.

He and his lawyer, John Murad, did not return calls.

His resignation letter says he adhered to the strictest principles of ethics and accountability and is leaving so he can pursue opportunities in the energy industry.

A spokesman for Mitnick, Robert Bellafiore, said Mitnick hadn't planned on a lengthy public service career and needed to quit to negotiate a new job.

Christine Anderson, a spokeswoman for Spitzer, said Mitnick was not asked to leave.

"He brought his vast knowledge of energy policy to the job and we wish him well as he returns to the private sector," she said.

Buley said she thought it was an "interesting coincidence" that Mitnick is departing at this time.

She also declared frustration that the IG report had not concluded.

"I don't understand why it's taking so long," she said.

Spitzer also ran into difficulty with his choice for the new leader of the PSC, Angela Sparks-Beddoe, a utility lobbyist who dropped out of the running amid questions by Senate Republicans, including Libous, of her fitness for the post.

Howard since January had been working in the governor's chamber on loan from his $175,900-a-year job as director of Center of Homeland Security Research, Training and Education at the university.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo last week bashed Howard for his role in gathering information about Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno's travels in New York City.

A report by Cuomo's office said Howard abused his power by directing acting State Police Superintendent Preston Felton to provide reports on places they picked up and dropped off Bruno while driving him around Manhattan.

The creation of the records was part of a politically motivated scheme to discredit Bruno, Cuomo concluded.

Howard's new $157,000 post is just $1,000 less than that of his new boss, F. David Sheppard, the homeland security director.

A second Spitzer aide implicated in the Bruno travel scheme, communications director Darren Dopp, was suspended for at least 30 days without pay.

M. Odato can be reached at 454-5083 or by e-mail at jodato@timesunion.com. State Editor Jay Jochnowitz contributed to this report.

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

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

BY JOE MAHONEY

DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF

Tuesday, July 31st 2007, 4:00 AM

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

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

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

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

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

THE NEW YORK POST

"NAME CUOMO AS 'SPECIAL CRIMINAL PROSECUTOR' IN SPITZER PROBE: STATE GOP"

By FREDRIC U. DICKER State Editor

ALBANY - Senate Republicans will demand that Gov. Spitzer name Attorney General Andrew Cuomo as "special criminal prosecutor" - armed with full subpoena powers - in the dirty-tricks scandal that has engulfed the Spitzer administration, The Post has learned.

Senate Investigations Committee Chairman George Winner (R-Elmira) plans to make the unprecedented request for Democrat Cuomo to probe Democrat Spitzer as soon as today, sources said.

He and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno became convinced the Spitzer-controlled state Ethics Commission - which has begun a preliminary investigation - can't conduct a fair review, the sources said.

Winner's action also stems from his failed effort last week to obtain information on the scandal from state Inspector General Kristine Hamann, a Spitzer appointee who claims to have conducted her own probe.

"Hamann has refused to cooperate with the Senate, she has stonewalled us, and while she claims to have investigated the scandal, there's no evidence she ever did," a senior Senate aide said.

If Spitzer rejects the request, Winner plans to ask Cuomo - whose office produced a scathing report on the scandal last week - to personally urge the governor to designate him as a special prosecutor.

And if that effort fails, Winner - with Bruno's approval - will activate his subpoena-possessing investigations committee for a full-scale probe of the scandal, sources said.

That probe would be overseen by an outside, experienced criminal prosecutor "with a stellar reputation and respect on both sides of the political aisle," a senior Senate official said.

Cuomo's report concluded that top Spitzer aides conspired with the State Police to gather what they hoped would be damaging information on Bruno (Rensselaer), the governor's leading Republican foe.

While Cuomo has said he found no criminal conduct, he conceded his investigators were unable to question two key figures who stonewalled the probe: Spitzer's chief of staff, Richard Baum, and now-suspended communications director, Darren Dopp.

With subpoena power, Cuomo would likely be able to compel their testimony and the testimony of others, possibly including Spitzer.

The Ethics Commission, which announced last week a preliminary inquiry of the scandal, is headed by former Fordham Law School Dean John Feerick, a Spitzer appointee and friend.

Several commission members and senior staff officials have also either contributed to Spitzer or have personal ties to him or to his friends.

"The Senate has no confidence in the Ethics Commission," said a source close to Bruno.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07302007/news/...tate_editor.htm

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK SUN"

"Inspector General Failed To Use Subpoena Power in Spitzer Probe"

By JACOB GERSHMAN, Staff Reporter of the Sun

July 30, 2007 updated 7/29/07 11:17 pm EDT

Although armed with subpoena power, the New York State Office of the Inspector General completed an investigation of the Spitzer administration's plot against a political rival without interviewing two key aides to the governor, issuing any subpoenas, or preparing any final report, a spokesman for the office said.

Unlike Attorney General Cuomo's office, which conducted a separate, concurrent investigation into the matter, the state inspector general had the subpoena power to compel the two aides — Mr. Spitzer's communications director, Darren Dopp, and chief of staff, Richard Baum — to testify under oath and force the administration to turn over e-mail records.

A spokesman for the inspector general's office, Stephen Del Giacco, declined to say why the office did not issue any subpoenas.

In response to questions, he said repeatedly: "We concurred with what the attorney general found."

The news that the inspector general, Kristine Hamann, a Spitzer appointee, chose not to use her office's subpoena power has increased suspicion among Senate Republicans that the office's probe was biased toward the governor and incomplete, and it prompted more calls for further inquiry into the scandal.

"I don't think there was a report or an investigation," a spokesman for the Senate Republicans, John McArdle, said.

"I don't think they did anything, period."

State Senator George Winner, a Republican who has submitted letters to the inspector general's office and the attorney general's office asking to review e-mails, testimonial transcripts, and other supporting documents, said the inspector general "didn't do anything but be a convenient foil to allow the governor to say he's been exonerated by his own agency."

Mr. Spitzer has described the inspector general's investigation as "independent," and in defending himself has pointed to the office's finding that the administration did not commit any illegal activity.

Ms. Hamann, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney's office, said in a July 23 statement that her office agreed with the conclusions drawn by the attorney general's office, which faulted two Spitzer aides, Mr. Dopp and the governor's liaison to the state police, William Howard, for their roles in the plot against the Republican Senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno, and also found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

A report issued by the attorney general's office last week found that the two aides led a campaign to discredit Mr. Bruno that involved asking police to take special measures to monitor Mr. Bruno's use of air and ground security escorts on days he attended fund-raisers and leaking the travel records to the Times Union of Albany.

Mr. Spitzer insists that proper punishment has been meted out; he indefinitely suspended Mr. Dopp and demoted Mr. Howard.

Senate Republicans say they suspect knowledge of the plot went farther up the chain of command and have focused their scrutiny on Mr. Baum, who said he thought that Mr. Dopp had been responding to a proper press request and said he was unaware that the state police had taken special measures to keep track of Mr. Bruno.

A spokesman for the attorney general said investigators in the office sought to interview Messrs. Dopp and Baum.

Following the advice of the administration's top legal counsel, David Nocenti, the two aides declined to be interviewed and submitted sworn statements.

All e-mails provided to the attorney general's office and the inspector general's office by the Spitzer administration were handed over voluntarily.

Mr. Spitzer told the New York Times on Friday that he would allow Messrs. Dopp and Baum to testify before the State Ethics Commission, which is conducting a preliminary review of the scandal and may launch a full probe.

Senate Republicans are also considering whether to conduct their own inquiry.

http://www.nysun.com/article/59375?page_no=1