NY's only statewide political program
Attorney General
Hevesi’s Prosecutors: Sentence Fits Crime (Update)
Apr 15th - 11:12 am
The two men who oversaw prosecution of the pay-to-play pension fund scandal that resulted in former comptroller Alan Hevesi’s jail sentence today both said the penalty should serve as a warning against other public officials seeking favors and gifts while in office.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who as attorney general investigated and successfully had Hevesi plead guilty just before taking office as governor said the punishment shows public corruption will not to be tolerated.
“Public integrity was my top priority as New York Attorney General and it is as Governor. For government to work, it must have the trust of the people. Those who hold public office must safeguard that trust, and those who violate their oath must incur just punishment. It is a new day in Albany and the old way of doing business will not be tolerated.
Cuomo successfully prosecuted eight people in the pension-fund scandal, including political consultant Hank Morris and Hevesi’s chief investment officer, David Loglisci. In addition to recovering $170 million, Cuomo fined the high-powered lobbying firm run by Patricia Lynch for $500,000 and banned her from appearing before the comptroller’s office for five years.
Update: A reader points out that it’s also fair to mention political consulting firm Global Strategy was hit with an even larger, $2 million fine for its role in the scandal, as was Quadrangle LLC, which was fined $7 million; GKM Newport Generation Capital Services, LLC was fined the equivalent of $1.6 million; California lobbying firm Platinum Advisors was fined $500,000; and unlicensed placement agent Kevin McCabe, $715,000.
Schneiderman, who inherited the case from Cuomo, successfully recommended the maximum penalty for Hevesi. In his statement, Schneiderman said the punishment fit the crime.
“Today, Alan Hevesi was appropriately punished for abusing his position as New York’s Comptroller,” Schneiderman said. “Hevesi brazenly sold access to New York Pension Fund investments—a betrayal of the public trust that went to the heart of his duties as Comptroller. Today’s sentencing decision will help achieve my office’s principal objective of restoring New Yorkers’ faith in their state government. I’d like to thank Governor Cuomo and his team in the Attorney General’s Office for their work on this matter.”
Defending Schneiderman’s Right To Defend
Apr 6th - 2:13 pm
Civil rights groups and Assembly Democrats are rushing to defend AG Eric Schneiderman’s right to fight for the prisoner counting law he championed while serving in the Senate that is now the subject of a lawsuit filed by some of his former Republican colleagues.
During a Red Room press conference this afternoon, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state will definitely defend the change, which was made as part of the 2010-2011 budget. But he also suggested Schneiderman might not be the best person to represent the state in this case.
“We haven’t worked out who defends it,” Cuomo said. “The attorney general’s office would normally defend an action like this. I know in this case the attorney general was involved in the legislation himself, so we have to sort through those issues.”
(Recall that Cuomo has more than a passing interest in this lawsuit, since it challenges his right as governor to make policy through budget extender bills).
Around the same time Cuomo was speaking to reporters at the Capitol, the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, Community Service Society of New York, and Citizen Action of New York issued a statement decrying the Senate GOP suit, calling it a “politically-motivated challenge (that) puts at risk one of the greatest civil rights accomplishments of the last decade in New York State.”
“Fortunately, there is no person who is more familiar with this issue or better prepared to defend this important civil rights victory than New York’s Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman,” the groups said.
“We give him our full support in defending this statute to ensure that this year’s redistricting process does not once again dilute the votes of communities of color.”
Schneiderman also received support from Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who reiterated through his spokesman, Michael Whyland, that the law is indeed constitutional and that it’s “absolutely appropriate” for the AG to defend it – regardless of the role he played in its passage.
Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, who has become a spokesman for redistricting reform thanks to his experience of being drawn out of his own district after the last Census, also issued a statement in support of Schneiderman, calling the lawsuit “a transparent attempt to breathe life into the prison industrial complex.”
AG Taps Independent Counsel On NARAL
Apr 1st - 4:51 pm
AG Eric Schneiderman, who recused himself from investigating the alleged financial improprieites that led to former NARAL Pro-Choice NY President Kelli Conlin, has tapped an independent counsel to handle the matter.
Schneiderman selected John H. Doyle III, who, like half the attorneys in NY, it seems, worked for former Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau (albeit at the US attorney’s office), is currently in private practice at the firm of Reed Smith LLP. He’s co-chair of the firm’s Professional Responsibility Committee.
(NOTE: My mistake. Schneiderman didn’t work for Morgenthau, but clerked for two years in the US District Court for the Southern District after graduating from Harvard Law and before going into private practice).
Doyle will be reviewing the Conlin case – this is not to be confused with a full investigation, I’m told, and his services are coming without any cost to the taxpayers.
“Mr. Doyle is a distinguished attorney of unquestionable character and integrity,” said an AG spokesperson. “He has agreed to provide his services without compensation and New Yorkers can be confident that he will conduct a thorough review of the matter.”
Doyle worked in the US attorney’s office on two occasions, from 1966 to to 1971, where he was assistant chief of the Criminal Division. And then again from 1979 to 1980 where he was chief of that same division under Robert B. Fiske, Jr.
According to his bio on the Reed Smith Website, Dolye has a range of experience in civil and white collar criminal litigation, securities law, attorney discipline and the RICO statute.
He has tried civil cases in the areas of professional liability, lender liability, Lanham Act, shipping industry disputes, and preferential payments to bank creditors in bankruptcy. He has handled internal corporate investigations by public companies of alleged insider wrongdoing and leaks from Board of Directors’ meetings.
So this situation will be right up his alley.
Conlin abruptly departed her post on Jan. 21 with no explanation.
We here at CapTon exclusively reported back in February about a forensic audit that uncovered extensive alleged financial misconduct by the nonprofit head, including questionable credit card charges, a $17,000 reimbursement on a Hamptons summer rental and more than $100,000 worth of car service.
NARAL had a long-standing relationship with Schneiderman when he was a senator. The non profit endorsed his 2010 AG run and was deeply involved in his campaign, with Conlin often serving as a surrogate and joining the AG-elect on stage on election night.
In addition, Schneiderman’s father, Irwin, sits on NARAL’s board, although he stepped down temporarily during his son’s successful bid to become New York’s top attorney.
The Manhattan DA’s office launched an active criminal investigation into Conlin. NARAL did not endorse the DA, Cy Vance Jr., during the 2009 Democratic primary.
AG Takes Action To Keep Waterways Safe
Mar 4th - 1:11 pm
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman just announced he has taken action in federal court to block ships from carrying invasive species into the Great Lakes, the Long Island sound, or the Hudson River.
“New York’s waterways are vital resources, directly linked to the health of our economy,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Anything that threatens the sustainability of our waterways reduces their economic, recreational and environmental value. The corporate shipping interests seeking to take away our right to protect our waterways will be challenged, and my office will fight to keep our waterways safe for New Yorkers and strong for our economy.”
Currently, the EPA limits the amount of invasive species dumped into the waterways. New York wants to put additional restrictions onto the current standards.
Complete release is after the jump.
More >
Diaz Sr. Stresses Schneiderman On Monserrate Outside Counsel
Feb 21st - 1:12 pm
Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. is continuing to target his former colleague, Senator-turned-AG Eric Schneiderman, this time on the DN report that the Democrats spent $376,464 worth of taxpayer dollars on outside counsel while mulling the eventual expulsion of ex-Sen. Hiram Monserrate.
“Since the expulsion of Hiram Monserrate was touted as a major accomplishment for Eric Scheniderman, who chaired that Special Committee, and who stressed this effort when he ran for Attorney General, I would like to make the following inquiries,” Diaz Sr. said in a press release.
“Who authorized $376,464 to be spent on outside legal services and legal staff to expel Hiram Monserrate from office when the State Senate is already staffed with more than 150 lawyers and plenty of staff?”
“Did Senator Jeffrey Klein, another licensed attorney, authorize the hiring of outside legal counsel and legal staff for $376,464 to be paid to expel Hiram Monserrate?”
“To whom were Kaye Scholer’s rates disclosed at the time that law firm was hired to expel Hiram Monserrate?”
“Was the firm of Kaye Scholer and its partners thoroughly vetted to determine that there was no actual or potential conflict of interest between those Senators who championed the cause of ousting Hiram Monserrate and the members of that firm?”
“Do any of my colleagues in the State Senate have any connections between them and the attorneys at the Kaye Scholer firm?”
“Did members of the firm of Kaye Scholer provide any assistance to help Eric Schneiderman in his campaign for Attorney General or provide assistance to the re-election of any other New York State Senators?”
At the very least, we know this: Sheila Boston of Kaye Scholer served on Schneiderman’s transition team. (Fixed).
Ditto for a former firm partner, Daniel Alonso, who advised the Manhattan senator pro bono while he chaired the committee that eventually recommended Monserrate be jettisoned from the Democratic conference.
Last week, Diaz Sr. called for Schneiderman to recuse himself from the investigation of alleged spending of nonprofit funds for personal use by former NARAL Pro-Choice NY President Kelli Conlin. The AG eventually did so, citing his father’s long-standing relationship with the organization, having served on the board for more than a decade.
Vacco In Schneiderman’s Corner
Feb 17th - 3:37 pm
Here’s former AG Dennis Vacco telling me during a CapTon interview last night that while he supports Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s government consolidation effort in theory, his push to create an uber-regulatory agency that would essentially compete with the AG’s office in policing Wall Street is not a good idea.
“I fully recognize that he’s got a difficult task at hand,” Vacco said of Cuomo. “But I think that this proposal – at least part of the proposal that expands the prosecutorial power, the due process power through subpoena authority etc. while consolidating these agencies – is a little bit over the rail in my estimation.”
“…As he knows full well having done a great job as attorney general, the ability to enforce the Martin Act, the ability to guard against fraud on Wall Street, is a traditional power and responsibility of the attorney general.”
Vacco, a Republican who served just one term as AG and was ousted in a squeaker of a race in 1998 by Democrat Eliot Spitzer, refused to speculate on why the governor might be interested in usurping the powers of his old office.
He did, however, suggest an alternative, recalling back when the Legislature the AG and the governor formed an organized crime task force, which was run by an assistant attorney general who was a duel appointee by both the governor and the AG.
Schneiderman Recuses Himself From Conlin Probe
Feb 16th - 4:44 pm
I just received the following statement from AG Eric Schneiderman’s spokesman Danny Kanner:
“Because of the nature of his father’s association with the organization, Attorney General Schneiderman will recuse himself from any investigation into the matter involving Kelli Conlin and NARAL Pro-Choice NY.”
“Out of an abundance of caution and to avoid even an appearance of conflict, an independent counsel will be designated to oversee any potential investigation or agency action in this matter.”
As I reported last night, the AG’s office is reviewing the Conlin case after a forensic audit turned up thousands of dollars worth of questionable expenses by the former NARAL president.
Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. has already launched a criminal investigation into Conlin’s alleged misappropriation of nonprofit funds for personal use.
Bloomberg Raises To Cover Donovan’s Debt (To Bloomberg Advisor)
Feb 16th - 12:18 pm
A helpful reader forwarded this invitation to an upcoming fundraiser being hosted for Staten Island DA Dan Donovan by Mayor Bloomberg to help the failed Republican AG candidate pay down his debt from the 2010 campaign.
Donovan was the one candidate it was clear from the get-go that Bloomberg would back. (The mayor initially said he wouldn’t get involved in other statewide campaigns and then later endorsed by GOP comptroller hopeful Harry Wilson and Democratic gubernatorial contender Andrew Cuomo).
The mayor got all-in with Donovan, not only personally contributing to his campaign and helping him raise cash for him (albeit less than initially expected), but also having his former campaign manager, Brad Tusk, run Donovan’s first statewide bid.
And here’s the interesting thing: Of the $335,683 worth of campaign debt Donovan is carrying, the largest chunk – $100,924 – is owed to Tusk for door hangers, production (assumedly for a TV ad) and generally consulting.
Donovan also owes $92,787 to fundraiser Cathy Blaney, who was long best known as a GOP operative (mostly for former Gov. George Pataki), but also raised money for Cuomo’s campaign last year.
UPDATE: A reader notes that Blaney is running this fundraiser. So, technically speaking, she’s raising money to help pay…herself.
The other big oustanding debts for Donovan: $27,000 to former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s firm, Bracewell & Giuliani ,for “legal fees,” $45,198 to the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Midtown Manhattan for a fundraiser, and $32,000 to the Virginia-based Public Opinion Strategies for a post-primary poll.
Donovan was widely expected to give Democratic AG contender Eric Schneiderman a serious challenge, with Democrats – including, reportedly, Cuomo – worried that the former senator would be too liberal to win statewide against a law-and-order DA.
As it turned out, however, Donovan never really caught fire. He had trouble raising campaign cash, even with Bloomberg’s assistance, and ended up losing to Schneiderman, who received 55 percent of the vote.
Diaz Sr. vs Schneiderman, Redux
Feb 16th - 11:55 am
I’m a little late on this one, but Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr., who has a history of tangling with former Senator-turned-AG Eric Schneiderman, is again targeting his old colleague, calling on him to recuse himself from the probe into ex-NARAL President Kelli Conlin’s questionable spending while heading the pro-choice organization.
Following my report last night that Conlin had been fired from her post after a forensic audit uncovered thousands of dollars worth of apparently personal expenses she had charged to NARAL, Diaz Sr. released a statement saying the “close, personal and political relationship” between Conlin and the AG disqualifies him from investigating and/or prosecuting him.
According to Diaz Sr., a Bronx Democrat who is staunchly opposed to abortion rights, Schneiderman’s entire office is “suspect of gross conflict-of-interest” due to the deep involvement of NARAL in the AG’s 2010 campaign and the long-standing connection to the organization both of the AG himself and his father, Irwin.
“The Schneiderman family’s long involvement with NARAL (Irwin Scheniderman has been on NARAL’s board) and Eric Schneiderman’s close relationship with Ms. Conlin makes the proximity of the disclosure of these allegations to his recent election raise questions that Eric Schneiderman could have known about these developing allegations – which were not investigated overnight,” Diaz Sr. said.
“Be that as it may, the proper course of action at this point will be to have a neutral prosecutorial office, such as the US Attorney’s Office, to investigate and prosecute if appropriate.”
“After the investigation is entirely removed from the jurisdiction of the NYS Attorney General’s office, in the event there is proof of wrong doing, I will be interested in seeing that the US Attorney’s office brings the full weight of its resources down upon Ms. Conlin and her NARAL confederates to the same degree that it was dropped upon former Senator Pedro Espada and those investigated and indicted for similar allegations of wrongdoings.”
“Considering the extent of allegations of personal enrichment at the expense of a political advocacy group, Ms. Conlin, if found responsible, should be certainly as vilified as Pedro Espada has been for his alleged crimes.”
Diaz Sr. has long championed the cause of his two former amigos – Espada and ex-Sen. Hiram Monserrate, who was the first lawmaker in modern history to be expelled from the Senate.
As you’ll recall, it was Schneiderman who headed up the committee that investigated Monserrate in the wake of his conviction on charges that he abused his girlfriend, and eventually recommended that he be formally removed from his seat.
Schneiderman’s First Initative: Taxpayer Defense
Jan 27th - 12:39 pm
Eliot Spitzer was the White Knight of Wall Street. Andrew Cuomo was the Sheriff of State Street. Now AG Eric Schneiderman is forging a new role for himself: Defender of taxpayers.
The newly-minted AG rolled his first policy initiative this morning, announcing a new “Taxpayer Protection Unit” that will target corrupt contractors, pension con-artists, and large-scale tax cheats who rip off New York’s government and its taxpayers.
Schneiderman also announced he has bolstered the AG’s existing Medicaid Fraud Control Unit dozens of additional prosecutors, investigators, and auditors. He plans to pay for this using federal funds and increased recoveries, thereby rendering the initiative cost neutral to New Yorkers.
“Those of us who believe in government as a force for good must be the very harshest critics when it comes to waste, fraud, and corruption in the public sector,” Schneiderman said in a press release.
“Today’s announcement is a signal to anyone thinking of ripping off New York taxpayers: We will go after you with every tool we have, and you will pay the price for these crimes. The taxpayers of this state deserve nothing less.”
Schneiderman’s release also features a quote from his immediate predecessor, Gov. Cuomo, who called the recovery of taxpayer dollars illegally siphoned from state coffers “critically important” at a time when New York is facing a $10 billion budget deficit.
“In the attorney general’s office we aggressively pursued these recoveries and I commend Attorney General Schneiderman for bringing fresh ideas and new approaches to build on this record of success,” Cuomo said.
For additional details on Schneiderman’s announcement, click here.
Take Capital Tonight and the State of Politics blog with you everywhere you go with our iPhone app! The mobile application features our blog posts, interviews, and a report news tool to send us your political news tips.