"Bruno won't seek reelection - Majority leader tells colleagues he's retiring"

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

Last updated: 6:28 p.m., Monday, June 23, 2008

ALBANY -- Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno told fellow Republican senators a short time ago that he will not seek reelection, according to Republican sources.

The senator and his conference have been behind closed doors at the Capitol.

"Bruno won't seek reelection - Majority leader tells colleagues he's retiring"

By JAMES M. ODATO , Capitol bureau, and JAY JOCHNOWITZ, State editor, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 7:45 p.m., Monday, June 23, 2008

ALBANY -- Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno will not seek re-election, the Brunswick Republican confirmed this evening.

Bruno's decision will end a more than three-decade career that led him to become one of the most powerful men in state government, and the defacto leader of the state Republican Party.

Insiders say Assemblyman Roy McDonald, R-Wilton, is Bruno's preferred replacement for his Senate seat, although Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen Jimino is said to be interested, too.

It also means a seat that had been considered a safe one for Republicans will not necessarily be a sure thing this fall.

With all New York lawmakers' two-year terms ending in December, Republicans are defending their narrow 32-30 majority in the Senate, the party's last stronghold in state government.

Democrats now hold the governor's post and dominate the Assembly by a 106-42 margin.

Should Bruno, 79, be followed by other older senators into retirement, the GOP would lose the power of incumbency in even more districts, further threatening the party's control of the chamber.

Who leads the Senate Republican conference next year was yet to be known.

Dean Skelos, R-Rockville the current deputy majority leader for legislative operations, has long been considered one of the most likely successors, but upstate Republicans may argue that a conference leader should come from what has traditionally been the party's base.

Bruno and his conference were meeting behind closed doors since late afteroon.

In a statement from his office, Bruno said that "After 32 years in office, I have decided that it is time to move on with my life and to give my constituents an opportunity for new representation and my colleagues in the Senate who have supported me, an opportunity for new leadership."

He also mused on his his time in public office, describing boths ups and downs.

"Public service has been a blessing for which I will be ever grateful."

"I have had the opportunity to work for and with hundreds of proud, distinguished New Yorkers."

"I have viewed my work not as a job, but as a privilege to come here day in and day out and stand up for the people of Rensselaer and Saratoga counties and stand up for the hardworking people I have come to know over the years."

He also called politics "a tough ball game."

"Tougher now than it has ever been."

Bruno said he was moving on "with a heavy heart, but an optimistic soul."

Bruno had earlier told his Republican conference and Democratic Gov. David Paterson of his decision.

Speaking with reporters, Paterson said he had no indication that Bruno's decision was connected to an ongoing FBI probe of the senator.

"He's a class act."

"He's a wonderful person."

"When he chooses the time, that time is fine," said Paterson, who was Democratic minority leader in the Senate before being elected lieutenant governor in 2006 on a ticket with Eliot Spitzer.

"It's a sad say for Albany, and for me."

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo concluded Bruno did nothing wrong under the state's lax travel rules, which were subsequently tightened.

Cuomo faulted Spitzer's aides for involving State Police in a political matter.

Bruno and Spitzer feuded for months as new information came to light on Spitzer's involvement in the records' release, and a report by District Attorney David Soares challenged Spitzer's claims that he didn't know about it.

Spitzer resigned in March after his involvement with a high-priced prostitute was revealed.

Bruno has had a quieter relationship with Paterson, the lieutanant governor who succeeded Spitzer.

"NY Senate leader Joseph Bruno won't run again"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 7:12 p.m., Monday, June 23, 2008

ALBANY -- Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, who has run the Republican chamber for more than a dozen years, confirmed Monday that he won't seek re-election in the fall.

The 79-year-old Bruno, considered the oldest serving state legislative leader in the country, has been the state's top Republican since 2006.

Several Republican senators some of whom could seek the powerful majority leader's job, refused to comment on Bruno's decision, announced in a closed-door session on the last scheduled day of the 2008 legislative session.

Bruno has been under an FBI investigation for more than a year which appears to be looking at his business associates outside of state government.

Bruno's wife, Barbara, died in January.

They had been married more than 50 years.

"Today, I met with my Republican colleagues in the Senate and informed them that I will not be running for re-election this November," Bruno said in a prepared statement.

"After 32 years in office, I have decided that it is time to move on with my life and to give my constituents an opportunity for new representation and my colleagues in the Senate who have supported me, an opportunity for new leadership."

Bruno said he was grateful and felt blessed to be in his role so long.

"I have viewed my work not as a job, but as a privilege to come here day in and day out and stand up for the people of Rensselaer and Saratoga counties and stand up for the hardworking people I have come to know over the years," Bruno stated.

"Politics is a tough ball game."

"Tougher now than it has ever been."

"But after 32 years of many successes and a few failures, I know now more than ever, and I can say that with comfort and confidence, there is no calling greater than that of public service," Bruno stated.

Gov. David Paterson, a Harlem Democrat who has long had a close relationship with the upstate Republican, told reporters outside the Senate conference room that Bruno wants to pursue other interests in life.

"I think that it is, in some ways, a sad day for Albany and for me who would like to feel that I have a friendship with him outside of government," Paterson said.

Paterson said he didn't know if the decision had anything to do with the FBI investigation.

Paterson said he's unsure when Bruno would step down as majority leader.

Bruno's term ends Dec. 31.

------

AP Writer Valerie Bauman contributed to this report from Albany.

I know Joe Bruno as a THUG ....

GOOD RIDDANCE ...

Be careful what you wish for. There could be worse.

Wow.

Yes, jeffmoskin ....

As always, you are correct on that score ...

And that is always a possibility ....

And if so, then we simply have to deal with it if and when it comes ....

But as to Joe Bruno, I am still glad to see him going ....

Joe has had his time in the spotlight ....

Now it is his time to head off-stage ...

For the good of the people of New York State ...

And so ....

Maybe he and Eliot Spitzer can get themselves into the "hospitality bid-ness" ...

Joe likes lap dancers, afterall ...

And so ...

"Bruno will exit arena - After 32 years in Senate, majority leader says he won't seek re-election"

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

First published: Tuesday, June 24, 2008

ALBANY -- Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno will leave office at year's end, adding to the shake-up at the top echelons of state government.

The Brunswick Republican stunned allies and colleagues Monday, confirming he will not run for re-election after a 32-year Senate career.

The de facto leader of the state Republican Party, Bruno has already set in motion a plan to pass the power to Sen. Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Centre, GOP insiders said.

When he will do so is unclear, although one senator, Thomas Morahan, R-Rockland County, said a vote today on replacing Bruno is expected, with the winner filling out his term as majority leader.

Bruno is expected to make a public announcement today about his decision and Skelos, according to a Senate official and a Republican operative briefed on the plans.

Sen. Thomas Libous of Binghamton, who has also been keen on becoming majority leader, will replace Skelos as deputy majority leader, a GOP official said.

Bruno becomes the third high-ranking state official to unexpectedly leave office in the past two years.

Democratic Comptroller Alan Hevesi left office in 2006, and Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned earlier this year.

Few people seemed to know of Bruno's intentions.

"He called us in right before he told his members," said Edward Lurie, Bruno's former political director, referring to top staffers.

Assemblyman Roy McDonald, R-Wilton, would be Bruno's preferred replacement for his Senate seat, GOP officials said.

McDonald said he is "very much interested."

Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen Jimino had also been interested.

Bruno's seat, representing Rensselaer County and much of Saratoga County, had been considered a safe one for Republicans.

The race for the 43rd Senate district may be competitive for the first time in decades.

Bruno departs at one of the toughest points in his career, with a two-year-old FBI investigation of his business dealings hanging over his head and a recent push by federal investigators for more and more documentation.

Already, the probe has led to Bruno breaking off a more than 10-year job with a Connecticut investment firm, Wright Investors Service.

The FBI has looked into Wright securing contracts to invest New York labor union pension and benefit funds.

The senator had also been under heavy scrutiny for his use of state resources, including planes.

He spent months last year and early this year in a bitter battle with former Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

In January he became a widower when his wife, Barbara, succumbed to Alzheimer's disease.

Political problems have added to the burden.

With all New York lawmakers' two-year terms ending in December, Republicans are defending a 32-30 majority in the Senate, the party's last stronghold in state government.

The GOP has had setbacks, including a Democratic victory in a GOP-dominated North Country district in a special election in February.

Democrats now hold the governor's post and dominate the Assembly by a 106-42 margin.

Should Bruno, 79, be followed by other older senators into retirement, the GOP would lose the power of incumbency in even more districts, further threatening the party's control of the chamber.

However, a Senate source said all the GOP incumbents who had planned to run this year promised to campaign for re-election despite Bruno's departure.

Bruno met for almost two hours with his Republican colleagues behind closed doors but declined to face about 50 reporters and television crews.

An aide said Bruno would say more today.

The mood in the meeting, Morahan said, "was like a wake."

His colleagues in politics paid tribute to Bruno.

"Joe Bruno's leadership helped transform New York State and he will forever be remembered as a true statesman who always put the best interests of good government and the people he served first, foremost and always," said James Tedisco, the Republican Assembly minority leader.

Bruno released a statement as word spread of his decision.

A source familiar with his plans said he will be taking a vacation to Italy soon, although the senator told reporters earlier in the day to expect the Senate to return to Albany in July.

Bruno said in the statement he was ready "to move on with my life and to give my constituents an opportunity for new representation and my colleagues in the Senate who have supported me, an opportunity for new leadership."

He also mused on his time in public office, describing both ups and downs.

"Public service has been a blessing for which I will be ever grateful...I have viewed my work not as a job, but as a privilege to come here day in and day out and stand up for the people of Rensselaer and Saratoga counties and stand up for the hardworking people I have come to know over the years."

He also called politics "a tough ball game."

"Tougher now than it has ever been."

Bruno said he was moving on "with a heavy heart, but an optimistic soul."

Gov. David Paterson said he had no indication that Bruno's decision was connected to the ongoing FBI probe of the senator's business dealings.

"He's a class act."

"He's a wonderful person," said Paterson, who was Democratic minority leader in the Senate before being elected lieutenant governor in 2006 on a ticket with Eliot Spitzer.

"It's a sad day for Albany, and for me."

State Democratic Chairwoman June O'Neill suggested Bruno left because of doubts about the GOP's prospects in the Senate races.

"There is no better gambler in this business than Joe Bruno, but ... Joe Bruno looked across the table and saw we had a royal flush ..."

"We'll be curious to see who else decides to join him in the retired legislators section at the Saratoga Racetrack."

Bruno arrived in the Senate after winning a seat in 1976.

He rose to majority leader in late 1994 after he toppled the sitting leader at the same time that Republican George Pataki became governor.

Pataki, in a statement, said Bruno possessed passion and dedication that is rare in public life.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, said the senator's "no nonsense manner and spontaneous wit will certainly be missed in the Capitol."

Union staffers Irene Jay Liu and Kenneth Crowe contributed. James M. Odato can be reached at 454-5083 or by e-mail at jodato@timesunion.com

Yeah, me, too ...

The senatorial order shall be a model for the other sections of the citizen body.

If we achieve this, we shall have achieved everything.

The state, as a whole, is constantly corrupted when its leading men display evil ambitions and vicious behavior.

It is bad enough that leading figures in the state should do wrong.

But what is much more damaging is that there are so very many people who want to follow their example.

Recollect what happened in Rome's early history, and you will see that the character of our leading citizens was what moulded the shape of the entire community.

Whatever alterations occurred in the life-styles of the leading men were reflected in the lives of the whole population.

For that reason, national leaders who act improperly present a particular danger to the state, not only because of the undesirable practices in which they themselves indulge, but because they themselves infect the whole community with this poison - not only, that is to say, because they are corrupt, but because they corrupt others.

The examples they set to others do more harm than the bad things that they themselves are doing.

This law applies to the whole senatorial order.

Yet it can also be considerably narrowed down.

What I mean is that the capacity either to corrupt the morals of the nation or to improve them rests, actually, with only a few people, in fact, very few indeed, because of the lofty positions or reputations that they enjoy.

- Cicero, ON LAWS, translation by Michael Grant

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"Senate GOP Leader Joe Bruno won't seek another Albany term"

BY KENNETH LOVETT and ELIZABETH BENJAMIN, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Monday, June 23rd 2008, 11:06 PM

ALBANY - In an announcement both unexpected and stunning, the state's highest-ranking Republican, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, said Monday he will not seek reelection.

Bruno, 79, of upstate Rensselaer County, is expected to give up his leadership post Tuesday, a variety of sources said.

"While there may never be a good time to make these kind of life decisions, I have decided that it is time for me to move on with my life," Bruno said.

"I do so with a heavy heart but an optimistic soul."

Bruno recently lost his wife of 57 years and is the subject of an ongoing federal investigation into his outside business interests.

Just Monday, a source said, the Senate delivered 30 boxes of documents to federal investigators.

Bruno, who was treated for prostate cancer several years ago, departs at a time when the GOP has been bitterly fighting to keep control of the state Senate, where it has a 32-30 edge. Democrats control the Assembly.

Many older senators have hung in, in large part, because of Bruno, who has been Senate majority leader since 1995.

His departure could change that, which would be a benefit to Democrats, who have picked up four seats in recent years.

While calling Bruno a "dedicated public servant," state Democratic Chairwoman June O'Neill crowed that the Republican saw the writing on the wall for his majority.

"We'll be curious to see who else decides to join him in the retired legislators section at Saratoga Racetrack," she said.

The announcement came several hours after Bruno held a press conference with Gov. Paterson and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to announce a host of deals to close the legislative session.

Bruno showed no signs of his pending decision, joking with both leaders but there were some signs before yesterday.

As he took the legal steps for a reelection run in recent weeks, Bruno was surprisingly coy when asked if he was running.

After meeting with Bruno later in the day, Paterson said he had an idea something was up several days ago during a private conversation with the majority leader.

"It is in some ways a sad day for Albany and for me," said Paterson, who was Senate minority leader while Bruno was majority leader.

The Democratic governor said he was not aware if the federal probe of Bruno was a factor in the decision.

"The senator wants to move on, there are other things he'd like to do," Paterson said.

"He's a class act."

Silver was also gracious in his remarks.

"Although we experienced our share of disagreements, I always recognized and appreciated the Senator's unwavering commitment to public service," said the Assembly majority leader.

Some of Bruno's members were ashen and close to tears as they left a closed-door meeting with him.

Deputy Majority Leader Dean Skelos of Long Island is expected to take Bruno's leadership slot today and Thomas Libous of Binghamton will get Skelos' deputy position, Senate sources said.

Bruno became majority leader shortly after Republican George Pataki was elected governor in 1994.

With the backing of powerful GOP leaders, he orchestrated a Thanksgiving Day coup against then-Majority Leader Ralph Marino, who campaigned with Democratic incumbent Mario Cuomo.

He started his tenure as a strong conservative but over the years, partially because of pressure from Pataki and partially because Democrats made gains in the house, he moved his members leftward.

"Senator Bruno always fought for what he believed in, tough enough to take a punch and always strong enough to land a punch," Pataki said Monday night of the former Army boxer.

While Bruno had his ups and downs with Pataki, it was all-out war with Pataki's Democratic successor, Eliot Spitzer, who was elected in 2006.

In what has become known as Troopergate, the Spitzer administration had state police compile travel records on Bruno so they could be released publicly to embarrass him.

Bruno went toe-to-toe with the tough-talking governor, accusing him of political espionage and often dismissing him as a "spoiled brat."

They battled until the day Spitzer resigned for hiring a hooker.

klovett@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/06/23...nt_seek_an.html

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"Scandals plagued Joe Bruno who once claimed he had 'nothing to hide'"

By Corky Siemaszko, Daily News Staff Writer

Tuesday, June 24th 2008, 12:34 AM

New York's most powerful Republican pulled the plug on his political career in the face of a widening FBI probe into his businesses - including land deals and racehorses.

That Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno was under investigation was no secret - he made the bombshell announcement in December 2006 as rumors swirled.

"I have nothing to hide," he said at the time.

The FBI probe faded into the background as the Troopergate scandal erupted and the majority leader was revealed to be the target of Gov. Eliot Spitzer, whose career was about to implode over a hooker scandal.

In February, The Albany Times Union reported the feds subpoenaed labor unions that invested pieces of their pension funds with a Connecticut firm that employed Bruno as a consultant.

Bruno again denied any wrongdoing - he later told New York magazine he might have "inadvertently" done something to get himself in a jam with the feds.

"Who the hell knows if, inadvertently, there's something there, that they uncovered, that they want to accuse you of," Bruno said.

"I think, 'What the hell could they get somebody to say that I said or did?'"

"I know that's what they try and do."

The probe began when a grand jury sent out subpoenas related to Bruno's dealings with Albany-area businessman Jared (Jerry) Abbruzzese.

Abbruzzese was a principal in a high-tech company in upstate Troy to which Bruno steered $500,000 in pork-barrel grants over the past four years, sources said.

One specific subpoena was issued to a bigtime Albany lobbyist, who confirmed the FBI rousted him for records on a land deal he and his pal Bruno were involved in until last year.

There have also been reports the FBI probe had expanded to look into Bruno's horse-breeding business.

In 2004, Bruno bought two mares from developer Earle Mack for $50,000, spent $74,000 to breed them and then sold three foals at auction for $425,000.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/06/23..._once_clai.html

ByeBye Joe, you won't be missed.
There can't be anyone much worse than Joe.
(wonder what the REAL reason is Joe is leaving...what was he caught doing...)

AH, YES ....

THE question ...

"Retirement won't end FBI probe - Senate has turned over boxes of records sought in Bruno inquiry"

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

First published: Wednesday, June 25, 2008

ALBANY -- An FBI investigation of former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno is moving forward and will not be derailed by his abrupt decision to leave elected office at the end of the year, people familiar with the case said.

Bruno's announcement that he would not seek re-election comes as federal prosecutors for the Southern District of New York have visited Albany in connection with the nearly three-year-old criminal probe of Bruno's public and private business dealings, according to sources who spoke to the Times Union on condition they not be identified.

Several months ago, FBI agents from Albany met with prosecutors from the Southern District regarding the Bruno investigation, a person with knowledge of the meeting said.

The agents made an informal overture to the Manhattan-based federal prosecutors at a time when the FBI and prosecutors in New York's Northern District, under U.S. Attorney Glenn T. Suddaby, have been at odds about the handling of the Bruno investigation, which sources believe has been dogged by unnecessary delay.

Suddaby is awaiting confirmation by the U.S. Senate to a position as a federal judge in upstate New York.

He has declined to comment on the Bruno investigation.

In recent days, Boyd M. Johnson III, who leads the public corruption unit of the United States attorney's office for the Southern District, visited Albany around the time that boxes of records from the state Senate were turned over to federal authorities.

Sources close to the case said that the files had been requested by federal authorities months ago, but that the Senate delayed responding to the request.

It's unclear whether Johnson was in Albany specifically because of the Bruno records provided to the government.

The federal investigation is centered around Bruno's private consulting business, his horse breeding interests and the state's horse racing industry.

Federal grand jury subpoenas also were issued regarding Bruno's work for a Connecticut company that received tens of millions of dollars in investment dollars from New York labor unions.

Bruno, 79, abruptly resigned from that investment company in December.

The senator's Brunswick consulting company, Capital Business Consultants, also has been a focus of the probe.

Bruno has declined to identify his private consulting clients, or to disclose whether any of them have an interest in state government contracts or public funding.

Like many other legislators, the senator has, when asked, also declined to disclose publicly the amounts of his personal income, net worth or debt.

Paul Holstein, chief division counsel for the Albany FBI field office, declined to comment on why agents had met with the Southern District prosecutors.

He said the office is "fully committed to the public corruption program, which is a high priority for the FBI, and are committing necessary resources to address ongoing investigations."

The investigation of Bruno is being headed by two agents with extensive experience in white-collar and public corruption cases, Michael Bassett and Charles Dougherty.

Bassett has been with the agency 25 years and worked at field offices in Tampa, Fla., and Chicago, where he worked undercover posing as a commodities futures trader on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade.

That investigation -- Operation Sourmash -- led to dozens of convictions and legislative reforms.

In Albany, Bassett has been the case agent on several high-profile public corruption investigations, including the insurance fraud case involving Albert Lawrence and the state bribery case of Albany engineer Ronald Laberge.

Dougherty came to Albany from the Newark field office, where he worked white-collar crime and public corruption investigations for more than 20 years, including 12 years as a supervisor.

Dougherty's work in the Newark office included investigations that brought convictions against multiple elected officials, including state senators, assemblymen and the former mayor of Newark, Sharpe James.

Early in the investigation, Bruno met with Bassett and another FBI official in Albany to discuss their probe, according to a person briefed on the meeting.

Bruno responded to their questions about his business dealings, and his answers were documented in FBI files.

It was a risky act for Bruno because citizens can be prosecuted for making false statements to federal agents involved in an official probe.

If a federal grand jury decides there are no criminal violations on Bruno's part, prosecutors have the option of providing Bruno or others with a letter indicating the panel took no action, a step that is akin to being exonerated.

Much of the investigation has focused on horse racing, an industry Bruno has staunchly supported and in which he has a deep personal interest.

The FBI probe outlasted a tumultuous period in New York's state-operated racing industry as it struggled to recover from allegations of mismanagement by its longtime operator, the New York Racing Association.

NYRA's contract to run the state's three thoroughbred tracks was renewed, but not before being imperiled by a heated takeover bid from several competing racing consortiums, including some whose investors have strong ties to Bruno and other elected officials.

More recently, the federal investigation has plied opinions Bruno received from the Legislative Ethics Commission that relate to his personal business ventures, including real estate development and horse breeding.

A person close to the investigation said federal authorities are examining the process by which Bruno received authorization from the ethics panel.

Bruno's attorney in Albany, William Dreyer, is a former federal prosecutor.

He could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

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 source briefed on the investigation said the FBI has built its investigation around the "honest-services" provision of federal statutes, a one-sentence amendment Congress inserted into federal law 20 years ago to close a loophole in its laws defining mail fraud and wire fraud.

The broadly written law prohibits anyone from depriving the public of an inherent "right to honest services."

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

"Skelos expected to replace Bruno as Senate GOP leader"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 11:52 a.m., Tuesday, June 24, 2008

ALBANY -- Sen. Dean Skelos of Long Island was expected to be elected leader of the Republicans' tenuous majority in the Senate on Tuesday, according to two Republicans briefed on the succession deal struck Monday night after Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno announced his retirement.

Under the agreement, Skelos' closest rival, Sen. Thomas Libous of Broome County, will be deputy majority leader, according to the two Republicans, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been officially announced.

Skelos, 60, has been in the Senate since 1985 and is steeped in the ways of power Albany, including the authority of strong majority leaders to determine what bills even get to the floor for debate.

His expected election in a closed party conference would mean the Senate majority leader, the Assembly speaker, the Senate minority leader, the governor, comptroller and attorney general will all be from New York City or its suburbs.

Bruno, 79, is from upstate's Rensselaer County and has held the leader's job since 1995.

Skelos refused comment Tuesday morning.

"I think Sen. Bruno made his decision based on wanting to get on with other things in his life," Libous said Tuesday.

"We're all focused in coming back in the majority (after elections) and I think we will pick up a seat or two."

"My interest is in the Senate majority."

The agreement for Libous to step aside in favor of Skelos was made Monday night by senior senators to avoid an internal fight that could jeopardize the chance for the Republicans to keep their 32-30 advantage in the chamber.

Republican senators said Bruno simply had enough after a yearlong fight with former Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a two-year FBI investigation, and, most of all, the death of his wife in January.

They had been married 57 years.

"I felt he was suffering, the loss of his wife and few other things," said Sen. Hugh Farley, a Schenectady County Republican.

"He's my best friend and we came into the Senate together."

Farley and other senators said the change, while sad and surprising, will help re-energize the Senate Republican conference, which faces an increasing threat in the increasingly Democratic state.

The change in guard will also likely mean the millions of dollars in state funding and projects Bruno steered to his Albany area district will now go to Long Island if Skelos and the GOP keep the majority.

"It's time for a change," a sometimes teary eyed Bruno told reporters Tuesday.

"It's time for me in my life to step back and enjoy my family ... I'm satisfied."

Bruno said the FBI investigation played no role in his decision.

He insists he has never been accused of a crime and won't be, and the federal probe will end without action against him.

"Senate GOP to rethink strategy for November - Bruno's retirement may put party at disadvantage in raising money for fall election"

By IRENE JAY LIU, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, June 25, 2008

ALBANY -- With the sudden retirement of their longtime quarterback, Sen. Joseph L. Bruno, Senate Republicans and their newly chosen leader must rejigger their game plan for the fight for the majority in November.

Bruno, in his capacity as conference leader, played many roles -- manager, consensus-builder, strategist, fundraiser -- roles that people from both sides of the aisle acknowledge he did well.

Those roles will be taken over by the new Majority Leader, Sen. Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Centre.

"Joe did a really good job of holding them together and putting them together tactically as the state was changing around them," said Doug Forand of Red Horse Strategies, the firm managing the Democrats' campaign to take over the Senate.

Forand said Bruno's decision to retire puts Republicans at a disadvantage and places a significant burden on Skelos, especially in the area of fundraising.

"I think a lot of the relationships were Bruno, with labor and other interests."

"I don't think that transfers wholesale to Dean Skelos," said Forand.

State GOP Chairman Joseph Mondello said fundraising will be a challenge for Skelos.

"He is extraordinary," said Mondello of Bruno.

"He's out 24/7 bringing in money from all different sources."

"That's why we have the ability to spend money on our races."

"That is going to be a challenge for Dean Skelos."

Bruno may still have a a role in this year's elections, but it has yet to be determined.

Mondello said he is happy to have his fellow Nassau County Republican in charge of the GOP-dominated Senate, but he also wishes Bruno hadn't bowed out.

Mondello said he would have preferred if Bruno had "seen this election through."

"We have five months to get the job done; I'm very apprehensive."

"This is not a cakewalk."

Bruno's decision to step down was met with some glee from Mondello's counterpart in the state Democratic Party.

Chairwoman June O'Neill said she was "curious to see who else decides to join him in the retired legislators section at the Saratoga Racetrack."

A Republican insider disputed that notion, saying, "everyone gave commitments that they will be running."

Some of the Senate's oldest members, Sens. Caesar Trunzo, R-Brentwood; Hugh Farley, R-Niskayuna; and Serphin Maltese, R-Queens, said through spokesmen they would run for office in November.

Skelos, in his first news release as majority leader, spoke of enlarging the Republican majority, not losing it.

He voiced confidence voters will support Republicans on issues and come to "a recognition that checks and balances, not one-party rule, make for the most effective and responsive government."

Forand disagreed.

"Voters are smart and they realize that when they are voting, they are choosing between two candidates."

Bruno, too, predicted the Senate will keep the majority.

"I fully expect an increased majority this November," said Bruno.

"And if I didn't think that, I wouldn't leave."

James M. Odato contributed to this report. Irene Jay Liu can be reached at 454-5081 or by e-mail at iliu@timesunion.com.

JOE BRUNO IS "IL PADRONE" IN RENSSELAER COUNTY IN THE CORRUPT EMPIRE OF NEW YORK ...

THE "IRON DUKE" ...

ONE FIST MADE OF IRON, THE OTHER OF STEEL ...

AND "THE BATTLING DUKE" ISN'T AFRAID TO USE THEM BOTH QUITE LIBERALLY TO DESTROY ANYONE WHO GETS IN HIS WAY ...

And so ...

"Options are open for Bruno - Observers expect senator to shift to private sector, with possible link to female friend"

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

First published: Thursday, June 26, 2008

ALBANY -- Former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno's exit plan involves continuing to work in the private sector, and insiders say, possibly with close friend Kay Stafford's Latham consulting firm.

"I think he intends to enter the business world," said Republican State Committee Chairman Joseph N. Mondello, who said he had several conversations with Bruno before his announced departure from the Senate.

"He has this feeling he hasn't adequately taken care for his family."

"Maybe it's an Italian thing."

Bruno, 79, stepped down on Tuesday from the leadership post he's held since 1995, a day after he announced he won't run for re-election.

The Senate chose Deputy Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Center, to replace him.

Bruno's personal financial picture is unclear, although it may be difficult for him to afford the lifestyle he enjoyed as majority leader.

Retiring from the post means losing the $41,500 stipend he received on top of his $79,500 base pay, along with a host of perks such as cars, drivers, secretaries and more.

Still, even if he doesn't work again, Bruno's retirement paycheck from the state pension system will be well above the median pay for Rensselaer County -- an estimated $95,000 per year given his 44 years of service credits and pay level.

According to people who have seen them together, Bruno and Stafford are very close.

She recently became the senator's neighbor, having purchased the property next door to Bruno from Bruno's oldest son for $475,000.

Also, Stafford and her firm, CMA Consulting Services, which performs computer data services and related work, hosted a $1,000-per-person fundraiser honoring Bruno on June 17, six days before he announced he won't run for re-election.

He has discussed joining CMA as an executive, according to a person familiar with Bruno and Stafford.

CMA has received $95 million in state contracts over the past decade.

It also gets subcontract work with other state contractors as a woman-owned enterprise.

Bruno has often touted his management acumen and his interest in continuing to be a businessman.

He once led Coradian Corp., a company that sold phone systems to public and private customers.

It was acquired in 1990.

His outside consulting and private employment has come under scrutiny by federal investigators.

That probe led to his breaking off a long-term job with Wright Investors Service, which had been a source of extra income for him during his 14 years as majority leader.

The FBI has subpoenaed Bruno's records as well as documents of those with whom he's done business, according to subpoenas obtained by the Times Union.

The FBI received 30 boxes of materials from the senator's office on Monday, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation.

The material sought included almost anything that's flowed into Bruno's office, according to a lawyer involved in the probe.

Legal expenses to deal with the criminal inquiry have mounted dramatically since the bills began trickling in two years ago, according to public campaign records.

The first few bills to the Dreyer, Boyajian law firm in Albany, Bruno's outside attorneys, amounted to $2,403 in 2006.

The Senate Republican Campaign Committee picked up the tab.

By 2007, when Bruno's own campaign fund started paying the legal bills, the figure had grown to $201,500.

Costs in 2008 have yet to be reported.

Robert Brehm, a spokesman for the state Board of Elections, said Bruno's campaign committee can continue paying the law firm even when he's out of public office.

"Just the fact that he's leaving doesn't trigger a change," as long as the costs arose from legal representation connected to holding office, Brehm said.

Indeed, other lawmakers have continued to dip into campaign funds for such expenses after leaving office.

With $1.6 million on hand as of January, Bruno's campaign fund has reserves.

Yet his expenses could prevent him from sharing the money to help others in his conference win election, which his campaign has done in the past.

Mondello noted that for Assemblyman Roy McDonald, R-Wilton, to win Bruno's 43rd District seat "it's going to take a lot of money."

Bruno did not specify his post-Senate plans during a lengthy news conference Tuesday.

He said he wanted to spend more time with his family -- mentioning grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.

The Brunswick Republican, whose wife died in January, said his departure has nothing to do with ill health, a lack of faith in the GOP's ability to hold the Senate or the FBI probe that he says goes back three years.

"He wants to make a few bucks ... for his grandchildren," said Mondello, a friend since Bruno was an aide to former Assembly Speaker Perry Duryea almost 40 years ago.

"He's made that comment to me several times."

Bruno, during a speech that drew a standing ovation in the chamber Tuesday night, paid tribute to all his colleagues and noted the former desk of the late Sen. Ron Stafford, Kay Stafford's husband, who died three years ago.

"I'm going to take it a day at a time in my life," Bruno said.

"Because I have learned that we only live a day at a time."

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

"GOP confident in Skelos' ability - Upstate senators see new leader as being able to keep Republican control of chamber"

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

First published: Wednesday, June 25, 2008

ALBANY -- To those outside Nassau County, newly minted Senate Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos has been known as a champion of everything Long Island.

His annual push to bring more state aid to his region's school districts is legendary and well publicized, and he doesn't hesitate to take on those he sees as working against his constituents' interests.

Earlier this year, Skelos and the rest of Long Island's Senate delegation called for the ouster of Education Commissioner Richard Mills for what they said was Mills' slow response to pension abuses by retiring superintendents.

Last week, he offered legislation that would freeze real estate tax assessments, which can cause one's school taxes to rise steeply -- a major issue in Long Island and other suburbs.

With that reputation, Skelos' main challenge as Joseph Bruno's successor may be convincing fellow senators from upstate that he's looking after their interests, too.

After all, 20 of the Senate's 32 Republicans hail from areas north of New York City and Long Island.

So far, he seems to have their trust, largely due to his steady hand as Bruno's deputy.

While he may not have Bruno's flair and back-slapping ease, lawmakers and others note that his straightforward style of addressing the issues has long been appreciated.

His style, one Senate staffer said, is simple: delegate tasks to senators who are on the relevant committees, give them the help they need and hold them accountable for results.

As a result, Skelos has earned the confidence of Republicans who in November will fight to keep their 32-30 majority in an increasingly Democratic state.

"We're in a very tough situation and I think he's the guy who can really bring us home," said Sen. Hugh Farley, R-Niskayuna.

He'll probably want to carry on Bruno's legacy in at least two ways, said one longtime lobbyist.

Bruno avoided being drawn into battles with groups like abortion-rights or gay-rights advocates who have historically clashed with Republicans.

He also cultivated close ties with organized labor, which has provided both get-out-the-vote support and campaign dollars.

Keeping the money spigot flowing may be one of Skelos' first tasks as leader.

"The challenge is going to be to raise the bucks to get the message across," said Republican State Chairman Joseph Mondello, a longtime friend of Skelos.

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

"2 Democrats eye state Senate bids - Keehn, Yepsen plan to gauge potential support in 43rd District race"

By DENNIS YUSKO, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Friday, June 27, 2008

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Two Spa City Democrats will enter the race for former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno's seat this fall if they can enlist enough support over the next two weeks.

Former Mayor Valerie Keehn and city Supervisor Joanne Yepsen both said Thursday they would start gathering petition signatures for election to the 43rd District state Senate seat.

Both said Bruno's decision this week to retire made them want to run.

They need to collect 1,000 voter signatures in the district by July 10 to be candidates.

"If I can get the signatures, I think I can definitely be in this ballgame," Keehn, 49, said Thursday.

Yepsen could start collecting signatures over the weekend, she said through a spokeswoman.

If Keehn and Yepsen become candidates, it would likely mean challenging each other and Rensselaer County Democrat Brian Premo of Brunswick in a September primary.

Assemblyman Roy McDonald, R-Wilton, is favored to represent district Republicans in the fall.

On Thursday, Rensselaer County Executive Kathy Jimino announced she would not be a candidate for the seat.

New York's 43rd Senate district includes all of Rensselaer County and eastern and southern Saratoga County.

Rensselaer County is almost evenly split between enrolled Democrats and Republicans, while the parts of Saratoga County in the district lean Republican but can swing Democratic.

Premo, 48, launched his bid to challenge Bruno several weeks ago and has already picked up endorsements from the Democratic committees of both counties.

The attorney from Brunswick welcomed others into the race, which he said would be about making the state Legislature functional.

"There is no question that democracy is served when voters have a greater choice of candidates," Premo said.

Yepsen, 49, was elected to a second term as city supervisor last year.

"Because I believe so strongly in nonpartisan leadership and working for the people as a whole, despite their party affiliation, I believe I could offer the people in the 43rd district a refreshing new spirit of cooperation," Yepsen said in an e-mail.

Keehn was defeated by Republican Scott Johnson in November.

But she's shown strength in Democratic primaries, winning two in the city in 2005 and 2007.

She said Thursday that she would campaign as a "tried and true Democrat," and represent "middle-class taxpayers trying to maintain their quality of life in New York, which is getting more and more difficult."

Dennis Yusko can be reached at 454-5353 or by e-mail at dyusko@timesunion.com.

"Race for Bruno's seat still in flux - Pair of Democrats making late plans to enter fray in the 43rd"

By DENNIS YUSKO, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Sunday, June 29, 2008

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Former city Mayor Valerie Keehn is out.

City Supervisor Joanne Yepsen and Michael Russo, an ex-local union leader, want in.

Saratoga County Democrats emerged from two days of meetings on Saturday with a different lineup for the 43rd District state Senate seat now held by retiring Sen. Joseph Bruno.

Keehn announced Saturday that she will not seek the seat and instead throw her support behind Yepsen, who started collecting signatures on Saturday to run.

"I am very encouraged by the positive feedback and support our effort is receiving," Yepsen said in an e-mail.

Keehn intends to publicly endorse Yepsen for the seat, possibly on Monday.

"I am very pleased to support Joanne."

"She has a record of commitment to open government, transparency and constituency service, which will be a welcome change for the citizens of the 43rd Senate District," Keehn said.

Russo, who now works as district officer for U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Greenport, said in a brief phone interview Saturday that he, too, started circulating petitions to join the race.

"I am strongly considering (a run)," he said.

He and Yepsen need 1,000 signatures each from enrolled Democrats in the district by July 10 to challenge the only Democrat officially in the race -- Rensselaer County Democrat Brian Premo of Brunswick -- in a September primary.

Their late attempts to enter the race come less than a week after Bruno, a Republican from Brunswick, announced he would retire.

Bruno has endorsed Assemblyman Roy McDonald, R-Wilton, to replace him.

Nassau Councilman Ray Seney also is seeking the Republican nomination.

The 43rd Senate district is made up of all Rensselaer County and parts of Saratoga County, including Clifton Park, Halfmoon, Saratoga Springs, Mechanicville and Stillwater.

Premo has received the endorsements of both county Democratic committees.

"I'm under a lot of pressure to call a county meeting to reconvene and reconsider this race," Saratoga County Democratic Chairman Larry Bulman said.

"We're not going to do that."

"We're just going to move forward and good Democrats are going to do what good Democrats are going to do."

Dennis Yusko can be reached at 454-5353 or by e-mail at dyusko@timesunion.com.

JOE BRUNO WAS A GOOD FRIEND TO THUGS, BULLIES, HIGH-ROLLERS, "PLAYAHS", AND GAMBLERS OF ALL STRIPES ....

AND THE "PROPERTY" OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, INCLUDING ITS STATE CAPITOL BUILDING AND TREASURY, WAS JOE BRUNO'S PERSONAL PROPERTY TO DO WITH JUST AS HE PLEASED ...

And so ...

"Racing industry will miss Bruno"

By TIM WILKIN, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Sunday, June 29, 2008

When Funny Cide shocked the thoroughbred racing world with his win in the 2003 Kentucky Derby, State Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno threw a party at the state Capitol.

The whole Funny Cide gang -- except the horse, of course -- was there.

Bruno beamed and applauded the New York-bred's amazing accomplishment.

"Senator Bruno led the troops down there when they honored Funny Cide and the connections," said Jack Knowlton, the managing partner of Sackatoga Stables, which owns the gelding.

"He used to kiddingly talk about Funny Cide being his most famous constituent."

When Bruno would comment about Funny Cide or any other thoroughbred, he knew what he was talking about.

He was a student of the game.

"I think Joe Bruno is a huge loss for the Saratoga community and the racing industry," said Charles Hayward, president and CEO of the New York Racing Association.

"You are not going to find someone with the passion or knowledge of racing -- and I don't mean that in a flip sense -- to replace him."

"Every time there was an issue with racing, we knew we had an advocate in Joe Bruno," Knowlton said.

"Quite honestly, I don't think it's going to be possible to replace him."

Hayward talked about seeing pictures of Bruno on horseback or mucking out a stall at his farm in Rensselaer County.

In Hayward's mind, Bruno understood his game.

Even though Bruno did not support NYRA when it was trying to keep the franchise to run racing in New York, Hayward said he respects Bruno's body of work.

"Generally, he has been a strong supporter of New York racing," he said.

"I thought he was keeping an open mind on all the bidders."

Hayward said Bruno also was cognizant of the thoroughbred breeding program in New York.

Rick Violette, a thoroughbred trainer and President of the National Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, said Bruno supported getting bigger purses in the New York-bred races, which in turn encouraged a better breeding program.

Hayward said NYRA paid out $35 million in purses in races for state-breds last year.

There now are more than 400 breeding farms throughout the state, which employ about 18,000 people.

Hayward said those farms generate about $1.2 billion in economic activity to the state annually.

"Senator Bruno is a fan of the game, he doesn't just have an outside appreciation for the sport," Violette said.

"He was absolutely a friend to racing."

"It will be our job to underline the importance the industry has to whoever fills his shoes."

Tim Wilkin can be reached at 454-5415 or by e-mail at twilkin@timesunion.com.

"Gillibrand aide resigning to run for Bruno's seat"

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

Last updated: 9:51 a.m., Wednesday, July 2, 2008

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- A top aide to U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand will resign to run in the Democratic primary for the 43rd State Senate District.

Mike Russo of Saratoga said he is leaving his job as district director for Gillibrand, D-Greenport, in order to meet Hatch Act requirements that a federal employee cannot run for office.

Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno announced last week that he will not run for re-election.

Russo said he and his supporters are collecting the 1,000 signatures needed on petitions to run in the Democratic primary.

Other Democratic candidates in the race to succeed State Senator Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, are attorney Brian Premo of Brunswick and Saratoga Springs Supervisor Joanne Yepsen.

The announced Republican candidates are Assemblyman Roy J. McDonald, R-Saratoga, and Nassau Councilman Ray Seney.

"Bruno may not finish term"

By RICK KARLIN and ERIC ANDERSON, Staff writers, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 1:20 p.m., Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Republican state Senator Joe Bruno earlier today said he's going day-to-day in office and may not finish his term.

If he steps down early, "There'll be a vacancy until Assemblyman Roy McDonald gets elected in this district," Bruno said during a press conference this morning in Mechanicville to announce a new railyard project there.

Bruno had been Senate Republican Majority Leader since 1995 and has been in the Senate for 32 years.

He stepped down from the leadership last month.

"Bruno likely to resign by week’s end"

July 15, 2008 at 2:55 pm

by Irene Jay Liu, Albany, New York Times Union

Former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno will likely resign by the week’s end, according to Bruno spokesman Kris Thompson.

“At this point, we’re looking to wrap things up by the end of the week,” he said.

When Bruno gave his last press conference as Senate Majority Leader on June 24, 2008, he hinted that a big announcement was coming, but didn’t go into details.

It looks like the announcement of IBM’s $1.5 billion investment upstate was likely that announcement, and Bruno said as much at the press conference this morning, “With all the love and affection I feel comfortable in slowly riding off into the sunset.”

Bruno will be releasing a statement later on today, said Thompson

"NY Senate leader Bruno to resign seat by Friday"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 4:32 p.m., Tuesday, July 15, 2008

ALBANY -- New York Sen. Joseph Bruno, the chamber's Republican majority leader since 1995, said Tuesday that he will officially leave office by Friday.

He surprised most in state government last month when he said he would resign but had not given a firm date when he would leave the office he's held since 1976.

The 79-year-old resident of Rensselaer County near Albany said he would like to return to the private sector and run a business.

State law prohibits him from a lucrative job of lobbying the Legislature for two years.

Republican Sen. Dean Skelos of Long Island has been chosen to replace Bruno, with Bruno's support.

In the two years since Gov. George Pataki left office, Bruno has been New York's top Republican leader.

"Frankly, my work is fairly well done," Bruno said Tuesday at his last major public event, an announcement of an IBM Corp. high-technology project in Albany.

"I feel like my transition is done."

"The furniture is moving out of my office tomorrow, the pictures are off the walls."

Then Bruno, true to form, joked:

"It can get depressing if I hang around."

"I push the buttons and nobody's answering."

His term would have ended Dec. 31.

A general election in November will pick Bruno's successor, who will be sworn in in January.

He said his exit doesn't threaten the Republicans' majority, now that the regular session is over.

The Senate's Republican majority would likely only convene a special session if there was broad agreement on issues with the Democratic minority.

With Bruno's departure, and Democratic Sen. John Sabini taking over as head of the state's Racing and Wagering Board, Republicans will maintain a 31-29 advantage in the chamber they have controlled since the 1960s.

Bruno leaves behind numerous projects in his home district named for him -- such as Joseph L. Bruno Stadium -- or which honor him with statues or plaques, such as the bust of him in Albany International Airport.

Bruno steered state and federal funding to numerous projects in his district as well as millions of dollars in pork-barrel spending for local groups, projects and charities.

He has also been part of Albany's notorious three-men-in-a-room negotiations with governors and the Assembly speaker to agree on state budgets and major policy matters behind closed doors.

"Upstate has never had a more dedicated advocate than they have had in Sen. Bruno," said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat.

"He led our conference and the state Senate for 14 years and distinguished himself as one of the greatest leaders in the history of the state," Skelos said.

"I thank Joe Bruno for his leadership and his friendship and I join millions of New Yorkers in wishing him the very best of luck as he moves forward with the next phase of his life."

"All of us owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude."

Bruno said he's had eight or nine opportunities presented to him in the private sector since his surprise announcement that he would relinquish the majority leader's job.

He didn't identify any and said he's still thinking about how to return to the business world.

He ran a telephone company before being elected to the Legislature.

"I'm not the kind of guy who is going to go off and play with horses and golf or whatever else is out there," said Bruno, who owns horses and still rides.

He again told reporters that his decision has nothing to with a two-year-old investigation by the FBI into his consulting and other business ties outside the Senate.

"I am not worried about that," Bruno said, noting that he met with his lawyers Monday.

"I have never been charged."

"There is nothing I could ever contemplate that was inappropriate or illegal."

"Bruno will retire, end 32-year career - 'Time for me to ride off into the sunset,' senator says in a statement?

By IRENE JAY LIU, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno on Friday will resign from the seat he's held since 1976, ending 32 years in public service.

"I have no regrets because this has been a great trip and it is time for me to ride off into the sunset," said Bruno in a statement released Tuesday.

Bruno, who gave up his majority leader post last month, is retiring after announcing several major economic development projects for the Capital Region.

On Tuesday, he joined Gov. David Paterson and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in unveiling a $1.5 billion investment by IBM in upstate New York.

In recent weeks, Bruno also disclosed a plan by Momentive Performance Materials to move its worldwide headquarters to Rensselaer County, the expansion of biomedical research at UAlbany's East Campus in East Greenbush, a new neonatal care unit at Albany Medical Center and a new rail terminal in Mechanicville.

Developing the Capital Region has been Bruno's priority, and will likely be the lasting legacy of his 14 years as majority leader.

Citing these achievements, Bruno said, "As a businessman, job creation was my top priority and I'm proud that these new projects are in place to build on our economic successes in the Capital Region and boost the economy of all of upstate New York."

Bruno said he hopes to work in the private sector, and a person with knowledge of the situation said Bruno has discussed joining CMA Consulting Services as an executive.

Bruno is close to Kay Stafford, widow of former Sen. Ronald Stafford and head of CMA.

"I want to do something, because, frankly, I'm not the kind of guy to retire and just play with horses and golf and whatever else is there," Bruno said.

The former Senate Republican leader stunned colleagues and political foes alike when he said on June 23 that he would not seek re-election in November.

He quickly bowed out as majority leader and was replaced by his deputy, Sen. Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Centre, who must now try to hold onto the Senate majority in this November's elections.

Bruno's departure leaves Republicans with a slim 31-30 majority in the Senate.

But Bruno said he wasn't worried that his conference would be outvoted if the Legislature reconvenes before the election, saying he has spoken with Paterson and the Senate would only return if there was a "consensus."

Bruno leaves office in the shadow of an ongoing, two-and-a-half year investigation into his public and private business dealings.

Bruno said is not concerned about the investigation, but indicated that he would like to see it end.

"There is nothing there, and I am told by my lawyers, who I met with yesterday, there is absolutely nothing that we have done wrong."

"So I'm very comfortable in that."

"But would it be nice if people would just go on and let me live my life?"

"Yes, that would be very, very nice," he said.

Bruno's departure has led to a flood of candidates vying to fill the vacant Senate seat.

On the Democratic side, there's Brunswick attorney Brian Premo, Saratoga Springs Supervisor Joanne Yepsen, and Michael Russo, district director for U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Greenport.

Republican Assemblyman Roy McDonald, R-Saratoga, and Nassau Councilman Ray Seney will face off in a primary, and Troy resident Chris Consuello will challenge Premo for the Working Families Party line.

Irene Jay Liu can be reached at 454-5081 or by e-mail at iliu@timesunion.com.

"Bruno could take job with company helped by state"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:32 p.m., Wednesday, July 16, 2008

ALBANY -- When longtime Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno retires this week from the Senate seat he's held since 1976, he could land a job with a friend whose business grew fast in recent years with the help of millions of dollars in state contracts, according to two Republicans close to Bruno.

The Republicans who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Bruno is considering taking an executive job with CMA Consulting Services among some other opportunities.

The Republicans spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak for Bruno.

Under state ethics law, Bruno acknowledged that he would be prohibited from lobbying the Legislature.

But Walter Ayres of the state Public Integrity Commission said there appears to be no law or regulation that would prohibit Bruno from lobbying the executive branch, which awards most state contracts.

CMA Consulting Services, based in the Albany County suburb of Colonie, is headed by Kay McCabe Stafford, the widow of Republican Sen. Ronald Stafford.

Sen. Stafford was a close friend and contemporary of Bruno, now 79.

Bruno had appointed Stafford to the powerful position of Senate Finance Committee chairman.

Kay Stafford was also appointed by former Republican Gov. George Pataki, a Bruno ally, to the State University of New York Board of Trustees, an unpaid but prestigious post in state government.

But the Albany connections go deeper.

CMA under CEO Kay Stafford was certified as a woman-owned business, which helps companies start and grow through help in landing state contracts.

And CMA has won more than $9 million in competitively bid contracts since 2006 for computer programming and information technology, according to state records.

They helped the company grow since 1984 to a national corporation with offices in New York City, Maryland serving Washington, D.C., Texas and Arizona.

Its Web site states the company serves Texas to Oregon and Guam to Maine.

Bruno praised the company Wednesday in a radio interview on WGDJ-AM Radio in Albany, saying he would announce as early as Sunday where he will next be employed.

"He hasn't reached a decision on what he's going to do," said Bruno's Senate spokesman Kriss Thompson.

"He's mulling a couple of opportunities."

"He has narrowed his choices."

Thompson wouldn't comment on whether CMA was among those choices.

"He's going to take a little time, and probably not much time, to see how to write the next chapter of his life," Thompson said.

CMA spokesman Sean Casey wouldn't comment on whether Bruno is being considered for a position.

A good-government advocate advises Bruno to seek counsel if he were to choose to work for CMA.

"I don't know of any limitations that might exist," said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group.

"I think it would be in the senator's interest and the public's interest if he got an opinion from the Public Integrity Commission on what he can and can't do."

"He's different than a rank-and-file legislator," Horner said.

"He was one of the `three-men-in-a-room' and a powerful political figure for well over a decade."

"So his relationship with the executive branch is different than a backbencher," he said, using a British term for low-ranking lawmakers.

"Bruno unveils plans to replace Troy City Hall with park, offices"

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

Last updated: 11:59 a.m., Thursday, July 17, 2008

TROY -- City Hall will be torn down and replaced with a park, an underground parking garage and a possible mixed-use building housing new city government offices, officials said this morning.

The total project will cost $8 million, Sen. Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick said this morning.

He added that $6 million in state funds will be made available for the project, which includes an esplanade running from Monument Square north to the Green Island Bridge and other park and recreation improvements.

The city will provide $2 million in funding.

Mayor Harry Tutunjian, a Republican, and City Council President Clement Campana, a Democrat, pledged to work together to get the project done.

The administration and the City Council have fought over many different issues this year including the sale of City Hall.

IN BLATANT VIOLATION OF THE NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION, JOE BRUNO HAS USED THE STATE TREASURY AS HIS OWN PRIVATE PIGGY BANK ...

AND HE HAS STUFFED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF STATE FUNDS DOWN THE POCKETS OF HIS FRIENDS AND BID-NESS ASSOCIATES ...

AS IS PATENTLY CLEAR FROM THE RECENT JOBLESS NUMBERS ABOVE HERE, THIS MONEY HAS DONE ABSOLUTELY NO GOOD FOR THE LOCAL ECONOMY ...

IT JUST HAS BENEFITTED JOE AND HIS FRIENDS ...

THEY HAVE DONE VERY WELL BY IT, IN FACT ...

And so ...

"Before exit, Bruno delivers for Troy - Senator announces $6M in aid for waterfront project on eve of his retirement"

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

First published: Friday, July 18, 2008

TROY -- The city will receive $6 million in state funds to transform its Hudson River shoreline by replacing the decaying City Hall with a park and retooling the waterfront with recreation and development opportunities.

State Sen. Joseph L. Bruno unveiled the funding package Thursday, making it his last economic development announcement before he retires today.

He also urged the city's feuding Republican administration and Democratic City Council to work together and pledge $2 million in city funds to get the entire $8 million riverfront overhaul completed.

"City Hall is going to come down."

"In its place will be a 200-space underground parking garage."

"On top, it will be all grass," said Bruno, R-Brunswick.

The $6 million from the state Environmental Protection Fund revives the push to demolish City Hall and relocate city government.

The City Council must still decide how it wants to raise the city's $2 million share of the funding package.

One option officials have discussed includes borrowing the money.

Mayor Harry Tutunjian and City Council President Clement Campana said they would follow Bruno's advice to work together.

"We're going to work with the council," Tutunjian pledged.

"We will work with the administration to bring this plan to fruition," Campana promised.

Tutunjian said City Hall at 1 Monument Square is deteriorating and has to be replaced.

Campana agreed that the city needs a home for its government that is modern.

Tutunjian's proposal to sell City Hall last year became a major political issue in the city elections.

While Tutunjian was re-elected to a second term, the Democrats took control of City Council.

A council committee reviewed the condition of City Hall, while Tutunjian asked for proposals to develop the City Hall site and relocate city government.

Discussions about the future of City Hall have stalled since June 5.

Talks between Tutunjian and Campana about City Hall began again in the past several weeks.

Campana said the entire City Council would be involved in developing the City Hall site and finding a new location.

The city will either use reserve funds or borrow money to meet its $2 million contribution to the project.

The City Hall site proposal calls for using part of the $2.5 million the city received from the Restore NY program to demolish the existing building.

On the south side of the City Hall site, a mixed-use building, including space for a possible new city hall and commercial space, is proposed.

Other aspects of the waterfront project include building an esplanade along the river; improving the Riverfront Park band shell and building a new amphitheater; building a Troy Maritime Welcome Center; improving the Ingalls Avenue boat launch; and relocating the rock salt piles to South Troy industrial areas from north of the Beacon Institute site.

The rejuvenation of the city waterfront has the support of local business leaders.

"It will help the perception of Troy as well as bring new businesses to the area," said Jake Dumesnil, vice president of the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce.

"The one really positive aspect was the announcement of moving the salt dunes project."

"It opens up more prime riverfront," Dumesnil said.

Bruno's final news conference came in Rensselaer County, his home county which he has represented for 32 years in the state Senate.

"I've gotten a lot of satisfaction out of it," said Bruno, who spent 14 years as Senate majority leader feeding funds into his district and the rest of the Capital Region.

"One thing I'm not thinking about doing is retiring from life," said Bruno, maintaining his customary sense of humor.

"I'm not going to lay down and play dead."

"I'm told it's not fun."

Kenneth C. Crowe II can be reached at 454-5084 or by e-mail at kcrowe@timesunion.com.

"Bruno era carries high price"

By FRED LeBRUN, Staff Writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Sunday, July 20, 2008

Can there be a Capital Region as we know it without Joe Bruno sitting in Albany as our de facto governor?

I suppose we're about to find out.

But frankly, I doubt it.

Fourth of July night, I watched our own Tri-City ValleyCats play the Jamestown Jammers before a record 6,600 fans at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium across the river.

A splendid evening of affordable family entertainment in what can only be termed a spectacular ballpark for single A ball.

You can be reasonably sure there's nothing like it in Jamestown, or Olean, or Hornell or ...

You get the idea.

So what, you say?

It was our turn and Joe got us plenty.

OK, well, hold that thought, we'll get back to it.

The man former Gov. Mario Cuomo disdainfully called "the handsomest man in the Senate" departs on his own terms from a governmental career as spectacular as the ballpark he created.

When he started out as Senate majority leader 14 years ago, he was greatly underestimated by any number of politicians, and certainly by many in the media -- myself included.

Once he got himself established, though, he became our Papa Joe in a hurry, our benefactor.

And how the money rolled in.

He solved our airport problem.

He gave us a new train station.

He poured more state funding into area projects than he ever could have as the actual governor.

A governor has to worry about balancing the needs of a state that has so many worthy needs, and other silly things like public policy and running state agencies that actually do things.

But Joe didn't.

He had to satisfy his conference, and make sure his fellow Republican senators got what they needed in terms of projects and local pork to stay in office, which he obviously did admirably.

Staying in office, after all, is the top priority for any state legislator.

Which goes to the root of our problems with the Legislature, because for too many of its members it is the only priority.

But Joe handled his in-house politics with an agility that surprised many of us.

The teeming cauldrons of Rensselaer County had taught him well.

We also learned there's always a price for Papa Joe's gifts.

The ego could be overwhelming.

Naming too many things after the benefactor cheapened his genuine accomplishments.

Taking good care of family members made us wince.

Then there was the meddling in local politics, notably the imposition of his son Ken as district attorney in Rensselaer County.

Ken is a likable guy, but was a remarkably bad fit as a DA.

So, those of us on the receiving end of what Joe perceived we deserved had to take the good with the bad.

He decided what we needed.

This last week, Joe's exit was celebrated by the last two minutes of a fireworks display, with rocket after rocket going off.

On Tuesday, he announced IBM's $1.6 billion investment upstate and on Wednesday, another $6 million for Saratoga Springs, bringing the total for that city up to $15.2 million in the last three months.

On Thursday, there was his swan song, $6 million to raze Troy City Hall and rebuild the waterfront.

None of it was his money.

While it is undeniable that Joe has been very good to the region, and that we are likely never to see anything like this largesse come our way again, the hypocrisy of praising the guy for steering state money our way regardless of merit or the needs of others is rather overwhelming.

How can we even mouth the pieties of good government and demand reform and change, and approve of how Joe has done what he's done?

Which is simply spend money the way he wanted to by setting his own priorities and funding only those projects he embraced?

What kind of responsible government is that?

There is something dreadfully wrong with a system that works off cult of personality.

Take by way of a tiny example his very last bequest, that "gift" of $6 million in state dollars for Troy.

Forget that he is setting policy for the city, whether the city likes it or not.

But just look at the source of the funding and be appalled.

The Environmental Protection Fund was designed to close landfills and acquire land in the Adirondacks, and for similar environmental issues.

There's not nearly enough in that fund now to revamp antiquated sewer and water systems across the state.

Yet Joe, as a condition for his approval of projects and spending that were the priorities of the governor and Assembly speaker, had inserted a line in the annual EPF budget for "Rensselaer County Waterfront Revitalization."

You can be reasonably sure there isn't a comparable line for any number of counties in the state that deserve it too.

So absolutely, Papa Joe has been great to us and will be dearly missed.

But the real price for being his favorite sons is that we are poster children for how government shouldn't work.

Fred LeBrun can be reached at 454-5453 or by e-mail at flebrun@timesunion.com

"Bruno takes a last bow on tour - Senator's final day in office includes bus trip, media crush and lots of reminiscing"

By IRENE JAY LIU, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Saturday, July 19, 2008

Joseph L. Bruno had wandered off again.

Walking through the Albany International Airport, with a crush of staffers, media and well-wishers in tow, Bruno was supposed to be headed toward the observation deck that bears a bust that honors the former Senate majority leader, and now former senator.

Bruno was saying goodbye Friday, the last of many "lasts" over the past few weeks, and he couldn't resist the stares from people at the Colonie airport.

He bee-lined toward anyone at all -- airline attendants, passengers, custodial workers, a baby.

Some recognized him, others responded to his greetings with curious looks.

He chatted, he shook hands, and before moving on, he introduced himself:

"I'm Senator Joe Bruno."

But as of 12:01 a.m. Saturday, "everybody calls me Joe," Bruno said.

Friday was his last day in office as senator of the 43rd District, representing Rensselaer and Saratoga counties, a post he held for 32 years, 14 of them as Senate majority leader.

As the top Republican in the Senate, he cultivated a persona that alternated between down to earth and larger than life, joshing and jousting with the news media, colleagues and political foes.

He took on the seemingly unassailable Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who eventually left the Executive Mansion amid a prostitution scandal.

Even on his last day, Bruno took a few shots at Spitzer, at one point calling his successor, David Paterson, wonderful "compared to that previous piece of work."

His final workday hours were, in keeping with character, spent with the news media, sponsoring a bus tour to view his achievements, the ride paid for from his $1.7 million campaign coffers.

The bus traveled his district, stopping for photo ops at the landmarks created through his power and influence over millions of state dollars -- the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium in Troy, nicknamed "the Joe"; Rensselaer Tech Park; the former site of Rensselaer High School, where a riverfront residential and commercial development is slated; the Rensselaer Train Station; the UAlbany East Campus; and Albany International Airport.

The start of Bruno's final day on the job was much like any other day.

He woke up around six in the morning, walked up the hill with his dog and worked out.

He has taken to targeting certain areas of the body for short intervals -- Friday it was the upper body, shoulders, and arms.

He made a lot of phone calls and met a few "big people" from Long Island to talk business over lunch at the Troy Country Club.

Boarding the bus, Bruno used the intercom to speak to the reporters, photographers, and cameramen surrounding him.

He cracked jokes, threatened to drive the bus himself, reminisced about the "inefficient, unresponsive" Legislature he inherited when he became leader.

Bruno talked about the last day of session, June 23, when he shocked the Capitol by announcing that he wouldn't seek re-election.

"When I was in here Monday when session was closing, I wasn't sure that I would actually pull the trigger to say I wasn't running," said Bruno.

"I kept weighing all the ramifications in my mind, and all the scenarios."

"... I knew one of the first things people would do is say, 'Ah, he thinks they're going to lose.' "

Bruno leaves the Senate Republicans with a majority at its slimmest margin in decades -- 31 Republicans to 30 Democrats.

His successor, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Centre on Long Island, must fight to maintain the majority in the November elections.

Walking into "the Joe," the baseball stadium that is home to the Tri-City ValleyCats, Bruno stopped mid-step and looked up at the banner that reads, "Welcome to Joseph L. Bruno Stadium."

Once inside, he worked the crowd -- a strong handshake and the shoulder squeeze for the men, cheek kisses for the ladies clustered in an admiring gaggle for the 79-year-old senator who sported a navy-blue striped polo and chinos.

He periodically ran his hands through his coiffed silver hair.

At the Rensselaer Train Station, Bruno talked up a 10 year-old named Darryle Perry, who was waiting by himself for his father.

Bruno waited with the boy after telling him he'd stay until his dad came.

When his mother and sister walked up, Bruno bought ice cream for the family and his staff.

He bought one for himself as well, and proceeded to eat it through a television interview, gesticulating with the cone as chocolate ice cream dripped on his hands and arms.

Preparing for another interview, Bruno asked the guys around him, half-joking, half-fishing, "How's my hair?"

"How's my hair?"

Then with a grin, he quipped to a balding companion, "better than yours."

At the Colonie airport, the final stop on the tour, a well-wisher asked Bruno whether he's going to enjoy retirement.

Bruno paused for a beat.

He said he would miss the trappings of public service -- the entourage, the media scrum, talking with citizens.

"It's a whole way of life," he said.

"My family asks me, 'How are you going to feel?'"

"'Not being senator anymore?'"

"I don't know."

"We'll find out."

Back on the bus, returning the Capitol, Bruno took up the intercom microphone again.

"Don't try to keep track of what I'm doing from here on out."

"Just forget it," he joked.

Bruno said he hasn't made any decisions about what he'll do next, but he hopes to make a decision by Monday.

The shadow of an FBI investigation of his business dealings still hangs over Bruno, but he said it doesn't affect his life, except in the news media.

Throughout the day, Bruno asked people whether they will know his name after midnight.

Though asked as a joke, there was a hint of sadness around the edge of the words.

He even said it to Gov. David Paterson, who called him on the bus to wish him well.

"I'm going to call you next week and quiz you," Bruno said.

"To see if you remember who Joe Bruno is."

Irene Jay Liu can be reached at 454-5081 or by e-mail at iliu@timesunion.com.

AND WHILE WE ARE ON THE SUBJECT OF THE CORRUPT EMPIRE OF NEW YORK BEING A "NATION OF MEN" AND NOT AT ALL A NATION OF LAW, WE HAVE ....

RAMPANT CAUDILLO-ISM IN RENSSELAER AND SARATOGA COUNTIES, AND IN THE STATE CAPITAL, AS WELL ....

AS IF WE WERE SOME THIRD-WORLD COUNTRY IN SOUTH AMERICA INFESTED WITH TIN-POT DICTATORS AND TIN-POT WANNA-BE'S ....

And so ...

"With war chest, Bruno still a factor - Former senator has $1.71M to aid Republicans in fall"

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

First published: Monday, July 21, 2008

The region's state legislator whose campaign has far and away the most money to spend isn't even a legislator any more.

Joseph L. Bruno, the longtime senator, majority leader and Brunswick Republican who left office Friday, still has $1.71 million in cash on hand, according to his campaign financial report filed with the state Board of Elections.

The next closest is Republican Sen. James Seward, with about $490,600.

Bruno's recent decision to retire left a field of 43rd Senate District candidates scrambling to collect signatures for their nominating petitions, and fundraising for their campaign treasuries hadn't been a priority.

Kris Thompson, a Bruno spokesman, said the former senator would use the funds to support the Republican Party and its candidates.

It's anticipated that Bruno's endorsed candidate, Assemblyman Roy J. McDonald, R-Saratoga, will receive some of that financial backing.

McDonald transferred $15,900 to his Senate campaign committee from his Assembly campaign committee, according to the report.

Democrat Brian Premo of Brunswick has lent his campaign $75,000 and received a $1,000 donation.

After paying off previous campaign debts, he now has $72,659 on hand, according to his committee filings.

As of Saturday, the other candidates -- Democrats Mike Russo and Joanne Yepsen and Republican Ray Seney -- hadn't established campaign committees, according to online Board of Elections filings.

Here's how other campaigns are shaping up, as the Sept. 9 primaries approach, based on campaign reports due last week:

108th Assembly

Steve McLaughlin, R-Melrose, a banker and former airline pilot, doesn't have any money in his campaign war chest.

McLaughlin is campaigning on the promise that he is working for middle class families and seniors affected by soaring gas prices, property taxes and health insurance costs.

Campaign spokesman Adam Kramer said McLaughlin is still very much in the race.

McLaughlin was not available for comment.

His opponent, incumbent Tim Gordon, I-Bethlehem, has almost $50,000 in his war chest.

Gordon, who runs an advertising and public relations firm, has been in the Assembly since 2006.

He has focused on escalating Thruway tolls and obtaining state money for local school districts.

He is also campaigning on the interests of working families and tax relief.

44th Senate

Incumbent Republican Hugh Farley, seeking his 17th term, has a balance of $415,774 -- almost 15 times what one of his challengers has.

It helped he had an opening balance this quarter of $337,334.

Farley's camp spent $16,603 this quarter and took in $95,044.

Democrat and Working Families candidate Bahram "BK" Keramati of Galway raised $29,265 since January, spending $1,272 of it.

He expects his fundraising will increase now that he'll be on the ballot.

"I'm not daunted, it's just money," said the retired General Electric engineer.

"We have a good message and we'll work hard to get it out."

Schenectady County attorney and Democrat Fred Goodman, who filed petitions for the Democratic line and would run in a primary against Keramati, hasn't formally announced he's running.

The state Board of Elections Web site shows no financial filing for Goodman.

105th Assembly

A year after winning the 105th Assembly District seat, developer and Republican politician George Amedore finds himself in the incumbent role.

To capture his first full term, Amedore, 39, will have to fend off challenges from Schenectady City Councilman Mark Blanchfield and Joseph Salamone of the Working Families Party.

With $41,276, Amedore has roughly double the amount of campaign money in his coffers than Blanchfield, according to state campaign finance filings, while Salamone as of last week said he was running on empty.

Salamone, 21, a Mohonasen Board of Education member, said he planned to huddle with his campaign officials to talk fundraising.

"We're going to do what we can with what we get," Salamone said.

Blanchfield, 41, handles legal cases for and against insurance companies.

The 105th district, which includes Schenectady and Montgomery counties, became available when longtime Assemblyman Paul Tonko resigned to take a state job in the administration of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

Staff writers Lauren Stanforth, Scott Waldman and Paul Nelson contributed to this article.

"Bruno to take CEO job at CMA Consulting Services"

July 22, 2008 at 1:00 pm by Eric Anderson, Deputy business editor, Albany, New York Times Union

The former Senate majority leader, who gave up that post last month and retired as a state senator on Friday, will become CEO of the Latham-based information technology consulting firm.

Kay Stafford, whom he replaces, will become president and chairwoman of the CMA board.

The appointment, announced this afternoon, is effective immediately.

CMA employs 410 people and has offices in New York City; Hyattsville, Md.; Austin, Texas; and Phoenix.

Stafford, the widow of former state Sen. Ronald Stafford, who had represented the Plattsburgh area, has spent more than 20 years at CMA.

Under her leadership, the company boosted annual revenue to $42 million from $300,000.

The privately held company doesn’t disclose income.

“As CMA’s day-to-day leader, Senator Bruno’s insights, direction and vision will be great for our company, great for our customers and great for our employeees,” Stafford said.

The company’s list of clients includes a number of New York state agencies, as well as government agencies in other states and in Guam.

"Bruno now a lobbyist"

By RICK KARLIN, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 5:48 p.m., Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Joe Bruno has registered as a lobbyist.

The former Senate Republican Majority Leader who is now CEO of CMA Consulting, said he has registered with the state Commission on Public Integrity.

As a former lawmaker he can't lobby the Legislature for two years but he can interact with the executive branch.

While he told reporters less than a month ago that he had no plans to do any lobbying, he said he was acting out of caution.

"I have registered as a lobbyist with the New York State Commission on Public Integrity in connection with my work as CEO of CMA Consulting," said Bruno.

"Bruno to see other side - Former Senate majority leader formally registers as lobbyist with state in move made necessary by his private-sector job"

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

First published: Thursday, August 14, 2008

ALBANY -- Former Senate Republican Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno has registered as a lobbyist.

Bruno, who left office last month after a 32-year political career, is now chief executive of CMA Consulting, a Latham-based technology company that serves the private sector and government agencies, including those in New York state.

Bruno said less than a month ago that he didn't plan to lobby, but he said he registered out of caution.

"I have registered as a lobbyist with the New York State Commission on Public Integrity in connection with my work as CEO of CMA Consulting," said Bruno.

"As a result of my service in the New York State Senate, I am unable to lobby members of the State Legislature."

"I will however be interfacing with various Executive agencies and officials in my new role at CMA, and I have chosen to register with the Commission to guarantee maximum transparency."

"He's being very conservative," said Sean Casey, a spokesman for Bruno.

New York has a two-year ban on former lawmakers lobbying at the Legislature.

Blair Horner, legislative director of government watchdog New York Public Interest Research Group, said that ban is similar to those in other states.

The burden now lies with Gov. David Paterson to ensure that Bruno is not treated differently than other lobbyists.

"He was one of the three men who ran the government -- he's different from a rank and file legislator," Horner said of Bruno.

"Given Paterson's public and repeated praise of Bruno, the governor should make it crystal clear to all agencies that former-Sen. Bruno is not to be dealt with in any manner different than any other lobbyist."

CMA is headed by Kay Stafford, the widow of late Sen. Ronald Stafford, who Bruno appointed to the Senate's powerful Finance Committee earlier in his career.

A longtime friend of Bruno's, Stafford has been with CMA Consulting since it opened in 1984 and is now president and chairwoman -- a title that retains the company's status as a state-certified, woman-owned business, which gives it an edge in competition for state contracts.

Rick Karlin can be reached at 454-5758 or by e-mail at rkarlin@timesunion.com. Jimmy Vielkind contributed to this story

"Bruno probe sees a flurry - Federal prosecutors said to have sent out several subpoenas recently"

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

First published in print: Saturday, November 29, 2008

ALBANY - Federal investigators pursuing a criminal probe of former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno have called people familiar with details of his activities to testify before a grand jury here in recent weeks.

The actions of the United States Attorney for the Northern District's office suggested to at least one of the parties subpoenaed that prosecutors in the roughly three-year-old case are authenticating documents produced by witnesses for the FBI.

Several subpoenas were issued in recent weeks and shortly before the November elections, according to recipients and people close to individuals receiving the orders, which required secret testimony at the U.S. Courthouse in Albany.

Jack Werk, a thoroughbred horse expert from California, said Friday he flew here in September to testify.

He said his request to appear before the grand jury came more than a year after he produced documents and other information for the federal probe.

He declined to discuss his testimony.

He has told the Times Union previously that he prepared an analysis for a proposed thoroughbred horse transaction involving Bruno and former New York Racing Association trustee Earle Mack, an avid horseman whose wealth grew from downstate real estate holdings.

Mack sold Bruno two breeding mares for Bruno's breeding business in Brunswick.

Offspring later sold well above the sums Bruno paid for the mares.

Mack purchased one of the yearlings.

Also, lobbyists and former public officials have been called to testify, according to people close to those witnesses.

Paul Holstein, a spokesman for the FBI, said his office would have no comment.

Bruno's lawyer, William Dreyer, did not respond to a message left at his office.

Bruno has said he has done nothing wrong.

A person familiar with the probe said it appears the federal government is building toward a climax in the case.

Mack had secured Werk to write a letter confirming that the sale of the mares to Bruno was fair to the buyer.

A previous subpoena to Werk showed the FBI's broad interest in horse deals involving Bruno and his friends dating to Jan. 1, 2001.

Documentation sought from Werk involved 15 related people, business entities or horses, including Bruno and his breeding farm.

Those named include Bruno associate Jared Abbruzzese and his partner Wayne Barr, both of whom are Capital Region businessmen and thoroughbred owners.

Barr was a Bruno appointee on the New York Racing Association board until last year.

He had replaced Mack as an NYRA trustee.

Bruno had also appointed Mack.

The subpoena also sought information about: Bazaguma, a partnership controlled by Abbruzzese and named after his four children; Weatherwatch Farm and Weatherwatch Equine Training Center, which are owned by Abbruzzese or his wife, Sherrie; Jerry Bilinski, Bruno's close friend and a veterinarian from Columbia County; Bilinski's Equine Medical Center in North Chatham; Barr's Willow Rock Stables; Mack and Mack's Rising Son Farm; Ladies Night In and You're The Top, the two mares Bruno got from Mack.

The federal investigation involves many aspects of Bruno's public and private life.

The former Republican leader, now leading a consulting company in Latham and registered as a lobbyist, had operated his own consulting business, served a Connecticut investment house and bred horses during his tenure in the state Senate.

Besides the horse transactions, federal prosecutors have been interested in union funds from New York labor groups invested with Wright Investors Service of Milford, Conn., a firm that employed the senator for more than a decade.

The probe has also looked at land deals involving Bruno and economic development grants he arranged.

In July, Bruno stepped down from the Senate after 32 years in office.

James M. Odato can be reached at jodato@timesunion.com or 454 5083.

"Probe tied to Bruno nears an end - Charges possible; ex-state Senate majority leader has said he's confident no laws were violated"

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

First published in print: Sunday, December 7, 2008

ALBANY – Federal criminal charges are being contemplated in connection with an exhaustive FBI investigation surrounding the business dealings of former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno.

It's not known whether Bruno, 79, of Brunswick, will, in the end, be charged in connection with the federal grand jury probe.

However, in interviews over the last two weeks, three people familiar with the investigation said federal prosecutors are wrapping up their case and that charges may be filed.

If no charges are handed up, Bruno could receive a letter from the Justice Department clearing his name.

Bruno has never been publicly identified as a target of the investigation.

Bruno and his attorney, William Dreyer of Albany, a former federal prosecutor with experience in white-collar crime defense, did not respond to requests for comment made through Dreyer's office.

Officials for the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office both declined to comment.

Copies of some of the subpoenas, and interviews with witnesses who have testified before the grand jury, show the criminal investigation has been broad.

The investigation has drilled deeply into Bruno's real-estate dealings, investments, political decision-making, his ownership and breeding of thoroughbred horses, his ties to labor unions, and his work as a business consultant for an unknown number of private clients, including a Connecticut investment firm, according to interviews with people close to the case and copies of subpoenas obtained by the Times Union.

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

He has declined to disclose how much he was paid as their consultant over an approximately 10-year period.

Still, the FBI has continued to look closely at Bruno's role in helping Wright secure contracts for investments from New York labor union pension and benefit funds.

In September, several New York labor union officials were summoned before the federal grand jury in Albany and peppered with questions about their interaction with Bruno as it related to Wright Investors.

Their appearances were part of a flurry of grand jury testimony before the federal panel over the past four months, including as recently as Friday.

''They wanted to know did Bruno recommend them (Wright) and did he disclose that he had an interest,'' an attorney for some of the labor officials, who testified before the panel in September, said.

''He didn't disclose his interest, but he didn't really push."

"He put in a word for them the same way you might recommend someone try a restaurant.''

The investigation began three years ago, when FBI agents from a white-collar crime unit in Albany began examining a series of private jet flights provided to Bruno by people with whom he did business both politically and privately, a source close to the case said.

The chartered jet flights, in some cases worth thousands of dollars per hour, ferried Bruno to private vacations in South Florida, political fund-raisers, government functions and at least once to Kentucky horse country.

The FBI's interest in the flights was triggered, in part, by a related inquiry by the state's now-defunct lobbying commission, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

The FBI's examination quickly expanded and agents began sifting through bank records related to a private consulting firm Bruno ran from his Brunswick home.

At least one of Bruno's consulting customers included Loudonville resident Jared Abbruzzese, a wealthy businessman and horse racing enthusiast who also was behind a consortium that had vied to manage three of New York's storied but financially troubled horse racing tracks, including Saratoga.

Abbruzzese, a close friend of Bruno's, bankrolled some of the jet flights, and his name also was listed in federal grand jury subpoenas that have been sent out over the past two years in the probe.

Other horse racing enthusiasts and associates of Bruno's were listed in the subpoenas, which sought business records dating to January 2001.

The former senator, now CEO for a Latham-based technology firm, CMA Consulting Services, has declined to disclose his income or clients of his home-based private business, Capital Business Consultants.

Bruno also has declined to say whether any of his private clients had an interest in state government contracts or funding.

The impending conclusion of the 3-year-old investigation has stoked some speculation in federal law enforcement circles that the timing may be tied to next month's change of administration in Washington, D.C., as the Bush era ends and President-elect Barack Obama revamps the Justice Department's leadership.

Glenn T. Suddaby was the U.S. Attorney in New York's Northern District for most of the investigation.

Suddaby recently was appointed a federal judge and his Justice Department post was filled by acting U.S. Attorney Andrew T. Baxter.

A source briefed on the investigation previously told the Times Union the FBI was building a case around the ''honest services'' provision of federal statutes, a one-sentence amendment Congress inserted into federal law 20 years ago to close a loophole in its laws defining mail fraud and wire fraud.

The broadly written law prohibits anyone from depriving the public of an inherent ''right to honest services.''

Five months ago, Bruno resigned from the Senate seat he held since 1976.

To many, he left a legacy as an iconic Capital Region politician who rose from an impoverished childhood to become one of the three most powerful elected officials in state government.

Yet over the past two years Bruno, a Korean War veteran who gained a reputation in the Senate as a hard-nosed fighter, has been dogged by the FBI probe.

His former political aides were defensive at times when asked about the investigation, including Bruno's use of private jets.

Bruno has repeatedly said he has done nothing wrong.

Two years ago, Bruno publicly acknowledged the FBI probe in a hastily called news conference at the Capitol after reporters began asking questions about it.

He said he was not a target, that it involved his outside business dealings and that he was cooperating fully.

Then, before leaving public office five months ago, he again said he was not concerned by the grand jury investigation and that he's done nothing wrong.

''There is nothing there, and I am told by my lawyers, who I met with yesterday, there is absolutely nothing that we have done wrong,'' Bruno said in July.

''But would it be nice if people would just go on and let me live my life?"

"Yes, that would be very, very nice.''

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

"Authority summoned in Bruno case - Former senator's business dealings focus of fed probe"

By JAMES M. ODATO AND BRENDAN J. LYONS, Staff writers, Albany, New York Times Union

First published in print: Thursday, December 18, 2008

Federal investigators looking at the business activities of former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno subpoenaed the Long Island Power Authority for information about some friends of the Brunswick Republican who operate a Brooklyn construction business.

The subpoena, obtained by the Times Union under the Freedom of Information Law, shows the probe gathering information for a grand jury convened in Albany sought information from LIPA on Russell C. Ball and Dori Evans.

The married couple are longtime friends of the senator, and sold Bruno and his oldest son an apartment complex in Brunswick.

Evans worked for years as a fund-raiser for the Republican Senate Campaign Committee, and also helped Sen. Bruno raise funds in New York City.

Ball is chairman of Roadway Contracting on Gardner Avenue in Brooklyn.

He and Robert Bannon, also named in the subpoena, operate BB Gardner LLC at the same Gardner Avenue address.

The companies are believed to do contracting work for utility companies.

Bannon had no comment, and Ball did not return a call.

LIPA spokesman Ed Dumas said he was unaware of any connection between the firms, or between Bruno's consulting business also named in the subpoena and LIPA.

He said the public authority would not discuss its cooperation with the federal grand jury.

Former LIPA president Richard Kessell said he was aware of the subpoena, but he would not comment when asked if he was subpoenaed.

Kessell is now president of the New York Power Authority.

The LIPA subpoena, one of numerous served on many people and companies during the lengthy probe, asked the public authority for any records involving the individuals and firms, and about any contacts or communications with Bruno including any gifts or payments made to the senator or his company, Capital Business Consultants.

The material had to be turned over by Dec. 4.

Ball and Evans owned Tamarac Apartments and Tamarac Plaza in Brunswick.

Bruno and his son purchased the apartments.

Bruno and Joseph Magno, of Brunswick, later partnered on them; Magno confirmed he also was subpoenaed.

The grand jury remains active.

It is expected to hear testimony this week from Richard C. Burdick, Bruno's longtime Senate district director, according to a source briefed on the matter.

Burdick, who was paid approximately $166,000 a year before his recent retirement, helped coordinate Bruno's member item grants.

The 55-year-old was a key point of contact for anyone seeking an audience with Bruno.

In his position as district director, Burdick had the ability to help individuals obtain state jobs or promotions, according to people familiar with his work.

The person briefed on Burdick's scheduled testimony before the panel said it will be Burdick's second trip before the grand jury.

The person added that Burdick is not a target but that he is considered a "key witness."

People familiar with the probe said the FBI-led investigation is centered on the so-called "honest services" statute.

The federal law, which is incorporated into mail fraud, makes it illegal for a public official to receive a "personal benefit from an undisclosed conflict of interest ... even though the public agency involved may not suffer any monetary loss in the transaction," according to instructions routinely given to juries at federal trials.

Burdick said recently he worked with Bruno for 32 years, the past 20 handling the senator's member items in his senate district.

However, he said he was not involved in $500,000 in grants provided by Bruno to Evident Technologies of Troy, which he said were handled by the Senate Finance staff.

The grand jury has also sought information about community project grants that benefited Evident.

The grants which are typically given to non-profits raised questions because Evident is a for-profit operation, and its principals included some of Bruno's friends.

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

"Foundation under scrutiny - Discrepancies in resume for Bruno's daughter at nonprofit"

By JAMES M. ODATO AND BRENDAN J. LYONS, Staff writers, Albany, New York Times Union

First published in print: Sunday, January 4, 2009

ALBANY — The FBI's investigation of former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno has expanded to the Research Foundation of the State University of New York, according to sources familiar with the probe.

In particular, a knowledgeable source said, the FBI is probing the work activities of Susan M. Bruno, the elder daughter of the former Senate leader.

The recent FBI inquiry at the Research Foundation — a private arm of SUNY that handles about $1 billion a year in grants and other funds for the SUNY campuses and employs more than 17,000 people — is tied to the ongoing federal grand jury investigation of Joseph Bruno's political activities and private business dealings.

In recent weeks, federal agents questioned top SUNY official John J. O'Connor, according to two people familiar with the matter.

O'Connor, president of the Research Foundation since 2000, last month was named interim chancellor of the 64-campus SUNY system.

He has been SUNY's vice chancellor since 1997.

A knowledgeable source said the FBI inquired about Susan Bruno's fundraising activities on behalf of SUNY's Maritime College in New York City, including donations to the college made by political acquaintances of the former senator.

Joseph Bruno, 79, resigned his Senate seat in July after 32 years in the chamber, the last 14 as its leader.

He is the subject of a three-year federal criminal investigation.

In recent months, the federal probe has intensified.

Numerous people who have had business dealings with Joseph Bruno — including some who hired him as a private consultant during his public career, served with him in the Senate, represented labor unions or were linked to his thoroughbred horse-breeding interests — have been summoned before a grand jury in Albany.

Susan Bruno, 47, was hired by the Research Foundation in 2003.

She currently serves as a special assistant to O'Connor and is paid $84,120 a year.

According to material supplied by SUNY, some of her duties involve trying to develop academic bridges to England, an area of special interest to O'Connor.

"We are declining comment," SUNY spokesman David Henahan said on behalf of both SUNY and O'Connor in response to the Times Union's questions about the federal probe.

Associates of Susan Bruno say privately that during the past five years, she seldom appeared at the office — perhaps once a month, according to one person — and that she was allowed the unusual arrangement of working from her home.

Her long absences from foundation offices at the corner of State Street and Broadway led staffers to use her private office for meetings, according to those who have worked with her.

Susan Bruno did not respond to requests for comment made through the foundation.

The Times Union found several discrepancies on the one-page resume Bruno provided the Research Foundation around the time she was hired in May 2003 as an assistant director of foundation relations for legislation.

The position requires a "bachelor's degree or equivalent," according to a job description provided by the Research Foundation.

Bruno's resume, turned over to the Times Union under a Freedom of Information Law request, states she attended SUNY Cobleskill for "two full years of college courses" and also holds an "NYS Real Estate License."

There are no dates listed for either entry in the document.

There are unanswered questions, however, about each of those entries.

"We do not have a Susan Bruno on record, and we've checked all of our records," said Kate Birchenough, a spokeswoman for SUNY Cobleskill.

She added that the college's records system would show enrollment and attendance for any student by that name going back to 1916.

Mary Jo Moore, a spokeswoman for the New York Department of State, which licenses real estate professionals, said their records go back to 2002; the agency has no record of a professional real estate license under the name Susan Bruno.

Moore, at the newspaper's request, checked the files for appraisers, brokers and salespersons, which all are licensed professions.

"She's not licensed as a real estate broker or salesperson," Moore said, later adding that there was nothing on file for an appraisal license.

Bruno's resume is spotted with typographical errors and misspellings.

It indicates she took a "design course" at the "Ritner School of Design" in Boston.

Steve Rittner, head of Rittners School of Floral Design, confirmed last week that Bruno attended and completed a floral design course there in the summer of 1981, when she was 20.

"She successfully completed the course and she left a very positive record here," Rittner said.

"It was a summer program."

"... She took an accelerated version."

The floral design course is a postsecondary course that does not yield a degree, Rittner said.

Her resume also includes work experience from 1985 to 1991 as a customer service representative at her father's former telecommunications company, Coradian.

Her resume states that while at Coradian, Bruno handled client relations with two large companies: Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, an architecture and engineering firm that has an office in Albany, and Finch Pruyn & Co. Inc., a paper company in Glens Falls.

The names of both companies are misspelled on Bruno's resume.

From 1991 to 2003, Bruno's resume indicates she was a legislative assistant in the state Assembly.

Records on file with the state comptroller place Bruno's pay at $44,563 annually at the time she left the post with the Assembly Republicans.

A former GOP Assembly staff official said Bruno was "autonomous," meaning no one seemed to supervise her during her legislative career, and that she was highly paid for the post she held.

Former Assemblywoman Maureen O'Connell recalled Bruno as providing "excellent" support.

When the Research Foundation hired Susan Bruno five years ago as an assistant director for foundation relations, she was paid a salary of $70,000.

Cathy Kaszluga, a foundation spokeswoman, confirmed Bruno's salary but declined to say whether she was officially allowed to work from home.

Kaszluga also declined to answer questions about the apparent discrepancies in Bruno's resume — including whether her qualifications met the requirements for the job.

''I do not think I'll be able to give you anything beyond what we've already provided, given that she is a private citizen working for a private company,'' Kaszluga said in an e-mail last week.

The foundation had turned over some of Bruno's personnel information to the Times Union, but declined to provide copies of her time and attendance records.

The foundation maintains it is not subject to the Freedom of Information Law and is allowed to choose what it discloses.

However, Robert J. Freeman, executive director of the State Committee on Open Government, an arm of the Secretary of State's office, said a recent decision by an Albany-based state Supreme Court justice ruled the foundation is subject to New York's FOI law.

General information provided by the Research Foundation indicates Bruno's duties involve four areas: an effort to accumulate grants for young SUNY faculty researchers; two annual dinners to recognize faculty researchers and those who have patented or licensed inventions; a U.S./Britain community college information exchange; and encouraging SUNY participation in a scholarship program for study in Britain.

A person who spoke on condition of anonymity said the FBI's inquiry reached out to Matthew P. Behrmann, a former vice president for foundation relations, about Susan Bruno.

When contacted by a reporter, Behrmann said, "I don't think I can help you out," and declined further comment.

Behrmann no longer works for the foundation.

The FBI's inquiry has been broad.

Recently, investigators have displayed an interest in CMA Consulting in Latham, the company Joseph Bruno joined as CEO after quitting the Senate, according to a grand jury witness.

CMA, with tens of millions of dollars in state contracts, has had a long-standing business relationship with the Research Foundation, which has paid the firm more than $1.5 million.

Brendan J. Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com; James M. Odato can be reached at 454-5083 or by e-mail at jodato@timesunion.com.

"Susan Bruno resume eyed - SUNY outfit to check credentials after report raises questions"

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

First published in print: Tuesday, January 6, 2009

ALBANY -- The Research Foundation of the State University of New York will examine the credentials of Susan M. Bruno following a Times Union story on Sunday that raised questions about information contained in her resume.

Bruno, 47, the elder daughter of former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, apparently listed inaccurate information in her resume when she took a job with the Research Foundation five years ago.

That information includes a line indicating she had ''two full years of college courses'' at SUNY Cobleskill, with no dates provided.

In fact, SUNY Cobleskill officials last week said they had no record of Bruno attending school there.

On Monday, a spokeswoman contacted the Times Union saying they made a mistake and that Bruno had registered briefly as a student in the fall of 1980.

''She was registered as a student from September 1980 to Nov. 13, 1980, in the flora-culture program,'' said Holly Cargill-Cramer, SUNY Cobleskill's director of communications and public affairs.

Cargill-Cramer said the regular semester that year ended on Dec. 18.

Still, Bruno's incomplete semester falls short of the two full years of courses listed on her resume, which the Research Foundation provided to the Times Union under a Freedom of Information Law request.

''We will be following up with Cobleskill to get details from them directly,'' said Cathy Kaszluga, vice president of corporation communications for the Research Foundation.

''We have to examine it now.''

Bruno has declined to respond to requests for comment.

The Times Union began examining Bruno's credentials after learning an FBI investigation of her father has expanded to the Research Foundation and, in particular, the work activities of Susan Bruno, according to a person with knowledge of the case.

The Research Foundation is a not-for-profit arm of SUNY that handles about $1 billion a year in grants and other funds for the SUNY campuses and employs more than 17,000 people, most of those through foundation programs in the SUNY system.

About two months ago, federal authorities questioned top SUNY official John J. O'Connor, according to two people familiar with the matter.

O'Connor, president of the Research Foundation since 2000, last month was named interim chancellor of the 64-campus SUNY system and he has been SUNY's vice chancellor since 1997.

He declined to comment.

Joseph Bruno, 79, resigned his Senate seat in July after 32 years in the chamber, the last 14 as its leader.

He is the subject of a three-year federal criminal investigation that has intensified over the past five months.

Susan Bruno was hired by the Research Foundation in May 2003, records show.

She currently serves as a special assistant to O'Connor and is paid $84,120 a year.

People who have worked for the Research Foundation said Bruno was known for having long absences from foundation offices at the corner of State Street and Broadway.

At one time, staffers used her private office for meetings because, they said, she was rarely there.

There are several discrepancies on the one-page resume of Bruno's on file at the Research Foundation, where she was hired as an assistant director of foundation relations for legislation.

The position requires a "bachelor's degree or equivalent," according to a job description provided by the Research Foundation.

Bruno's resume also indicates that she held a ''NYS Real Estate License.''

A spokeswoman for the New York Department of State, which licenses real estate professionals, said their records go back to 2002 and the agency has no record of a professional real estate license under the name Susan Bruno.

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

"Bruno indicted - Grand jury issues 8-count indictment for mail and wire fraud"

By BRENDAN J. LYONS AND JAMES M. ODATO, Staff writers, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 12:44 p.m., Friday, January 23, 2009

ALBANY -- A federal grand jury today indicted former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, accusing him of eight counts of public corruption.

Bruno is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate at 1:30 p.m. today.

Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew T. Baxter has scheduled a press conference for 2:30 p.m.

The 35-page indictment of Bruno was unsealed and filed in federal court sometime after noon.

Bruno, who reigned for years as one of the most powerful lawmakers in New York, is charged with using his office to deprive the public of the honest services of government.

Today's indictment marks the culmination of a three-year FBI investigation into the shadowy public and private dealings of the Brunswick Republican who rose through the ranks of state government and became one of the Capital Region's most iconic political leaders.

Bruno, 79, retired from his state Senate seat in July after 32 years in the post.

The investigation had dogged Bruno during the last two years of his political career as information surfaced publicly about the FBI's deep foray into his real-estate dealings, investments, political decisions and his ownership and breeding of thoroughbred horses.

Bruno's ties to labor unions, and his secretive work as a private business consultant for an unknown number of private clients, including a Connecticut investment firm, were at the heart of the probe.

The charges expected to be detailed in the indictment are believed to be built entirely on an ''honest services'' provision of federal statutes that has been used repeatedly by federal prosecutors to take down some of the nation's most corrupt government officials and lobbyists.

The broadly written law, which was inserted into federal statutes 20 years ago by Congress, prohibits public officials from using the mail or interstate communications to deprive the public of an inherent "right to honest services."

The law has become a favored weapon of many prosecutors because it does not require a quid pro quo, which is often difficult to prove in the world of pay-to-play politics where multimillion-dollar deals and campaign fund payoffs are known to be arranged with winks and nods.

The investigation began three years ago, when FBI agents from a white-collar crime unit in Albany began examining a series of private jet flights provided to Bruno by people with whom he did business both politically and privately, a source close to the case said.

The chartered jet flights, in some cases worth thousands of dollars per hour, ferried Bruno to private vacations in South Florida, political fundraisers, government functions and at least once to Kentucky horse country.

The FBI's interest in the flights was triggered, in part, by a related inquiry by the state's now-defunct lobbying commission, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

The FBI's examination quickly expanded and agents began sifting through bank records related to a private consulting firm Bruno ran from his Brunswick home.

The hundreds of thousands of dollars that Bruno was paid through that firm serve as the foundation of many of the counts listed in the indictment.

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

He has declined to disclose how much he was paid as their consultant over an approximately 10-year period.

Still, the FBI has continued to look closely at Bruno's role in helping Wright secure contracts for investments from New York labor union pension and benefit funds.

In September, several New York labor union officials were summoned before the federal grand jury in Albany and peppered with questions about their interaction with Bruno as it related to Wright Investors.

Their appearances were part of a flurry of grand jury testimony before the federal panel over the past four months, including as recently as Friday.

''They wanted to know did Bruno recommend them (Wright) and did he disclose that he had an interest,'' an attorney for some of the labor officials, who testified before the panel in September, said.

''He didn't disclose his interest, but he didn't really push."

"He put in a word for them the same way you might recommend someone try a restaurant.''

At least one of Bruno's consulting customers included Loudonville resident Jared Abbruzzese, a wealthy businessman and horse racing enthusiast who also was behind a consortium that had vied to manage three of New York's storied but financially troubled horse racing tracks, including Saratoga.

Abbruzzese, a close friend of Bruno's, bankrolled some of the jet flights, and his name also was listed in federal grand jury subpoenas that have been sent out over the past two years in the probe.

Other horse racing enthusiasts and associates of Bruno's were listed in the subpoenas, which sought business records dating to January 2001.

The former senator, now CEO for a Latham-based technology firm, CMA Consulting Services, has declined to disclose his income or clients of his home-based private business, Capital Business Consultants.

Bruno also has declined to say whether any of his private clients had an interest in state government contracts or funding.

The impending conclusion of the 3-year-old investigation has stoked some speculation in federal law enforcement circles that the timing may be tied to the recent change of administration in Washington, D.C., as the Bush era ends and President Barack Obama revamps the Justice Department's leadership.

Glenn T. Suddaby was the U.S. Attorney in New York's Northern District for most of the investigation.

Suddaby recently was appointed a federal judge and his Justice Department post was filled by acting U.S. Attorney Andrew T. Baxter.

Six months ago, Bruno resigned from the Senate seat he held since 1976.

To many, he left a legacy as an iconic Capital Region politician who rose from an impoverished childhood to become one of the three most powerful elected officials in state government.

Yet over the past two years Bruno, a Korean War veteran who gained a reputation in the Senate as a hard-nosed fighter, has been dogged by the FBI probe.

His former political aides were defensive at times when asked about the investigation, including Bruno's use of private jets.

Bruno has repeatedly said he has done nothing wrong.

Two years ago, Bruno publicly acknowledged the FBI probe in a hastily called news conference at the Capitol after reporters began asking questions about it.

He said he was not a target, that it involved his outside business dealings and that he was cooperating fully.

Then, before leaving public office six months ago, he again said he was not concerned by the grand jury investigation and that he's done nothing wrong.

''There is nothing there, and I am told by my lawyers, who I met with yesterday, there is absolutely nothing that we have done wrong,'' Bruno said in July.

''But would it be nice if people would just go on and let me live my life?"

"Yes, that would be very, very nice.''

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

Do they still make license plates at Sing Sing?

A good question, jeffmoskin ....

But that is a state slammmer ....

If "BIG JOE THE IRON DUKE" does time, it will likely be at some CLUB FED somewhere where he can play golf and schmooze with the other incarcerated politicians and and bankers and such ....

Why, he probably won't even know that he is doing time ....

It will just be more politics to him ....

Only in a different setting ...

And so ..

"Bruno indicted - Grand jurors accuse Bruno of trading power for money"

By BRENDAN J. LYONS AND JAMES M. ODATO, Staff writers, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 4:34 p.m., Friday, January 23, 2009

ALBANY -- A federal grand jury today indicted former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno on felony charges alleging he used his position to extract $3.2 million in private consulting fees from clients who sought to purchase his influence.

A defiant Bruno blasted the U.S. Attorney's Office, calling it "politicized," and described FBI as "overzealous."

Bruno described the 8-count indictment handed up today as "a three-year fishing expedition that . . . stinks."

The 79-year-old Republican faces corruption charges that carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Bruno pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Albany and was released without bail.

In a 35-page indictment filed at noon, grand jurors asked Bruno to forfeit much of his fortune and assets for his alleged crimes.

Bruno, who reigned for years as one of the most powerful lawmakers in New York, is charged with using his office to deprive the public of the honest services of government.

The indictment marks the culmination of a three-year FBI investigation into the shadowy public and private dealings of the Brunswick politician who rose through the ranks of state government and became arguably the Capital Region's most iconic political leader.

Bruno retired from his state Senate seat in July after 32 years in legislative service.

He is now a lobbyist, chief executive of friend Kay Stafford's Latham company, CMA Consulting.

The indictment lays out Bruno's alleged deceptions, such as not disclosing his dealings to ethics authorities.

It describes "schemes" involving use of his public office to do business with labor unions, who he steered to Wright Investors Service, a Connecticut firm that paid him nearly $1.4 million from 1994 to 2006, and McGinn, Smith & Co., an Albany investment firm that paid Bruno $632,116 from 1993 to 2005. The firms ended up receiving investment advisory fees or brokerage fees paid by the union benefit funds.

People named in the indictment were Bruno's friends Leonard J. Fassler, Jared E. Abbruzzese and Russell C. Ball who paid Bruno hundreds of thousands of dollars for alleged consulting services, even though Bruno provided virtually no consulting.

Only Bruno was charged, although the actions of his associates were unflattering.

In one case, Abbruzzese paid Bruno $80,000 for a nearly worthless horse raised by Bruno at his thoroughbred breeding business at his farm and home in Brunswick.

The investigation had dogged Bruno during the last two years of his political career as information surfaced publicly about the FBI's deep foray into his real-estate dealings, investments, political decisions and his ownership and breeding of thoroughbred horses.

The ''honest services'' provision of federal statutes has been used repeatedly by federal prosecutors to take down some of the nation's corrupt government officials and lobbyists.

The broadly written law, which was inserted into federal statutes 20 years ago by Congress, prohibits public officials from using the mail or interstate communications to deprive the public of an inherent "right to honest services."

Democratic Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio of Queens is awaiting trial under a similar indictment.

The law has become a favored weapon of many prosecutors because it does not require a quid pro quo, which is often difficult to prove in the world of pay-to-play politics where multimillion-dollar deals and campaign fund payoffs are known to be arranged with winks and nods.

Bruno maintained that the federal prosecutors invented a crime to stick on him while letting former Gov. Eliot Spitzer off the hook for what Bruno called admitted felonies.

The former Democratic governor, a foe of Bruno, resigned in 2008 after he was identified as a patron of an expensive call-girl service.

"This is not the first time we have seen deeply flawed, dysfunctional or even illegal behavior by those with prosecutorial power," Bruno said.

He said looks forward to a public trial.

The investigation began three years ago, when FBI agents from a white-collar crime unit in Albany began examining a series of private jet flights provided to Bruno by people with whom he did business both politically and privately, a source close to the case said.

The chartered jet flights, in some cases worth thousands of dollars per hour, ferried Bruno to private vacations in South Florida, political fundraisers, government functions and at least once to Kentucky horse country.

The FBI's interest in the flights was triggered, in part, by a related inquiry by the state's now-defunct lobbying commission, according to a source familiar with the investigation, and focused on Abbruzzese, a Loundonville businessman, race horse enthusiast and jet owner.

The FBI's examination quickly expanded and agents began sifting through bank records related to a private consulting firm Bruno ran from his Brunswick home.

The hundreds of thousands of dollars that Bruno was paid through that firm serve as the foundation of many of the counts listed in the indictment.

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

He has repeatedly declined to disclose how much he was paid as its employee and has refused to identify his personal consulting clients.

Five months ago, Bruno resigned from the Senate seat he held since 1976.

To many, he left a legacy as an iconic Capital Region politician who rose from an impoverished childhood to become one of the three most powerful elected officials in state government.

But he had developed a taste for fine things nice cars, jet travel and expensive suits.

Brendan J. Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com; James M. Odato can be reached at 454-5083 or at jodato@timesunion.com.

Gee, is corruption a FEDERAL OFFENSE? All our Reps and Sens are guilty of that.

Corruption in our legislative body is so prevalent that it has now become the accepted part of being a politico in a power position. It is so pervasive that it has practically reached the state of being difficult to find a credible investigator.

I believe that every one in a position to gain from the slightest bit of guilt in selling his/her influence, should be punished to a degree far more severe than the wrist slapping now prevalent.

I am referring to jail time and severe financial punishment.

Is this a pipe dream?

A.B.

"Legislative system under indictment - Federal case against Bruno spotlights weak state government ethics laws"

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

First published in print: Sunday, January 25, 2009

At the end of his news conference Friday, after the court appearance that followed his indictment on federal corruption charges, former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno suggested that if what he did could be seen as a crime, then other lawmakers may be equally guilty.

In fact, in the eyes of good-government groups, Bruno's indictment is equally an indictment of New York's weak government ethics laws.

After a three-year investigation, the indictment accused Bruno of dishonest public service over 13 years.

The eight counts lay out the case that he enriched himself with $3.2 million from people and organizations seeking his influence in state government.

Bruno pleaded not guilty.

Federal officials who brought the case, in their own post-indictment news conference, strongly suggested that New York's government ethics laws need to change to prevent dishonesty by lawmakers and to reveal conflicts of interest.

It echoed what government reform advocates in Albany have argued for years.

"This is an indictment of not only Joe Bruno, but New York state's ethics laws," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause, the citizen lobbying organization that promotes open government.

"Joe Bruno's indictment emphatically highlights the shameful state of New York's ethics laws, graphically demonstrating why the Legislature should not be expected to police the ethics of its own members."

Lerner said the only officials able to root out corruption in state government in recent years are those with federal subpoena power.

Even with such tools, federal officials said Friday, it was difficult to assemble a case against a man who was the most powerful legislative leader in Albany from 1995 to 2008.

"Mr. Bruno exploited his office by ... not revealing his business relationships and potential conflicts of interest," Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Baxter said.

The indictment filed by Baxter asserts that Bruno made millions from companies for which he was working, and from a consulting firm he created, by helping individuals, unions and other entities pursue state business.

It alleges he reported the sources of his income on his required annual financial disclosure forms, but incompletely, by purposely masking details and without telling the Legislative Ethics Committee, which reviewed the disclosures, who was paying him for what.

Even if Bruno is not guilty, as he energetically insists, the allegations suggest how easily a New York lawmaker could conceal profiteering.

Law enforcement agents in the three-year Bruno probe had to overcome "the lack of transparency in state government," FBI Special Agent in Charge John Pikus said.

The backroom dealing was difficult to penetrate, added Steven Perez, a special agent in charge of investigating racketeering for the U.S. Department of Labor.

Bruno was charged with federal mail and wire fraud for allegedly depriving the public of the honest services of a government official — a statute commonly used to pursue public corruption without evidence of actual bribery.

In his news conference Friday, Bruno maintained that the "honest services" provisions of federal law could put a target on all legislators who have to work for a living.

"I did nothing wrong."

"I broke no laws," he said.

"We are a part-time Legislature."

"That's what this legislature is. . . ."

"Most of the people in the Legislature work."

"This is a threat to everybody in government."

The former Senate leader said he checked with unspecified "counsel" and "ethics people" to assure his business dealings were legal.

Several Senate staffers who worked for Bruno were called as witnesses before the grand jury that indicted him.

Despite repeated pronouncement of "ethics reform" laws in recent years, New York's rules for public officials are widely viewed as among the weakest of any large state.

Dollar amounts on state financial disclosure forms, which are not published on the Internet, exist as only broad ranges of value — and even those vague range values are withheld from the public.

Descriptions of income or gift sources are allowed to be similarly opaque.

Public officials in New York are not required to disclose conflicts of interest.

Such conflicts, when they are discovered, are actionable only if ethics officials, who operate in secrecy, deem them to be "significant."

And state prosecutors cannot bring criminal charges under the state's ethics laws without a referral from an ethics panel, which consists of members appointed by the very politicians they regulate.

Even if prosecutors clear those hurdles and bring charges, a violation of the ethics law is only a misdemeanor, not a felony.

What Bruno did — according to the federal indictment against him — is easily concealed by lawmakers because no independent monitors are keeping watch, government reform advocates say.

That's one reason, critics say, why it took a federal probe to uncover a similar scheme recently alleged against Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio, D-Queens, who, like Bruno, awaits trial.

The federal indictments are offering reform groups, which repeatedly call New York state government dysfunctional, more ammunition to call for an oversight body to police the Legislature.

"There is no watchdog," said Blair Horner, legislative director for the New York Pubic Research Interest Group.

"You've had an astonishingly long list of lawmakers getting into trouble."

"We haven't reached the tipping point yet."

Horner said it isn't surprising Bruno didn't take ethics oversight seriously:

The ethics panel, chosen by him and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, has never charged any lawmakers with wrongdoing.

A reform agreement two years ago resulted in a reconstituted panel — nine members, mostly non-elected appointees of the legislative leaders.

However, the ninth member, meant to be a tie-breaker chairman agreed upon by both the Senate and Assembly, has never been named.

The panel is currently led by one Assembly member and one Senate member in what one seasoned state official called an "elegant deception" of real reform.

Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, D-Queens, whose district is flanked by lawmakers recently convicted of or charged with fraud — former Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin and Seminerio, respectively — said the image of his profession is getting tarnished.

A lawyer with aspirations of becoming attorney general, Gianaris said he is unsure if the Bruno case will spur change.

Assembly leaders have been mum on the indictment and Senate leaders issued terse news releases suggesting that Bruno is simply confronting another of life's challenges and it's time to move on.

"If someone wants to break the law they're not going to disclose they're breaking the law," Gianaris said.

"The disclosure laws need improvement in New York."

"But that won't solve the problem, because people who want to do bad things will find a way to do bad things."

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

It's good to see you and jeffmoskin in here, Mr. A.B.

HERE IS SOME INTERESTING BACKGROUND TO HELP FLESH OUT THE "POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT" UP HERE WHERE JOE BRUNO WAS THE EQUIVALENT OF AN OLD-WORLD KING OR NOBLEMAN ...

"WELCOME TO THE MACHINE"

It is often remarked that Albany is a Democratic town.

This is true enough as far as it goes: the municipality as well as the Albany Congressional District have been run by Democratic politicians for as long as anyone can remember.

Though there has been some reform in the last decade or so, most of the city's modern urban political history is synonymous with the history of the Democratic Machine built by Dan O'Connell.

O'Connell's mastery of electoral techniques, and occasional questionable tactics, were summed up by incoming Governor Mario Cuomo in 1982.

O'Connell, Cuomo said, had been marooned on a tropical island with one other man, and only one coconut between them.

The two men decided to take a vote on who should get the coconut; when the votes were counted, O'Connell was found to have won, 110 to 1.

Who were the Albany Democrats?

In the recent election, some advertising stereotyped Northeastern Democrats as effete liberals, gourmands with liberal educations out of touch with mainstream America.

Albany Democrats were not that kind.

These were blue-collar, urban, predominantly Irish Democrats, who paid five dollars a vote, who were more likely to share a bottle of Budweiser than a jar of Grey Poupon, and whose major civic functions in addition to patronage included securing "the right to run your bar after hours or to open a card game on the sneak".

The O'Connell organization was considered a textbook case of the urban political machine by historians, one of whom wrote that "it should be put into the Smithsonian before we forget what a political machine looks like".

Even well into the 1980's, when other similar organizations across the country were becoming rapidly extinct, the Albany Machine ran city politics with an iron grip.

Dan O'Connell, an Albany native son of Irish-born parents who dropped out of school after the fifth grade and worked as a bricklayer and bartender, was elected County Assessor in 1919; a few years later he quit that post to become chairman of the County Democratic Committee, the only formal title he would hold until his 1977 death.

For this entire period and for a solid two decades after, under his supervision, the party would control nearly 100 percent of all city and county offices, the entire County Legislature, and all the local seats in the State Senate and Assembly.

O'Connell's 500-plus loyal Committee members often held more de facto power than the actual elected officials.

They canvassed the city's neighborhoods thoroughly every year, gently suggesting its residents register Democratic, to avoid, for instance, a sudden threefold increase in property taxes (which would require a Democratic lawyer to fix).

Irish bossism in American cities began, of course, early in the nineteenth century.

Albany's organization was its natural heir. O'Connell and his three brothers typified the Irish backbone of the Machine, but it would prove surprisingly adaptable to new waves of immigration and ethnic constituencies: Germans and Polish in the prewar period, and masses of American blacks in the 50's and 60's.

When Erastus Corning II was elected Mayor in 1942 for the first of his eleven terms, he was O'Connell's protegé, a smiling patrician Protestant face the working-class, predominantly Catholic Democrats presented to the public.

Corning would eventually gain, while becoming the United States's longest-serving Mayor, a high measure of power in his own right, and after O'Connell's demise the genial grandson of Erastus Corning I would run the machine himself from the Mayor's office.

But that was later.

The Albany of the mid-20th century was Dan O'Connell's town.

Once a year, at Committee meetings, O'Connell would read aloud his list of hand-picked nominees--an occasion which also brought out the press and sundry local well-wishers and favor-mongerors, for the Chairman's public appearances were otherwise rare.

An unruly committeeman who ventured to place other names in nomination was likely to be booed, shouted down, or just laughed at.

The nominees were rubber-stamped, and in almost all cases, duly elected that November to whatever city, county, or state post O'Connell has designated them for.

The designation was, of course, a quid pro quo for unswerving loyalty and Herculean efforts on behalf of the County Democrats, and so the system perpetuated itself.

Though reformers objected, and Albany's two major newspapers excoriated O'Connell through most of his reign, the Machine played a vital civic role in the town's urban fabric.

Both under O'Connell and his 19th century ancestors, the Democratic Party was not only a political organization, but a quasi-governmental social agency.

It eased the connection between ordinary citizens and government bureaucracy, provided even those citizens on the lowest rungs of the social ladder with an avenue for complaints and queries for City Hall, and doled out a form of workfare, finding easy government sinecures for the elderly and indigent.

The usual sorts of graft and contractor boondoggles were naturally prevalent, and a state probe at one point found Albany to be "the worst-run county in America".

In 1947 John Gunther described the city as "a kind of political cloaca maxima, beside which Kansas City seemed almost pure".

But Albany's upper crust, like Corning, for the most part tolerated and colluded with the Machine; after all, it was a far cry better than the disorganized Irish hooliganism that threatened to destroy the life of the city in the mid-1800's.

BARGAINS AND ALLIANCES

That was an era when Albany's first generation of bosses, Anglos like Erie Canal mastermind DeWitt Clinton, men of vast wealth who were in many cases the heirs to Dutch patroonships, seemed on the verge of letting go of the steering wheel.

The combined and related pressures of mass-scale foreign immigration and rapid industrialization created a pressure-cooker situation in the face of which the old gentlemanly code was outmoded and impotent.

The Anglo families like the Clintons, Cornings, and Livingstons struck a practical bargain with the nascent grubby Irish ward heelers: in return for a tacit respect for the sanctity of their wealth and fortunes, the newcomers would be allowed to more or less run the city.

This bargain took the edge off not only class and ethnic resentments like the ones which flared in the New York draft riots, but off the more general ideas of social revolution that were coming over from Europe, along with boatloads of Germans, Irish, Russians and Poles, in the years following the old Continent's 1848 revolutions.

It was a bargain that offered a modus vivendi which was one of the cornerstones for a surprisingly stable urbanism up through the 1960's, and in some places even longer.

Well before Erastus Corning II's ascension to the Mayoral office, this bargain was instrumental in the establishment of the O'Connell Machine.

Dan O'Connell and his attorney brother Edward allied themselves in 1921 with Erastus's father, Edwin Corning: "the young aristocrat with the Old-Albany name", in William Kennedy's words.

The new allies proceeded to quickly purge the government of leftovers from the era of Billy Barnes--a Harvard-educated Taft-Harding Republican who had run the city for the previous 30 years with as tight a grip as O'Connell and the Cornings would eventually gain.

Barnes' big mistake was to trample on the idea of the aforementioned Brahmin-Blue Collar bargain; this worked okay in the Gilded Age and the giddy period of the Rail barons but wore thin in the postwar period with comments like "the labor of a human being is a commodity".

Having gained their foothold, the Democrats did not relax, but intensified their hold on as many powerful institutions of civic life as they could.

The tacit cooperation of Albany's wealthiest bluebloods was already assured through the alliance with Corning (and would strengthen when another aristocrat-turned Democrat, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, arrived in the Governor's Mansion in 1928).

The Roman Catholic Diocese was avidly courted by the devout O'Connell, who reportedly kept rosary beads on his desk and had holy water fonts installed in his Albany home.

Democratic D.A.'s handpicked by the machine would oblige the Diocese with periodic crusades against public lewdness and moral decay, while the City would dole out large parcels to the Church throughout the O'Connell era.

As a result of this combined fealty and largess the Catholic Diocese would eventually become a a staunchly Democratic quasi-corporate power player in the Albany political arena.

The police were likewise co-opted by the machine early on, when one of the first Democratic moves on gaining power in 1921 was an increase in police officer salaries.

O'Connell himself considered the Police Department his personal fiefdom, and for decades a succession of police Chiefs would pay him daily personal visits to keep him apprised of everything going on in the city.

Having secured alliance with the forces of law and order and spiritual nourishment, the Machine developed an equally potent alliance with the less savory elements of the urban fabric.

Famed Albany gangster 'Legs' Diamond, who ran the city's gambling, prostitution, and Prohibition-era booze rackets, was given a detective on the city payroll as his personal bodyguard at the downtown Kenmore Hotel.

Solly O'Connell, Dan's brother, was the Democrat in charge of Nighttown, the vice-ridden area South and West of Downtown, where he formed an easy and mutually beneficial truce with Diamond until the latter's violent death.

Dan's own sole criminal conviction during his long reign came in 1927, when he was fined $750 for his part in sponsoring a baseball gambling ring in a probe instigated by his erstwhile friend, Governor Al Smith.

Other alliances would come later: with civic groups, business associations, and most notably, organized labor, which became an important factor in the postwar era as an economy of goverment and health care workers, as well as universities, replaced the old manufacturing sector.

The union-government connection became strongest during the ten-year boondoggle that was the contruction of Empire State Plaza--a project that Mayor Corning initially opposed, until he was able to wriggle his hand into the cookie jar of contracts, patronage, and dollars that flowed from Rockefeller's project.

The dominance of the Albany machine, and its tendrils extending into State politics, made Dan O'Connell a national political player by the 1960's, when he helped deliver the Democratic Presidential nomination for the son of fellow Irish Democratic boss Joe Kennedy.

When JFK called to thank him O'Connell reportedly said "I didn't do it for you, I did it for your old man."

Even as his health deteriorated in the 70's, the Boss of Albany continued to play a part in Presidential politics, as in an unsuccessful effort to deny George McGovern the Democratic nomination in 1972 (though the ever-loyal O'Connell nonetheless went on to deliver McGovern a higher percentage of Democratic votes in Albany than any other New York town).

But these were the years of O'Connell's fade.

Even before his death in 1977, there was a new skipper at the helm of the Machine: his onetime student, Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd.

THE CORNING YEARS, AND THEIR AFTERMATH

Likeable, saavy, and handsome, with a last name that was money in the bank when it came to upstate politics, Erastus Corning 2nd held the mayor's office for 42 years, a longer term of incumbency than any American mayor in history.

Seven New York governors and nine American Presidents came and went while Corning held his office.

His success and his growing personal power apart from the machine owed themselves largely to O'Connell's affectionate tutlelage.

Erastus's great-grandfather was the original Erastus Corning, maker of Albany's greatest industrial fortune in the Erie Canal years; his father was Edwin Corning, the blueblooded Episcopalian who allied with the Irish Catholics in 1921 to forge an unbeatable urban coalition.

Corning's childhood brought him into regular contact with downtown pols and monied aristocrats alike.

O'Connell was a frequent visitor to the family home on Chestnut Street, while Nelson Rockefeller was a childhood friend at summer camp in Maine.

The ability to travel between these two worlds and understand them both was Corning's unique political gift.

To it he added a formidable mind, unerring political instincts, great charisma, and, not least, a sizeable personal fortune.

O'Connell cultivated the young Corning while the latter was still a Yale student.

In 1936 he nominated his ally's son for the State Senate, and Corning, having just embarked on a less-than-thrilling career in insurance, accepted with delight and naturally won easily.

Five years later O'Connell suggested the mayoralty, which Corning took in similarly breezy fashion.

Drafted into the army and the European Theater, Corning was serving as a private in Czechoslovakia when he was renominated for a second term.

His Army uniform added to his already formidable appeal, and he won his second term despite fierce campaigning against him by Governor Dewey, who had won the Governor's seat while promising to break up the Albany Machine.

For the next 38 years and ten subsequent races he faced little serious opposition, and after a failed attempt (at O'Connell's urging) to win the Lieutenant Governorship in 1946, never sought higher office.

Corning exercised complete and unbridled control over not only the city budgets but those of Albany County--not technically within his job description, that last, but it was all O'Connell's territory anyway, and as Erastus remarked, "I involve myself in both city and county affairs....things flow smooth that way."

Smooth was a good word to describe the 6 foot 2 gentleman with the winning smile.

But behind the glad-handing facade there lay a certain ruthlessness learned in the smoky halls of the County Committee meetings.

City and county officials who crossed Erastus or questioned his budgetary authority would find themselves losing to primary opponents in the next election.

Occasional critics of the Mayor's questionable practice of giving his own insurance company all the insurance contracts for the county were not willing to go on the record.

(The practice, which earned Corning millions, was technically legal, since he was not a county official; when a reporter once mentioned the lack of competition for insurance contracts the Mayor blandly replied "nobody else wanted to bid".)

In short the well-educated cultured gentleman was as much a player, behind the scenes and in the clear light of day, as any Irish pol--no better and no worse.

He was also a dedicated workaholic who genuinely believed in public service and reveled in the ceremonial trappings of his office than certainly would have tested most others' patience after 40 years--attending every Tulip Festival, appearing in elementary school classrooms for civics talks, and, at least on occasion, personally answering citizens' phone calls on topics from voter registration to garbage removal.

To Corning politics was fun as well as important--a game his father and Dan O'Connell taught him at an early age.

A thick skin and tremendous physical energy didn't hurt either.

When he took over the Machine, Corning, like O'Connell before him, played a major role in Democratic politics beyond Albany's borders, backing the gubernatorial campaigns of both Carey and Cuomo, and running Jimmy Carter's 1976 effort in upstate New York.

(When Walter Mondale asked Corning for a list of solid supporters in his area, Corning provided a list of all city employees.)

The Mayor's amazing vitality finally gave out in 1982.

When he died he left behind a machine ill-equipped to carry on in his absence; he had held it together for a decade through personal charisma and the power of his mayoral incumbency.

Corning's handpicked successor, a self-described "Kennedy liberal" named Tom Whalen, was committed to addressing social and ethnic issues the machine preferred to let simmer.

His religion, too, was unheard of for an Albany mayor: Roman Catholic.

The next two decades would see the fracturing of the Democrats into warring factions, the squabbling of former loyalists over the scraps of the old regime, the ascent of progressive and reformist groups, and, in sum, a long gradual dissolution and seismic collapse of the edifice the O'Connells and Cornings had built and lived in for 60 years.

They would also see the renaissance of the state Republican Party, an organization that, Albany at least, "had been so relentlessly humiliated, so neutralized.... that for decades they had ceased acting like politicians and behaved like pop-up targets whose function was to instantly shot down every election day."

The ascent of neighboring Colonie, a Republican enclave of suburban warrens and box store malls whose population has swelled to 70,000 as Albany's has declined to 95,000, helped lessen the Democratic grip on the county.

So did a reformist campaign against one-party rule by the influential Albany Times-Union.

Mayor Jennings: last gasp of the County Committee?

The current Albany Mayor, Jerry Jennings, was elected in 1993 as a centrist, business-friendly New Democrat in the Clinton mode.

His constituency included elements of the old machine--elements which by now represented the conservative interests in the city and had little interest in the ghettos and ethnic problems of the city.

Jennings has twice supported Republican George Pataki for Governor--a heresy which would have been unthinkable in the O'Connell years--and courted bankers and developers with his proposal for a massive downtown convention center.

The Congressional district, which also includes deeply troubled Troy and Schnectady, remains a lock for incumbent Mike McNulty, who just won his ninth term in the House.

But the rise of the suburbs, the fracturing of the old coalition, and the increasing power of corporate interests ensure that even when Democrats stay in power in today's Albany they do not and never will look much like the Democrats of yesteryear.

Most observers hailed the final death knell of the Albany Machine in 2004, when black insurgent challenger David Soares beat incumbent Paul Clyne, who was backed by Mayor Jennings as well as the County Committee and the last of the old-time hacks, for the Albany D.A. nomination.

Soares, an African-born immigrant lawyer with no prior political experience, ran a campaign of reform backed by a heavy volunteer get-out-the-vote effort.

Clyne had been nominated in a back room process four years earlier, which drew outrage from the increasingly educated, affluent, pluralistically minded new arrivals who were starting to comprise a major element of the local Democratic base.

These newer Democrats were more suburban, tended to work for the state or for the University, and unlike the rank-and-file of Dan O'Connell's day, didn't like being told who to nominate.

The irony for longtime Albany observers was seeing the reformers being the ones with the massive door-to-door effort, while the Machine candidate collected endorsements and contributions but failed to appeal to the electorate.

At the County Committee meeting of 2004 the reformists nearly succeeded in ousting Jennings ally Betty Barnette, the current County Chair; only a last minute appeal for unity from Mike McNulty's father Jack, a feisty reformist thorn in the side of the Machine going back to the 1960's, kept a major schism from occurring.

But the Soares primary really tells the whole story: the machine is gone.

Common Council President Helen Desfosses called it "a transformational moment in Albany politics."

"We've blown the top off the bottle."

Where the transformation will take us, it's a bit too soon to say.

The account of the Dan O'Connell years was informed primarily by William Kennedy's brilliant "O Albany!" (New York, Viking Press, 1983). More recent political info comes from the Albany Times-Union and from Paul Bray's Eye From Albany column at empirepage.com, as well as other online sources. There is a great-looking new biography out on the irrepressible Erastus, but I haven't gotten to read it yet.

http://www.lofaber.com/albany/politics.html