"NY Republicans' bid for gas tax 'holiday' sputters in tough times, suspicion of oil industry"

Associated Press

Last updated: 6:22 p.m., Wednesday, April 30, 2008

ALBANY -- Republicans in the New York Senate and Assembly say cutting the local, state and federal taxes on gasoline could save up to $10 per fill-up during their proposed "summer holiday" from gas taxes.

But many political and economic obstacles stand in the way of the election-year proposal.

Democratic Gov. David Paterson says he won't reject the push by Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Republican leader James Tedisco.

But he says there's no guarantee gasoline suppliers and retailers wouldn't simply jack up the price even if the taxes are eliminated over the summer.

Paterson also questioned if the state can afford the loss of millions of dollars in revenue after years of spending too much and in the face of historic deficits.

Paterson said it's a "leap of faith" that prices at the pump would be cut by the amount of the taxes without some pledge by the industry.

"This is something we could legislate, but not implement," he said.

He also said the state can't afford the revenue loss if there no guaranteed cut in gas prices because he predicts state deficits of up to $20 billion over the next three years.

But Bruno said the cut in the state, local and federal tax -- or even just cutting the state tax -- would likely pay for itself.

He said New Yorkers would have more money to spend on groceries and clothes and that the cut could entice more tourism.

He said a summer without gas taxes could save $7.20 to fill-up a car or $10 to fill-up a sport utility vehicle or truck.

Gas prices are expected to hit $4 a gallon and more this summer.

"That's the objective here, to stimulate the economy," Bruno said.

The state tax is 32.8 cents per gallon, the federal tax is 18.4 cents and the local tax is 13.9 cents.

If all taxes were suspended from Memorial Day to Labor Day, New Yorkers would see about a 65-cent cut in price to $3.93 per gallon, instead of $4.58 per gallon, said Bruno, a Rensselaer County Republican.

"High gas prices have a negative multiplier effect, driving up the cost of everyday goods," said Tedisco, a Schenectady Republican.

"The fastest way to put the brakes on rising fuel, food and other commodity costs is by instituting a much-needed holiday from the state fuel taxes for motorists and businesses."

Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said the "Republicans are trying to hide from the failures of the Bush administration."

"I believe that oil companies will simply raise their prices to eliminate any cost savings," Silver said.

He said the Republicans should call the Bush administration and demand action to solve the problem.

"Paterson wants to streamline governments in NY - Paterson proposes consolidating web of small governments to save New York taxpayers' money"

By VALERIE BAUMAN, Associated Press

Last updated: 4:32 p.m., Wednesday, April 30, 2008

ALBANY -- Gov. David Paterson is proposing legislation he said could save New Yorkers as much as $50 million by consolidating different functions of local municipalities.

The Commission on Local Government Efficiency, formed last year by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, released a final report Wednesday to Paterson.

The commission's goal was finding ways to reduce the number local government entities -- now more than 4,200 -- to help rein in property taxes, which are among the highest in the nation.

It's an ambitious undertaking that New York politicians have been attempting for decades -- but it faces strong opposition from the unions that profit from the growth of government and duplicated services.

"We recognize that this has been tried before," Paterson said.

"But we are in an economic time that may be unparalleled."

The commission's ideas include consolidating school districts and centralizing local government functions, like tax collection, emergency dispatch, civil service and records offices.

They also recommend moving New York toward a single, state-run jail system and to consolidate "special districts" with separate commissioners who handle water, sewer and garbage services.

The state AFL-CIO and the Civil Service Employee Association quickly rejected the commission's recommendations.

"The report unfortunately presents a one-sided point of view on how local governments can achieve cost savings in New York state," AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes said in a written statement.

But many politicians have said consolidation is crucial to trimming the tax burden.

"Right now, property taxes in New York state is the number one issue," said Sen. Betty Little, a Warren County Republican.

"County officials consider property taxes the most important challenge facing state and local government," said Stephen Acquario, executive director of the New York State Association of Counties.

"Collectively, we should reduce the property tax burden ... this cannot be accomplished when the policies and directives that come from Albany call for more costly programs that must be funded with local property taxes."

------

On the Net: http://www.nyslocalgov.org

HE SHOULD KNOW ...

AFTERALL, HE HELPED TO GET US HERE ...

AND DID NOTHING TO PREVENT IT WHEN HE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY ...

AND RIGHT NOW, HE IS STILL DOING HIS UTMOST TO PROTECT THE "SLUSH FUNDS" THAT THE LEGISLATURE HAS CREATED FOR ITSELF AND THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR BY ITS CONTINUAL LOOTING OF OUR STATE TREASURY ...

And so ...

"Paterson warns of historic deficits in NY, could soon total $20 billion without cost-cutting"

Associated Press

Last updated: 4:12 p.m., Wednesday, April 30, 2008

ALBANY -- Gov. David Paterson says New York state government is headed for deficits that could total $20 billion over the next three fiscal years.

He says the deficits will likely be bigger than New York has ever seen.

The Democrat is warning that continued declines in revenue means the legislature must help him achieve spending cuts of as much as 10 percent for the fiscal year that begins in April 2009.

He says legislative leaders so far are cooperative.

Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno is more optimistic.

He says he will work with Paterson to cut spending, but says he expects an economic recovery next year.

The legislature adopted a current $121.7 billion budget that filled a nearly $5 billion deficit and increased spending just under 5 percent.

"Book about rise and decline of former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer to be published by Penguin"

Associated Press

Last updated: 12:22 p.m., Wednesday, April 30, 2008

NEW YORK -- A book about the rise and stunning decline of former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, co-authored by the makers of a book and documentary about the fall of Enron, is being published by Penguin Group (USA), Penguin imprint Portfolio announced Wednesday.

Peter Elkind, who helped write the 2003 best-seller "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," is collaborating on the Spitzer book with filmmaker Alex Gibney.

Gibney and Elkind will also work on a documentary about the law-and-order Democrat who resigned last month over allegations about his connection to a $5,500-an-hour call girl ring.

The book and film, currently untitled, are expected to come out around the same time, but no release date has been set.

"We know Peter to be a spectacular investigative reporter, just spectacular," Portfolio publisher and President Adrian Zackheim told The Associated Press.

"This is not a quickie book."

"He's going to do what he does best: Come back with a very, very satisfying, in-depth and complicated story."

Elkind is a senior writer for Fortune magazine and in 2004 wrote a cover story about Spitzer, who was then New York's attorney general.

Zackheim said he's not expecting Spitzer to cooperate with the current project, but added that "it's not inconceivable."

Gibney's film about Enron, also called "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," came out in 2005.

AND WHILE THESE TEACHERS' UNIONS ARE DEMANDING EVER MORE MONEY FROM US ...

"Deputies: upstate NY teacher-student relationship improper - Upstate NY music teacher charged with having improper relationship with young female student"

Associated Press

Last updated: 12:22 p.m., Wednesday, April 30, 2008

MORRISTOWN, N.Y. -- Police are charging an upstate New York music teacher with engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a female student.

St. Lawrence County Sheriff Kevin Wells says 38-year-old Daniel Frick is being charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

Wells says there was no sexual contact between Frick and the student, only hand-holding and kissing.

Wells says the incidents occurred between July and October 2007 at Morristown Central School when the girl was under age 17.

Frick, of Potsdam, is being held on $5,000 cash bail or $10,000 bond while awaiting his next appearance in Morristown Town Court.

Superintendent Beverly Ouderkirk says Frick is suspended with pay while the case is pending.

He has taught at Morristown for the past two years.

"Better view of retail vision - Greene County residents more welcoming of scaled-down complex near Thruway Exit 21B"

By ALAN WECHSLER, Business writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, April 30, 2008

COXSACKIE -- After more than a year of controversy, a scaled-down retail project has finally won acceptance.

Criticized as too big in the past, the now-smaller, 1.3 million-square-foot proposed development off Thruway Exit 21B in New Baltimore won widespread praise from supporters and critics alike at a hearing Tuesday night at the Coxsackie-Athens Middle School.

The hearing was held to gather public comment on a required environmental review.

Those who had been adamantly opposed to the project at previous meetings thanked the Greene County Industrial Development Agency for listening to concerns and reducing the project by 37 percent.

The IDA proposed making the 300-acre site just off Route 9W shovel-ready to sell to someone who would actually develop the project's retail and commercial components.

The new version of the site plan calls for doing away with some of the more extravagant parts of the proposal -- such as building a new Thruway exit to connect directly to the property -- while still allowing space for such ideas as a performing arts center, an antiques barn and a historic farm restoration project.

"I like the supplemental plan," said Roger Downs, who had previously been opposed to the project as a member of Citizens for Alternatives to the Multi-use Park, or CAMP.

More than 40 people attended Tuesday's hearing.

Introduced by the IDA more than a year ago, the project was seen as a way for locals to have a say in how their region was developed -- while at the same time keeping property taxes down.

When residents balked at the original size, the IDA agreed to make it smaller.

On Tuesday, more than a half-dozen residents, ranging from town supervisors to environmentalists, said they were impressed.

"I still have reservations," said Liz LoGiudice, a member of CAMP.

"But I'm very pleased that I've been heard."

The IDA spent more than $1 million to create an environmental impact statement, which is expected to be approved later this spring.

The IDA would purchase the land for the project from three different property owners and sell it to a master developer as soon as the end of this summer.

IDA Executive Director Alexander "Sandy" Mathes said he already has had talks with two potential developers.

Attractive to them is a site that already has gone through the sometimes-lengthy environmental review.

Any specific proposals would still need approval from the New Baltimore Planning Board.

The developer would agree to construct facilities for a major retail tenant, a hotel and recreation center, as well as office and industrial space.

The IDA has agreed to buy 1,200 acres of land and set it aside as green space -- a move that impressed some critics.

"I'm very pleased the community has reacted so favorably," Mathes said.

"We were sincere about listening."

Alan Wechsler can be reached at 454 5469 or awechsler@timesunion.com.

OF COURSE HE IS ...

HE'S A POLITICIAN ...

AND THERE IS ONE THING THAT A POLITICIAN LIKE DAVID PATERSON CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH OF ...

AND THAT IS A HUGE POCKET FULL OF MONEY ...

LIKE THE GIRLS-FOR-HIRE THAT ELIOT SPITZER WAS PLAYING AROUND WITH AFTER PAYING THEM BIG BUCKS TO PLAY WITH HIM ...

And so ...

"Paterson sheds donation limits - Governor won't comply with Spitzer-era cap, seeks maximum donation of $55,900 for statewide run"

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

First published: Wednesday, April 30, 2008

ALBANY -- Gov. David Paterson will take the full campaign $55,900 contribution allowed by law in his expected run for governor in 2010, quietly abandoning limits set by his predecessor.

"In order to compete on a level playing field he will adhere to the limits that are set under current rules," spokesman Jonathan Rosen said.

It means that as a gubernatorial candidate, Paterson will follow state election laws -- not the self-imposed campaign contribution caps set by then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer, his former boss.

Last week Paterson indicated he plans to seek election for a full term in 2010.

Spitzer made headlines in declaring he would not take more than $10,000 from any one source.

But he also received criticism by getting around the voluntary restriction by having individuals bundle their checks with those of other donors to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars as a group.

It entitled the bundlers to special rewards, such as a seat close to Spitzer at a fundraising dinner.

As Paterson was ascending to Spitzer's seat in March, the former lieutenant governor mentioned he may not go along with the $10,000 limit.

Paterson has not made a big deal about the Spitzer limits disappearing.

His campaign aides have been getting the word out slowly.

Spitzer clashed over campaign reform with Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, R-Brunswick, when he dug in and indicated that without it, he wouldn't agree to long-desired raises for lawmakers.

Rosen said Paterson "is committed to campaign finance reform."

"It certainly would be a pleasant thing for him to do," said Russ Haven, counsel for the New York Public Interest Research Group.

"But we never suggested that any (elected official) should unilaterally disarm."

"We would like him to work for a meaningful reform agenda this session."

Haven said Spitzer's caps may have been illusory.

By approaching the same people to donate to the state Democratic Party and his own campaign fund, Spitzer was getting well above $10,000 per donor for campaigns accounts that benefited him.

"It looked like he was mostly raising money for the state party, so while he may have been within the boundaries he set, half the money would go to him and half to the state party," Haven said.

"The spirit that he would limit fundraising from any one source, that didn't appear to be the case."

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

"A breath of fresh air for region - Pollution rules are helping, report says"

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

First published: Thursday, May 1, 2008

ALBANY -- The air in the Capital Region is getting healthier, thanks in part to tougher federal pollution restrictions on coal-fired power plants, according to a report released Wednesday by the American Lung Association.

The days with unsafe levels of ozone -- which causes smog and worsens asthma and other lung ailments -- declined by about two-thirds during three years, the report said.

There were 15 days of unsafe ozone levels in the region during 2004-06.

That compared to 25 days in 2003-05 and 48 days in 2002-04.

The national reports, done annually, cover a three-year review and rely on pollution data from sensors in more than 900 counties nationwide.

During a Wednesday news conference, lung association officials said the improvement in Capital Region air likely is due to federal air pollution rules adopted during the Clinton administration that required coal-fired power plants to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide, a prime ingredient of ozone.

Ozone, an airborne irritant created when sunlight heats emissions from power plants, vehicles and other exhausts, has been shown to worsen asthma in children and lung diseases in adults.

During warm summer days, ozone can be seen in air as a light fog.

While New York has relatively few coal-fired plants, it is in the path of windblown pollution from plants concentrated to the west in the Ohio River Valley.

The federal rules required emission reductions of nitrogen oxides by 1.1 million tons annually, or 28 percent overall, in 22 states and District of Columbia.

In the Capital Region, the conversion of an oil-fired power plant in Bethlehem to natural gas in early 2005 also likely helped improve local air quality, said Michael Seilback, lung association senior director of public policy and advocacy.

PSEG, a subsidiary of New Jersey-based Public Service Enterprise Group Inc., spent $500 million to convert the Bethlehem Energy Center on Route 144.

Natural gas burns cleaner than oil and releases less nitrogen oxides.

Company officials said the rebuilt plant releases 97 percent less nitrogen oxide, as well as 98 percent less sulfur dioxide, a component of acid rain.

"Depending on where you live in New York, the air you breathe ranges from good to bad to downright ugly," Seilback said.

"The ugliest unhealthy air contains deadly toxins that place those people already in high-risk categories -- children, teens and seniors, and people with asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, cardiovascular disease and diabetes -- in grave danger."

The report gave failing grades for air quality to seven of 33 counties, including the metropolitan New York region, the lower Hudson Valley and Long Island.

But despite the improvement in Albany County's air, the report still gave the county a grade of D.

Saratoga and Rensselaer counties each received a grade of C, and Schenectady County was rated an A.

The report's release comes with the Legislature still in session and the American Lung Association lobbying for stronger air pollution laws.

In the lung association's most recent report, which covered 2004-06, Saratoga County had six unsafe ozone days, down from 10 and 13 in the two earlier annual reports.

Albany County had five days and Rensselaer County had four days, in the current report.

Schenectady County had none.

By comparison, New York City's Staten Island, which received an F, had 16 unsafe ozone days during the same period, according to the report.

Ozone sensors, run by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, are located in Loudonville, Grafton, Stillwater and Schenectady.

Also measured in the report were particulates, a fine soot that can damage lungs when inhaled.

Particulates, like ozone, are caused by emissions from power plants and vehicles.

During 2004-06, Albany County had seven days when particulates exceeded safe levels.

DEC's network of pollution sensors for particulates does not include Saratoga, Schenectady or Rensselaer counties.

Nearing can be reached at 454-5094 or by e-mail at bnearing@timesunion.com.

Unsafe days

The number of days in the Capital Region with unsafe levels of ozone has been steadily dropping, according to the American Lung Association.

Years // Number of unsafe ozone days

2004-06 // 15

2003-05 // 25

2002-04 // 48

Source: American Lung Association annual State of the Air reports for three-year periods

"State lawyer nailed for no-show job"

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

Last updated: 5:06 p.m., Thursday, May 1, 2008

ALBANY -- James A.P. McCarthy, an attorney and former counsel to Gov. George E. Pataki, was spending time at a posh country club and working at his Albany law firm while billing the state for thousands of dollars in salary for a no-show patronage job at the Department of Correctional Services, according to a report released today by the state Inspector General.

The report recommends that McCarthy reimburse the state for pay the Inspector General found he did not earn during a three-month period when he was under investigation.

He has worked in the position for years without a phone, desk or computer, according to the Inspector General.

McCarthy, 52, is the longtime Troy city school district attorney.

He also is an attorney with with the Girvin & Ferlazzo law firm, where several lawyers have come under scrutiny recently in an unrelated state pension scandal being investigated by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

The Inspector General's investigation of McCarthy was triggered by an anonymous complaint in March 2007.

The probe focused on McCarthy's part-time work as an "extradition secretary'' for DOCS, a $60,867-a-year post he has held since 1995 when McCarthy was an assistant counsel to Pataki.

Investigators began following McCarthy last year while monitoring the records of his time slips and electronic swipe card access at the DOCS headquarters building at 911 Central Ave., according to the report.

Over a three-month period McCarthy was paid $6,000 for time not worked.

During that period he was supposedly on state time while at the exclusive Wolfert's Roost Country Club in Menands, and also doing work at a private law firm.

Members of Wolfert's Roost said McCarthy is a fixture at the club and once served as president of the Board of Directors.

The Inspector General's office referred the matter to Cuomo's office for prosecution for the alleged falsification of time records.

The Attorney General's office declined to take action, according to the report.

The report by the Inspector General concludes by recommending that McCarthy face discipline from DOCS.

"The Inspector General recommends that DOCS take appropriate disciplinary action against McCarthy and seek to recoup the thousands of dollars paid to McCarthy for work hours during which he was not present,'' the report states.

McCarthy, who was an assistant counsel to the Senate Finance Committee for 10 years beginning in 1984, was the Hoosick town attorney and a Rensselaer County assistant district attorney.

"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.

"We're concerned the worst is yet to come for New York," she told reporters Thursday.

Although state income tax collections ended up much higher than expected by April 15, that was the result of profits from mergers and other investments from the relatively hotter early part of 2007.

It's not expected to be repeated, she said.

The annual report came as a poll shows most New Yorkers already are tightening their belts.

The Siena Research Institute poll released Thursday found 80 percent of New Yorkers plan to cut back on the amount they spend on their summer vacation because of gas prices.

The Siena College poll also says 14 percent of New Yorkers are behind on their bills because of rising fuel prices, a driving force in what economists say is an all-but-official recession.

Half of New Yorkers say they are cutting back on restaurant dining and a third are delaying home repairs, which could worsen an impending recession.

"New Yorkers should know we're aware of that, and that the state has to do the same thing," she said.

The report backing up Paterson's call for Albany to tighten its own belt served as a warning to the Legislature that state government spending growth -- which has been around 10 percent a year -- must be cut drastically.

Anglin says that unlike past years, eventual increases in revenue will no longer be enough to avoid billions of dollars in deficits because the state is spending so much.

She said the current budget, adopted in April at $121.6 billion, filled a $5.2 billion deficit -- higher than what was revealed before the budget was passed a week late.

She said the 2009-10 fiscal year is projected to have a $5 billion deficit, the 2010-11 budget is projected to have a $7.7 billion deficit, and the 2011-12 fiscal year is expected to have an $8.8 billion deficit.

Those deficits rival the shortfalls after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and are higher than most past years' gaps.

And while the post-2001 downturn was forced by a terrorist attack in lower Manhattan, the current and projected deficits "are entirely due to spending," said E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, part of the fiscally conservative Manhattan Institute.

"The only way to get out of this is for the people who got us into this mess to fix it, to clean up what they did," McMahon said.

History gives two examples: Former Gov. George Pataki cut spending and taxes which helped revive the economy in the mid-1990s; but the Legislature, with Pataki in office, raised taxes and spending after 2001.

McMahon said that prolonged for years a recession that could have ended in six months.

------

On the Net:

http://www.state.ny.us

"NY Inspector general says a part-time attorney charges state for agency work not done"

Associated Press

Last updated: 6:32 p.m., Thursday, May 1, 2008

ALBANY -- New York's inspector general says a part-time attorney charged the state for thousands of dollars of work despite not showing up.

Acting Inspector General Dennis E. Martin is accusing 13-year state employee James A. McCarthy of falsifying time and attendance records when he said he was working as an attorney for the Department of Correctional Services.

McCarthy, 52, is accused of getting paid $6,000 over 12 weeks when he didn't show up at state offices to work.

He is paid $60,867 a year as associate counsel for work that is supposed to total less than 19 hours a week.

He has been a state employee for 13 years.

He didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

The case was referred to the agency for any disciplinary action.

"State hiring curbs may chill hot market for government staff - State government hiring curbs, spurred by budget crises, could dim bright spot for job seekers"

By ELLEN SIMON and DONNA BORAK, Associated Press

Last updated: 3:22 p.m., Thursday, May 1, 2008

As U.S. states struggle with about $39 billion in total budget shortfalls, at least 10 have announced hiring curbs and others may follow -- chilling one of the few parts of the economy that had been adding jobs.

More than half the states are experiencing budget shortfalls.

Under state constitutions, most can't borrow money or run a deficit, making spending cuts a necessity.

That has brought hiring limits or freezes in states from California to Maryland.

The hiring curbs -- and the threat of government job cuts -- could spread.

At least 27 states, including several of the nation's largest, are facing budget shortfalls in fiscal 2009, according to the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

That comes amid slowing state revenue from personal income taxes, sales taxes and corporate taxes, while prices rise for everything from retired teachers' prescriptions to gas for state troopers' patrol cars.

The state shortfalls, together with that in Washington D.C., come to more than $39 billion.

And the hiring freezes -- in California, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island --follow a hiring binge by governments at every level.

If states' money problems worsen and the hiring curbs are taken seriously by legislatures and governors, that could mean even more bad news for battered job hunters.

Those states with shortfalls are Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.

State budget cuts are already hurting human services, from subsidized lunches for children in South Carolina to nursing home care in Rhode Island.

Under new state budgets, more than 10 million people will lose dental care, access to medical specialists, name-brand prescription drugs or other benefits.

"It's early," said Scott Pattison, the former state budget director for Virginia, now executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers.

"I don't think we've seen the most painful cuts we're going to see."

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said Wednesday that the state will need to cut jobs to deal with a $550 million budget gap.

He declined to say how many of the state's more than 45,000 employees could be affected.

One possible cut is 160 positions at the Department of Children's Services because of a $73 million reduction in federal funding.

"I'm not talking about 20 people or something, I'm talking about some serious change in the number of people who are employed by the state," Bredesen said.

"I just want to be honest with people and not give people any false hopes about where we are."

State and local government employment has grown for the last decade, and governments at all levels continued adding jobs in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Employment in the sector is now the highest on record and payroll jumped 40 percent in the last 15 years, growing to a nationwide total of $60.74 billion in March 2006, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data.

In the last quarter, as most industries have shed jobs, government has been the rare bright spot, adding about 18,000 jobs between February and March for a total of 22.39 million workers at the federal, state and local levels, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Most of the month's increase came at the federal level, while state and local government employment stayed steady.

Government employment expanded as growing states and cities hired teachers, police and firefighters, said Bob Ward, deputy director of the State University of New York's Rockefeller Institute of Government.

But "public payrolls seldom shrink as the service base shrinks, whether it's school enrollment or population in Northeastern cities such as Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia," he said.

While most recessions don't lead to deep state and local government job cuts, in the 2001 downturn, a sharp drop in tax revenue forced payroll reductions.

"The question, of course, is whether the current downturn will be like 2001 or whether it will be more like the other recessions," Ward said.

There's no consensus, but economists expect unemployment, now at 5.1 percent, to rise slightly to 5.2 percent when the Labor Department releases employment data Friday, according to the consensus estimate of Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson Financial/IFR.

Some states and municipalities, including College Township, Pa., are considering switching to a four-day workweek to save utility costs.

So far, some states' freezes have proven permeable.

In Louisiana, for instance, there's a blanket exemption for anyone hired to care for patients in the Louisiana State University hospital system.

Other workers must apply for an exemption from the governor's budget office; about three-quarters of those who ask get one.

California has cut about $2 million from its payroll since it announced a partial hiring freeze in February.

Still, two weeks after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger required all departments to trim "nonessential" spending by at least 1.5 percent, he appointed his former chief speechwriter as an adviser to the state's Integrated Waste Management Board at a salary of $103,603 a year.

While New York. Gov. David Paterson insisted last Monday that the hiring freeze he was announcing was serious, ordering agency heads to rethink their hiring practices, last Thursday The Associated Press reported that the state was planning a mass recruitment to replace thousands of management employees expected to retire in the next five years.

Michigan has whittled total of state workers to the lowest number since 1973, said Liz Boyd, spokeswoman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

"We are doing more with less," Boyd said.

Rhode Island not only has a hiring freeze, but Gov. Donald Carcieri has also proposed eliminating 7 percent of the state work force, or roughly 1,000 employees and contractors, by June 30 to help close the gap on its $515 million budget deficit.

Staff reductions, which included an expected 400 retirements, were designed to save the state about $100 million.

In Delaware, Gov. Ruth Ann Minner said in March that the state wasn't looking at layoffs.

"That's not to say that eventually we won't have to," she said.

----

Associated Press Writer Erik Schelzig in Nashville, Tenn., contributed to this report.

AND AS YOUNG ANDY CUOMO, THE PRESENT NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, GRABS FOR THE NATIONAL HEADLINES LIKE HIS PREDECESSOR, THE PROSTITUTE PATRONIZING "SHERIFF OF WALL STREET", ELIOT "STEAMROLLER" SPITZER, WITHOUT GIVING ANY REAL THOUGHT TO THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS ACTIONS, SO LONG AS HE GETS HIS NAME IN PRINT, WE HAVE ...

"Federal regulator criticizes Cuomo appraisal pact - Cuomo's appraisal agreement criticized by regulator, mortgage bankers, brokers"

By ALAN ZIBEL, Associated Press

Last updated: 4:32 p.m., Thursday, May 1, 2008

WASHINGTON -- A federal regulator and powerful mortgage industry interests are criticizing New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's plan to reshape the appraisal industry.

Cuomo reached an agreement in March with mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that was designed to alleviate what he called widespread pressure on appraisers to inflate their estimated value of homes.

The agreement, scheduled to take effect next year, would ban lenders from using in-house appraisers, and would block mortgage brokers from ordering appraisals.

However the federal Office of Thrift Supervision said the agreement was based on a "flawed" process, without adequate input from lenders or federal regulators.

In a letter this week, Timothy Ward, the agency's deputy director, said the agreement is likely to be costly for lenders, and may force some to sell off their appraisal or real estate settlement businesses.

"As long as the independence of the appraisal process is ensured, there is no reason to prohibit such affiliations or subsidiary business arrangements," Ward wrote.

Industry groups also are unhappy.

The Mortgage Bankers Association, in a letter to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, questioned Cuomo's authority to set a national standard.

The trade group also criticized the ban on affiliated appraisers, saying there is "no evidence" that they are more likely to be pressured than unaffiliated counterparts.

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers, which has threatened a lawsuit to block the new rules, marshaled a national letter-writing campaign against the rules, which they say would put them at a disadvantage to banks.

Not everyone is unhappy, however.

Jim Amorin, president-elect of the Appraisal Institute, said in an interview, that the agreement is "a good first step toward insuring there's appraiser independence."

However, he said mortgage brokers could still be a part of the process "as long as they're regulated in some way."

Cuomo said in a prepared statement that "it is not surprising that current industry participants, many of whom have significant economic interests of their own at stake, have differing perspectives about the various provisions in the agreements."

He said his office would "thoughtfully consider their suggestions," along with the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

An OFHEO spokeswoman said Fannie and Freddie will recommend potential changes after reviewing comments from industry groups and others.

"Final state budget numbers show bigger deficit - Annual report reveals deficit was deeper, spending more in state budget adopted in April"

Associated Press

Last updated: 6:12 p.m., Thursday, May 1, 2008

ALBANY -- The 2007-08 state budget session is a wrap.

But the final tally, released Thursday in an annual report by the state Budget Division, included some surprises in the 2008-09 budget adopted April 9.

Among them:

Total: $121.6 billion.

Lawmakers and Gov. David Paterson had several estimates when the plan was being negotiated behind closed doors and voted on quickly by lawmakers.

But the total announced April 9 was $121.7 billion.

Spending growth: The growth in all funds -- state and federal that are part of the budget -- grew 4.8 percent, while state operating funds grew by 4.5 percent.

Lawmakers and Paterson's budget office said spending would increase less than 5 percent, and criticized former Gov. Eliot Spitzer for proposing a 5-percent increase in spending.

The Democrat resigned in March after he was implicated in a prostitution investigation.

The increase factors in $361 million to cover labor union contract settlements.

Legislative additions: The Legislature's initiatives added $873 million to the proposed executive budget, down from the tradition gain of over $1 billion or more.

Budget gaps: The budget closed a $5.2 billion deficit.

Lawmakers and Paterson had stuck to a February estimate of $4.6 billion as late as April 9.

The projected deficits for the next three years total $21.5 billion.

That's substantially more than estimated in February when the 2009-10 deficit was projected to be $3.6 billion (now projected to be $5.2 billion), $6.1 billion for 2010-11 (now projected to be $7.7 billion), and $7.2 billion in 2011-12 (now projected to be $8.8 billion).

------

SOURCE: New York state Division of Budget.

AND FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF "YEAH, RIGHT, TELL US ANOTHER WHOPPER", WE HAVE ...

LET'S HEAT THAT LAKE ONTARIO UP UNTIL YOU CAN USE IT FOR TEA WATER ...

THERE WON'T BE NO ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, AFTERALL ...

AND HEY, THESE NUCLEAR BOYS GOT TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A PROFIT, TOO ...

AND THE U.S. NRC WILL LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT ...

WHILE FEEDING US A LINE OF BULL**** THAT THESE PLANTS ARE SUBJECT TO RESTRICTIONS ON THE TEMPERATURE OF THE DISCHARGED COOLANT ...

And so ...

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) Items of Interest - Week Ending August 19, 2005

Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, Unit No. 1 (NMP1) - Water Temperature Emergency Amendment

On August 12, 2005, the staff issued an emergency license amendment to Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, LLC (the licensee), which revised NMP1 Technical Specification (TS) 3.3.7, “Containment Spray System,” to increase the maximum allowable lake water temperature in TS 3.3.7.f. from 81°F to 83°F.

This change was requested under emergency circumstances to avoid a reactor shutdown due to a higher than anticipated water temperature rise in Lake Ontario and weather forecasts for higher temperatures over the next 10-day period.

TS 3.3.7.g. requires the plant to begin shutting down within 1 hour of reaching the TS 3.3.7.f. limit and be in hot shutdown conditions within 8 hours and in cold shutdown within 24 hours.

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collecti...05-0155scy.html

"For top judge, pay issue dims Law Day"

By ROBERT GAVIN, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 3:28 p.m., Friday, May 2, 2008

ALBANY -- Chief Judge Judith Kaye spent her final "Law Day" address this afternoon singing a familiar refrain -- that judges need a raise.

In a thinly veiled reference to the contentious issue, the state's top judge told those attending the annual event it was "dimmer" and "less lustrous" than past years.

"I don't think I have to state my reasons for saying this," she said, addressing large crowd of lawyers, judges and court personnel outside the state Court of Appeals building on Eagle Street.

Kaye is suing Gov. David Paterson and both houses of the state Legislature for failing to provide a raise to some 3,000 judges in New York, who last received a pay hike in January 1999.

State Supreme Court judges now earn $136,700-a-year, while those at the federal level make $169,200.

Kaye has questioned why legislation to increase the jurists' pay has consistently failed.

Her litigation, filed after this year's state budget passed last month, has accused state leaders of violating the state constitution by allowing judges' pay to diminish and not recognizing the separation of powers between branches of government.

"It's just a very sad thing when you have to sue partners in government," Kaye told reporters after the event.

Meanwhile, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, upon taking the podium, backed the call for raises as a citizen, avoiding any formal position as the state's chief lawyer.

"That our judges have (gone) so long without a pay raise is systemic of the disrespect for public service that is now so prevalent," he said.

He also said the state should do away with a rule that forces judges off the bench when they turn 70, which awaits Kaye next year.

It was Cuomo's father, Mario, who as governor appointed Kaye as chief judge.

"Paterson says he feared 'out-of-control' state police unit - Paterson says he confessed affairs fearing 'out-of-control' state troopers, but has no proof"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 4:52 p.m., Friday, May 2, 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.

"He found enough unusual circumstances to look into it," said Paterson, who took office after the resignation of Democrat Eliot Spitzer amid a prostitution scandal.

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 extraordinary 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."

Asked to explain the inconsistency between Paterson's statements to the radio station and his later remarks to reporters, spokesman Errol Cockfield said there was no inconsistency and that the governor has always said he was relaying the accounts of others.

State police spokesman Lt. Glenn Miner said Friday state police would cooperate fully.

Spitzer's administration was dogged by a scandal in which top aides instructed to state police to compile -- and in some cases, recreate -- records tracking the travels of Spitzer's chief political rival.

"NY corrections lawyer quits amid probe into $60,000-a-year no-show job"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 3:22 p.m., Friday, May 2, 2008

ALBANY -- A veteran state lawyer is quitting after being accused by the inspector general of collecting pay without showing up at work.

On Thursday, the inspector general said James McCarthy was paid $6,000 over 12 weeks when he didn't show up at state offices to work for correctional services.

He was paid $60,867 a year for 19 hours of work weekly, according to the inspector general.

McCarthy resigned his job handling extradition papers effective Friday after 13 years working for the state.

He said was resigning to eliminate any "distraction" at the department because of his case, which caused some disagreement between the inspector general and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

The Department of Corrections is seeking restitution, said spokesman Erik Kriss.

McCarthy, 52, works for the law firm Girvin & Ferlazzo in Albany.

The company Web site says he held several positions in the Pataki administration, including assistant counsel, and once was assistant counsel to the Senate Finance Committee in the Republican Senate majority led by Sen. Joseph Bruno of Rensselaer County.

The law firm's Web site says McCarthy handles litigation and real estate issues for the firm and is also the attorney for the Troy city school district.

That's the biggest school in Bruno's district.

Last month Democratic state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli kicked some attorneys -- including some from Girvin & Ferlazzo -- out of the New York state and local retirement system because an upstate BOCES district inappropriately classified them as employees.

DiNapoli said he was unsure if the attorneys knew they were getting benefits paid by the school district that they shouldn't have received as part-time workers.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating the issue in school districts statewide.

He said he suspects many districts including BOCES districts provided inappropriate benefits to part-time lawyers, while collecting state school aid that for a full-time employee.

The McCarthy case created a conflict between the inspector general's office and Cuomo.

Hours before McCarthy's resignation, Cuomo disputed the state inspector general's public assertion on Thursday that Cuomo declined to investigate the case against McCarthy for any civil or criminal wrongdoing.

On Thursday, the inspector general's Web site stated:

"The Inspector General's Office also presented the evidence to the New York State Attorney General's Office, which declined to prosecute criminal charges against McCarthy."

Cuomo spokesman John Milgrim said Friday that the office is investigating the findings by the state Inspector General's Office in the case.

He said the attorney general can't legally decline a referral.

Inspector general's office spokesman Stephen DelGiacco on Friday called the conflicting statements a misunderstanding.

But he refused to say if Cuomo's office had ever refused to investigate the case.

"We discussed the case with them previously and there was miscommunication or misunderstanding," DelGiacco said.

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.

Paterson hasn't yet decided where his discretionary spending will go, said budget spokesman Jeffrey Gordon.

Paterson's grants also will be made public.

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

The $121.6 billion budget filled a $5.2 billion deficit.

A newspaper's lawsuit and calls for reform by voters and good-government groups forced public disclosure of the data on the grants -- including which lawmaker requested the spending.

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.

"The second thing is to just dump it like this isn't fair to the public at all," he said.

He said the data could be provided in a database that the public could immediately search and sort.

"They are just trying to make it harder for people to know what they are doing," Horner said.

Lawmakers consider the grants a way to fund critical programs, often in health and education, by those who know best where the money is needed.

"Individual legislators have a real awareness of the needs of their communities and under" community project funds, Silver said.

"It is important that funds flow to programs like meals on wheels and services for domestic violence victims."

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.

They include $95,000 to build a town pool in East Greenbush, $50,000 for the Rensselaer County Jail and $75,000 for the Epilepsy Foundation of Northeastern New York based in Albany.

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

Silver spent more than $10 million on his own -- not including the money he directed with other members of his conference.

Silver directed $705,000 to the United Jewish Council of the East side and $368,000 to various schools.

Sometimes the pork goes to areas in which lawmakers act on legislation in committees, and to industries that are major campaign contributors.

For example, Assembly Labor Committee Chairwoman Susan John, a New York City Democrat, directed $300,000 to the New York Committee for Occupational Safety & Health Inc. to develop information about workplace hazards.

NYCOSH is a tax-exempt educational foundation affiliated with members of the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied-Industrial and Service Workers International Union.

She collects thousands of dollars in campaign donations from unions.

And there are old standbys, like the $5,000 in money from taxpayers statewide that went to buy equipment and pay for umpires for the Van Nest Little League in the Bronx, thanks to Democratic Sen. Jeffrey Klein.

Similarly, the East Meredith Fish, Game and Gun Club in Delaware County received $5,000 for building repairs through Republican Sen. John Bonacic.

And $2,500 went to the NARAL Pro-Choice New York, part of the national abortion rights organization, for research and education through Democratic Sen. Craig Johnson of Nassau County.

The projects were posted Friday on the Internet at http://www.assembly.state.ny.us and http://www.senate.state.ny.us

------

AP writers Valerie Bauman and Michael Virtanen contributed to this report from Albany.

"Chief judge cautions against recusals as protest - New York's chief judge cautions against refusing to hear lawmakers' cases as pay-raise protest"

By MICHAEL VIRTANEN, Associated Press

Last updated: 4:33 p.m., Friday, May 2, 2008

ALBANY -- New York Chief Judge Judith Kaye needed a moment to compose herself after Friday's Law Day ceremony outside the Court of Appeals, her last after 15 years as the state's top judge.

She was moved by the finality of the day, by court attendant Michelle Perry-Belches' powerful rendition of "America the Beautiful," and by the thought that, in her final months, Kaye has had to sue the state Legislature for failing to raise judges' pay for a decade.

"It's just one of the additional reasons I'm so heartbroken we have to come to this juncture," Kaye said.

"It was totally avoidable and unnecessary and remains so."

"It should be worked out."

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, whose father named Kaye chief judge 15 years ago, had sharper words.

"It is the collision of unfortunate and connected phenomena: The dysfunction of Albany meets the degradation of public service," he told about 200 judges, lawyers and others gathered outside the courthouse.

"I recused myself from the current pay raise litigation because my office represents every party in the case on other matters," said Cuomo, which left lawmakers seeking private counsel.

"But as a citizen I believe the Legislature must act immediately to pay our judges a salary commensurate with the awesome responsibility they bear."

Kaye filed suit last month after the Legislature for the 10 straight year didn't authorize raises for the 1,250 state-level judges.

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno has blamed the Assembly for stalling the raises, saying the Senate approved pay hikes.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has declined to comment.

Judges' raises had been attached to politically sensitive raises for lawmakers and neither have been approved.

Pay ranges from $108,800 for full-time city court judges to Kaye's $156,000.

The judges have proposed raising the benchmark salary for state Supreme Court justices from $136,700 to the current level of federal trial judges at $169,300, and others proportionately.

Meanwhile some judges are recusing themselves from cases brought by state legislators and their law firms, citing a conflict of interest.

Kaye, who after turning 70 will retire at the end of the year, in an e-mail Thursday cautioned them not to refuse to hear lawmakers' cases as a form of protest.

She wrote that "using recusal as a strategy rather than as a matter of individual conscience" would be perceived as retaliatory and weaken their cause.

"It's just a very sad thing when you have to sue partners in government," Kaye said, following her speech in support of the rule of law.

She didn't think many judges were refusing cases, noted recusal "is and always has been a very individual matter -- meaning that when a judge feels he or she cannot be unbiased that there is some feeling for one party or another then the judge steps off the case."

She also rejected one judge's suggestion that she advise them all to do it.

In her e-mail, Kaye noted that Gov. David Paterson this week acknowledged the judges should get raises but advised against any work slowdown as protest -- "an allegation we assured him is without merit."

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.

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.

"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."

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.

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.

"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.

"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.

"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.

"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."

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.

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.

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.

"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.

"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.

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

"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.

"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.

"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.

"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.

"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.

"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.

"Ex-Schenectady chief's wife among 24 named in drug probe - Indictment: Lisa Kaczmarek told associate husband Greg would 'mule'' drugs"

By LAUREN STANFORTH and MIKE GOODWIN, Staff writers, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 1:13 p.m., Thursday, May 8, 2008

SCHENECTADY -- Lisa Kaczmarek, the wife of former Schenectady Police Chief Gregory T. Kaczmarek, is among 24 people facing indictment as part of a state organized crime investigation into a major Capital Region illegal drug operation, the Attorney General's office confirmed this morning.

The ex-chief faces no charges, but the indictment unsealed this morning says investigators were listening in on a tapped phone line when his wife on Feb. 18 told an associate that her husband, Greg Kaczmarek, would "mule" -- or transport -- cocaine for the associate.

And as an ex-police officer, she promised, he would "flash his badge" if the need arose.

The indictment alleges that the ex-chief was also present when he and his wife met with a drug dealer on Feb. 20 "to discuss the details surrounding the police seizing cocaine and other narcotics from the drug organization earlier in the day, and how to proceed with their drug organization in view of that police seizure."

The Kaczmareks have hired high-profile local attorney Kevin Luibrand, who represented several plaintiffs who successfully sued the city for police misconduct when Kaczmarek was chief.

Luibrand declined comment today.

Lisa Kaczmarek, 48, faces charges of felony drug sale and possession.

A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation described her as a "retail" dealer who moved small amounts of cocaine for the operation.

State Police fanned out across the area this morning to apprehend those named in the indictment.

Cuomo is expected to detail the Organized Crime Task Force investigation at a news conference later today.

Authorities describe the operation as a highly organized group that moved cocaine from New York City to the region and then hid the drugs -- and guns -- in local apartments.

It's not the first time Lisa Kaczmarek has been in trouble with the law.

Three years ago, she was arrested after allegedly being caught with marijuana when she went through a security checkpoint at City Court.

That case was later adjourned and the case sealed.

Kaczmarek's husband retired in 2002, six years after he was appointed to lead the city department.

Gregory Kaczmarek headed the force when the U.S. Department of Justice launched a corruption probe that ended with four officers in federal prison.

The City Council, civil rights leaders and others criticized Kaczmarek as an out-of-touch leader who lost control of his department.

During Kaczmarek's tenure, the Justice Department's civil rights unit launched a separate investigation that faulted the department for violating the Constitutional rights of citizens.

For years, Kaczmarek was dogged by rumors of drug use.

When then-Mayor Albert P. Jurczynski was considering him for chief in 1996, Kaczmarek held an remarkable news conference to refute the rumors.

"I'm not a drug user or abuser and never have been one," he said at the time.

AND THE GAME KEEPS GOING ON AND ON AND ON ....

BECAUSE AS SOMEONE ONCE SAID ....

THERE IS A FOOL BORN EVERY MINUTE ....

AND SHEEP ARE FOR SHEARING ....

AND DISGRACED EX-GOVERNOR AND "SHERIFF OF WALL STREET" ELIOT "STEAMROLLER" SPITZER CALLED AIG'S MARTIN SULLIVAN "ONE OF THE SMARTEST MEN IN NEW YORK STATE" ...

SO THAT MUST BE TRUE ...

And so ...

"AIG posts 1Q loss of $7.8B, plans to raise $12.5B in capital - AIG loses $7.8 billion in 1st quarter on credit default swap and investment portfolio losses"

By STEPHEN BERNARD, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:42 p.m., Thursday, May 8, 2008

NEW YORK -- American International Group Inc. said Thursday that it swung to a first-quarter loss of $7.81 billion because of losses tied to credit swaps and mortgage-related operations and that it plans to raise a total of $12.5 billion in new cash to shore up its capital base.

AIG, the world's biggest insurer, will raise $7.5 billion through an offering of common stock as well as equity units.

The equity units will consist of subordinated debt securities and contracts that require the holders to purchase AIG stock at a future date.

An additional $5 billion will be raised through the offering of fixed-income securities at a later date.

No pricing for the offerings was disclosed.

AIG lost $7.81 billion, or $3.09 per share, during the quarter ended March 31, compared with earnings of $1.58 per share, or $4.13 billion, during the year-ago period.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, on average, forecast a loss of 76 cents per share.

Like so many other financial services firms, AIG has been hit hard by deterioration in the credit markets.

As defaults sharply increased on mortgages beginning in the middle of 2007, investors shied away from purchasing all but the safest debt.

Because of the illiquidity in the credit markets the value of risky debt has plummeted, forcing firms like AIG to reduce the value of their investments in products such as credit default swaps and mortgage-backed securities.

"While we anticipated a difficult trading environment, the severity of the unrealized valuation losses and decline in value of our investments were beyond our expectations," Martin Sullivan, AIG's president and chief executive, said in a statement.

New York-based AIG lost $9.11 billion in its credit-default swaps portfolio during the first quarter.

The swaps promise to cover losses on $579 billion in bonds or other kinds of debt.

AIG recorded an $11.12 billion loss on the swaps portfolio during the final quarter of 2007.

Losses in its investment portfolio, which includes debt backed by troubled mortgages, totaled $6.09 billion.

It booked a $3 billion loss on the portfolio a quarter earlier.

Much of the charges in the investment portfolio were tied to losses on mortgage-backed securities -- investment instruments backed by pools of residential mortgages or other residential loans.

AIG says it lost $352 million in its mortgage insurance business, United Guaranty.

The losses were mostly tied to increased claims incurred on both first- and second-lien businesses.

Premiums written in the division did increase 14 percent from the year-ago period, but were unable to offset the spike in claims.

Overall, the insurance writing business at AIG was relatively flat compared with the first quarter last year.

Net premiums written fell less than 1 percent during the first quarter to $12.08 billion.

AIG's net premiums written totaled $12.11 billion during the same quarter last year.

AIG's combined ratio increased to 96.86 during the first quarter, compared with 87.52 during the year-ago period.

Combined ratio measures the amount of money an insurer receives from writing premiums compared to how much it spends on claims and other expenses.

A ratio above 100 means the insurer is spending more than it earns.

Separately, the board of directors approved a 2-cent per share, or 10 percent, boost to its quarterly cash dividend, to 22 cents.

The dividend will be paid Sept. 19 to shareholders of record on Sept. 5.

The company also appointed Steven Bensinger vice chairman of financial services.

He previously served as executive vice president and chief financial officer at AIG.

He will continue in his current role until a replacement can be found, the company said.

Shares of AIG tumbled $2.70, or 6.1 percent in after hours trading to $41.45, after closing at $44.15 in the regular session.

"Jobless claims post sharp decline - New applications for jobless benefits decrease by 18,000"

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:02 p.m., Thursday, May 8, 2008

WASHINGTON -- The number of newly laid off workers seeking unemployment benefits dropped far more than expected last week.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for unemployment benefits fell to 365,000, a decline of 18,000 from the previous week.

Economists had been looking for a much smaller decrease of around 5,000.

Weekly jobless claims have been exceptionally volatile in recent weeks because of strike-related layoffs in the auto industry and an unusually early Easter, which played havoc with the government's seasonal adjustment measurements.

Many economists believe a prolonged housing slump and severe credit crisis have pushed the economy into a recession.

For that reason, they think job layoffs will rise in coming months as the unemployment rate climbs higher.

Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics, said that even with this week's improvement, claims are now at a level equal to where they were at the start of the last recession in March 2001.

He predicted layoffs would increase further in coming months.

However, many economists believe job losses will be less severe than in previous recessions because they are expecting this downturn to be relatively mild and brief.

The Bush administration is counting on 130 million economic stimulus payments to boost consumer spending and trigger a rebound in growth starting this summer.

The Labor Department reported last week that employers cut jobs for a fourth straight month, often a sign of a recession, but the job loss of 20,000 was much smaller than had been expected and was well below the 81,000 jobs lost in March.

Wall Street closed a quiet trading session with a moderate advance Thursday, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average up by 52.43 points to 12,866.78.

In other economic news, consumers gave retailers some relief in April after a long stretch of dismal sales.

Early reports from the nation's big chain stores showed customers bought the basics at discounters and wholesale clubs, putting Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. among the top performers last month.

Analysts predicted the flood of rebate checks will boost sales in coming months, helping to offset soaring gasoline prices and falling home values.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other administration officials fanned out to government check printing centers around the country Thursday to highlight that stimulus checks were starting to be mailed out.

"By the end of May, we will have pumped almost $50 billion into the economy and another $50 billion will follow."

"By early July, about 130 million households will have almost $100 billion of payments in hand," Paulson said after visiting a check processing facility in Kansas City.

The report on jobless claims showed that the total number of laid off workers receiving benefits dipped slightly to 3.02 million for the week ending April 26 but remained above the 3 million-mark for the second straight week.

For the week ending April 26, 32 states and territories had a drop in initial claims while 21 had increases.

The biggest increase was in Massachusetts, a rise of 5,591 that was attributed to higher layoffs in transportation, services and public administration.

Other states with big increases were New York, up 4,648; Kentucky, up 3,776, and New Jersey, up 3,521.

The state with the biggest decline was Texas, where jobless claims fell by 3,373, reflecting fewer layoffs in trade, service and manufacturing industries.

Other states with large declines were Rhode Island, down 1,835; California, down 1,689, and Pennsylvania, down 1,597.

"Groups say companies may violate NY campaign giving limits - Weak election law blamed for possible violations of New York campaign contribution limits"

By VALERIE BAUMAN, Associated Press

Last updated: 6:13 p.m., Thursday, May 8, 2008

ALBANY -- A study conducted by good-government groups says dozens of corporations with business before the Legislature may have exceeded the legal limit in 2007 on how much they can legally contribute to candidates.

The campaign filings released Thursday identify more than 100 companies that appear to have donated more than the $5,000 limit, which applies to a corporation's total contributions to all candidates.

Good government groups say part of the problem in New York is that the election law has a number of loopholes, meaning many of these companies may not have acted illegally.

Over-limit contributions break the law only if they're done "knowingly or willingly," and if the company, group or organization is actually a corporation -- a fact that was difficult to determine through the state filings.

That means companies that are a "limited liability company" instead of a corporation, or corporations that didn't know they weren't allowed to donate $5,000 per candidate instead of $5,000 aggregate each year, could avoid getting in trouble.

In one example, Riccelli Enterprises Inc. spent $11,600 in 2007 on campaign contributions, according to the study.

The trucking company, which hauls bulk commodities and waste, was also identified as one that had overspent in 2006.

Multiple calls to Riccelli Enterprises were not immediately returned Thursday and it was unclear if the company knowingly donated more than the limit.

The good government groups also blame the Board of Elections for a lack of oversight.

"We're coming close to completing the 2006 (campaign filings) and I know we're under way on the 2007."

"There was a bit of an issue, in 2005 they changed the law," board spokesman Robert Brehm said.

The legal change created more work for the board by including filings from local governments, so instead of tracking only about 1,700 files in a year, the board now deals with about 10,000 files, Brehm said.

In many cases information is entered incorrectly, Brehm said.

He pointed out that the board was able to eliminate the majority of the potentially illegal filings from 2005 -- ultimately referring only 14 companies to district attorneys.

The board did not know if any of those cases have been prosecuted.

"There are instances of treasurer error, and clearly the campaign finance unit is actively reviewing these documents," Brehm said.

"They are looking at corporations that have made over contributions, they have hired three individuals to work as auditors to do this kind of work."

The groups releasing the report argue that the data has been computerized for the Board of Elections and they have the tools to distinguish companies that broke the law from those that legally contributed more through various loopholes.

"In politics, unless someone enforces the law aggressively, people will do what they feel like they want to do," said Blair Horner, a spokesman for the New York Public Interest Research Group.

"At the state Board of Elections, they're not aggressively enforcing that."

The report was jointly released by NYPIRG, the League of Women Voters, Common Cause New York and the Citizens Union of the City of New York.

The groups argue the state's weak campaign finance law should be updated to either say corporations can't donate to politicians except through political action committees -- to match federal law -- or close the loophole that allows multiple subsidiaries of the same company to make contributions counted separately from each other.

------

On the Net: http://www.elections.state.ny.us/Contributions.html

"Cuomo: Lawyers to pay $100,000 to close school pension cases - Lawyer, firm agree to pay $50,000 each to end Cuomo probe into pensions for private lawyers"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:42 p.m., Thursday, May 8, 2008

ALBANY -- A New York Public Service Commission member has agreed to pay $50,000 to end an investigation into state benefits she was improperly awarded while working as a school district lawyer, officials said Thursday.

Maureen Harris, who was appointed to the utility regulator in 2006 by former Republican Gov. George Pataki, agreed to the settlement that ends the investigation into her past private practice, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said.

PSC spokesman James Denn confirmed Harris is paid $109,800 and is eligible for a state pension in the PSC job in which she rules on utility rate increases and other regulations.

Harris, a former partner with the Girvin and Ferlazzo firm in Albany, agreed to forfeit pension benefits she was given as a contract employee of the Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES who was improperly classified as a district employee, Cuomo said.

Cuomo, a Democrat, didn't mention Harris' current paid role with the PSC when he announced the settlement.

Cuomo spokesman John Milgrim later said her role with the PSC was common knowledge and on the front page of a local newspaper.

"It didn't come up in this event because the PSC was irrelevant to this conduct," he said.

"This settlement occurred based upon events prior to her joining the Public Service Commission and has no bearing on her role as a commissioner," said her attorney, Michael Koenig of Albany.

"As is clear from the settlement agreement itself, Maureen received a benefit from her partnership of a limited one-year period based upon a long standing arrangement her firm had with BOCES."

Although Cuomo called the conduct fraudulent, Harris wasn't accused of fraud.

Many of the arrangements have gone on for years, even gaining approval by government officials who Cuomo said should have known it conflicted with law.

Maureen Harris is the sister of Pataki's former counsel, Michael Finnegan.

Harris' husband, John S. Harris, contributed $500 to Cuomo's attorney general campaign in 2006 among many contributions to Democrats and Republicans, state Board of Elections records show.

He is a partner in a law firm in Albany that specializes in public policy and regulatory affairs and represents clients to state agencies on issues including energy and utility legislation, according to the firm's Web site.

Maureen Harris' 2006 state ethics disclosure record shows her husband also is a shareholder in the Plunkett & Jaffe law firm, to which Pataki and his chief of staff used to belong.

Thursday's settlement doesn't affect her job at the PSC, Denn said.

He said neither John S. Harris nor his firm have appeared before the PSC since Maureen Harris joined the commission.

Cuomo also settled a case against the Hodgson Russ law firm in Buffalo.

The firm will pay $50,000 to end a probe into lawyers who worked for five BOCES districts in western New York.

Although the lawyers didn't collect benefits, they were improperly listed as BOCES employees, Cuomo said.

Cuomo says the payments more than compensate for taxpayers' losses.

He said the BOCES districts received "minimal" additional state aid for listing the contract lawyers as employees.

Hodgson Russ plans to continue to work for school districts, but under the conditions of the settlement, said Gary Schober, the firm's CEO.

"We will, without admitting any wrongdoing, discontinue the practice of permitting our attorneys to be placed on the payrolls of any BOCES," he said.

Cuomo's investigation continues into school districts and local governments.

"This is the tip of the iceberg," Cuomo said.

"NY court employees set to get contract raises - Tentative settlement holds cost-of-living raises for the NY state's court workers"

Associated Press

Last updated: 4:22 p.m., Thursday, May 8, 2008

ALBANY -- About 6,000 state court employees are in line for cost-of-living pay raises over four years under a tentative contract agreement.

The Civil Service Employees Association says its accord with the state Office of Court Administration will be retroactive to April 1, 2007, with annual pay raises of 3 percent in each of the first three years and 4 percent the fourth year.

The union agreed to salary increase deferrals for employees earning more than $115,000 annually until a judicial pay raise is enacted.

The 1,250 state-level judges have not had a raise for a decade and have sued legislators, challenging their failure to authorize raises as effectively a pay cut.

"Big ethanol plant proposed for port - Developers say new technology would make it more efficient than existing facilities"

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

First published: Thursday, May 8, 2008

ALBANY -- Developers of a massive ethanol production plant production plant proposed for the Port of Albany say new technology would make it far more efficient than existing corn ethanol plants.

Ed Stahl, president of BioPro Resources of Huntersville, N.C., told the Albany Port District Commission on Wednesday that the plant would use a process known as fractionation to separate the germ and fiber from the kernel.

The germ can be marketed separately, while the fiber can be used as a fuel source through gasification, he said.

Meanwhile, the material that remains is more highly concentrated, increasing the ethanol yield.

Stahl said a plant that would have produced 55 million gallons of ethanol without fractionation would now yield 70 million gallons.

The gasification of the fiber would reduce the amount of natural gas needed by 70 percent to 80 percent, he added.

"This will reduce our carbon footprint," Stahl said.

Biomass such as wood chips also could be used to provide energy to the plant, he said.

The company that would supply the distilling equipment, ICM Inc. of Colwich, Kan., already has a test plant in operation in St. Joseph, Mo., Stahl said.

The Albany port project would give ICM an opportunity to demonstrate its technology on the East Coast.

Stahl told commissioners that ethanol is being blamed unfairly for the rise in worldwide food prices, saying the corn used to produce ethanol is normally fed to livestock, not humans.

The rising price of oil is the biggest contributor to food price increases, he said.

The increased efficiency of the proposed ethanol plant should make it easier to get financing, Stahl said.

That's been an issue as corn and natural gas prices have climbed.

Stahl also is considering using agricultural-grade molasses as a source of the sugars needed to produce ethanol, replacing some expensive corn, said Robert Cross, chairman of the commission.

Eric Anderson can be reached at 454-5323 or by e-mail at eanderson@timesunion.com.

"State adds names to list - Pension crackdown continues as more lawyers lose benefits"

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

First published: Thursday, May 8, 2008

ALBANY -- State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli expanded his statewide crackdown on pension abuse Wednesday, saying he stripped three more lawyers of their retirement system membership and took away credits from two others including Public Service Commissioner Maureen Harris.

At the same time, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is looking at what one person close to the investigation said were "firm-wide practices" at Albany's Girvin & Ferlazzo law firm, where Harris, and another lawyer stripped of pension credits, M. Cornelia Cahill, worked.

So far, 11 lawyers have lost full or partial pension credits with the State and Local Retirement System for being listed as employees of school districts, BOCES, or other government entities when they should have been deemed independent contractors.

Another lawyer has been suspended.

As the list grows, however, some targets are starting to fight back, saying they plan to appeal the loss of pension credits.

In addition, at least two lawyers have rejected deals offered in lieu of civil suits from Cuomo.

"He won't take it," Kevin Keating said of his client William Cullen, a solo practitioner on Long Island who faces loss of pension credits for his school board work.

People familiar with the matter said Cuomo offered Cullen and several other lawyers the chance to settle for a $50,000 fine and an agreement not to work for public employers for a decade.

But Keating said Cullen believes he had the right to a pension.

"He was entitled under several legal theories," said Keating, explaining his client's appointment as a school district lawyer could be construed as granting him access to the pension system.

He said he knew at least one other attorney who had turned down Cuomo's offer.

The pension crackdown is running along two tracks: with DiNapoli taking away the credits and Cuomo investigating and seeking fines in cases where he believes participants may have tried to defraud the pension system.

Last month, four lawyers at Girvin & Ferlazzo -- James Girvin, Kathy Ann Wolverton, Kristine Lanchantin and Jeffrey Honeywell -- were removed from the state retirement system by DiNapoli while another -- Salvatore Ferlazzo -- lost credits he had through BOCES but kept them from other state employment.

Cuomo continues to investigate lawyers at the firm.

Much of the probe is focusing on the alleged practice in which associates, or junior lawyers, performed the bulk of some routine BOCES tasks, even though the partners did the billing and accrued pension credits for the time involved.

A firm spokesman declined to comment Wednesday, but Harris's lawyer, Michael Koenig, said his client worked just one year for BOCES and no longer works at Girvin & Ferlazzo.

Harris was appointed to the PSC by former Gov. George Pataki in 2006.

She is a sister of Pataki chief counsel, Mike Finnegan.

Nor is Harris the only person in the pension affair with at least some connection to politics.

One lawyer under investigation is Carol Hoffman, a partner in the Long Island's Jaspan Schlesinger Hoffman law firm.

Two state lawmakers are connected to the firm.

State Sen. Craig Johnson, D-Port Washington and Assemblyman Marc Alessi, D-Shoreham are both "of counsel" there.

While details vary, that status means a lawyer typically isn't a partner or even employee of the firm, but may share office space or get benefits such as malpractice insurance.

In some instances, "of counsel" lawyers may get a cut of business they bring to a given firm.

Alessi couldn't be reached.

Johnson stressed that he focuses on commercial and bankruptcy law and is "walled off" from any school-related or municipal work at the firm.

State Sen. Neil Breslin, D-Delmar, had earlier been of counsel at Girvin & Ferlazzo but said he left the firm about a year ago, well before the pension issue erupted.

Breslin is now of counsel at the Hiscock & Barclay firm where Cahill is a partner.

Cahill, who has also worked as bond counsel for Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority and the city's IDA, didn't return a call seeking comment, nor did her lawyer, Daniel French, a former U.S. attorney for the Northern District.

Cahill is married to Richard Sise, presiding judge at the state Court of Claims.

DiNapoli on Wednesday also said he had revoked retirement credits from Niagara Falls lawyer Maria Massaro, who he said was wrongly listed as an employee for the city schools.

Also losing credits was Long Island lawyer Nathan Swergold, who was wrongly listed as a Hempstead sewer district employee.

Salvatore Evola, a district accountant, had credits rescinded, which generally means he has other intact pension credits.

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

"Cuomo pursues funding inquiry - Groups that failed to claim member-item funds to be asked why"

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

First published: Thursday, May 8, 2008

ALBANY -- Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is sending out letters to 2,700 not-for-profit groups and community organizations asking why they haven't claimed their cut of $78 million for needs lawmakers considered critically important.

The member-item grants were lined up by the Legislature for the prospective recipients more than two years ago.

For some reason the groups have done nothing to collect the money, Cuomo said.

Cuomo is taking the extraordinary step of inquiring as to why, said John Milgrim, a spokesman for Cuomo.

The first batch of letters are going out this week.

Milgrim would not provide the names of the recipients but said the attorney general's office will make public what happened to each member item on its Project Sunlight Web Page in about a month.

In his review of member items laid out by the Legislature from the 2006-2007 fiscal year, Cuomo found about 3,700 recipients entered into contracts and more than 2,700 of the 6,500 items went unclaimed.

After taking office in 2007, Cuomo announced greater scrutiny of the discretionary grants.

He said contracts between state agencies and the grant recipients would be screened and a new certification program would be required.

Those who want grants have to state in writing whether they have ties to the lawmaker making the grant and they must assure that the money would be for a public purpose.

Cuomo said historically there has been a lag in funding, but the big number of drop-outs may be related to his new review and the certification process.

"I was shocked at the number of not-for-profit groups and community agencies that clamor for money and no one steps forward to claim the money," said Russ Haven, counsel for the New York Public Interest Research Group.

Cuomo also said that 1,026 of the 3,700 recipients, seeking $122 million of the $200 million member-item fund from 2006-2007, had their applications "rejected as submitted" by his office because of defects.

He said some applicants did not identify the public purpose specifically.

Others were not in good standing because they did not file financial reports as required with the attorney general's charities bureau.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, scoffed at reports that so many member items were rejected.

"There's a lot of stories out there that aren't exactly accurate," Silver said.

"For example, the attorney general rejecting, quote, a thousand items."

He said applications are being fixed and fewer than 100 are now on the rejection list.

Silver also defended the member-item spending, saying "members are still in a position to know the needs of their district better than any commissioner."

His spokesman, Dan Weiller, said later "few if any" rejections will result.

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