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Bruno Lawyers: Indictment ‘Exactly The Same’
May 3rd - 3:02 pm
The indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court is essentially the same case the Department of Justice brought against former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno nearly three years ago, his attorneys charged after the 83-year-old’s courtroom appearance today.
“We haven’t a had a chance to thoroughly review it, but skimming through it, it appears to exactly the same indictment that Joe Bruno went to trial on the last time except for failure to disclose, the words bribery and kickbacks have been substituted,” said William Dreyer, an attorney representing Bruno in the case.
Bruno did not speak following his brief appearance in court, where he entered a not guilty plea. The Rensselaer County Republican strolled past reporters outside of the federal courthouse in Albany and sat in a tinted SUV reading the indictment while his lawyers spoke.
Troy-based attorney E. Stewart Jones went further, blasting the government — as he has before — that the DOJ is unfairly targeted an elderly former public servant.
If you look at the indictment, the allegations are eight years old to six and a half years old. There is no truth to what is in that indictment. There was never a bribe, there was never a kickback. This indictment will never be proven because there is no factual truth to the allegations. As Bill has said, they’ve basically taken the old indictment and they’ve changed the language to get around the prohibition from the United States Supreme Court. Joe Bruno is 83 years of age. He is a father, he is a grandfather, he is a great-grandfather. He is no longer in public.
He added: “Joe Bruno does not deserve this. He’s done no wrong, he’s done no harm, he’s done nothing but good for this community his entire life and the government won’t let go because they can’t tolerate someone standing up to him.”
The indictment today charges that Bruno “routinely met with various individuals and representatives of groups who asked that defendant Joseph L. Bruno take action benefitting their interests regarding legislative, funding, contract, and regulatory issues pending before the New York State Legislature.”
The indictment also rehases his ties to business Jared Abbruzzese, the Bruno friend and businessman who received a half-million dollars in public grants.
Bruno In Court
May 3rd - 2:15 pm
Here’s former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno arriving at the federal courthouse in downtown Albany this afternoon with his attorneys in tow for his arraignment – his second to date – on federal corruption charges.
He was not in a particularly chatty mood.
Bruno, 83, pleaded not guilty. (Again). He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars.
The former senator appeared with his attorney, E. Stewart Jones, who said the allegations in the indictment are “eight years old to six-and-a-half years old…there’s no factual truth to the allegations.” Jones also said the US attorney’s office has basically changed a few words in the original indictment and resubmitted it. He’s right now speaking to reporters, railing against the prosecutors who have spent about seven years trying to nab Bruno.
“He’s done no wrong. He’s no harm…The only thing that’s new is the change of the language. And the language makes it impossible for them to prove their case. The language says ‘bribery or kickback.’ There’s no truth to that.”
Jones said Bruno is prepared to fight and do whatever is necessary to clear his name.
Cuomo Not ‘Exceptionally Optimistic’ On Minimum Wage
May 3rd - 1:49 pm
Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters at his Red Room news conference this morning that he thought it was “dubious” a minimum wage increase would pass this year in the face of Republican opposition in the state Senate.
Cuomo, who again reiterated that he has supported past increases, expressed doubt that the measure would be approved.
“The conversations on the minimum wage are ongoing,” Cuomo said. “As I’ve said before, at this point there’s a philosophical difference in the Legislature on the minimum wage, but I wouldn’t be exceptionally optimistic on the minimum wage.”
On Susan Arbertter’s Capitol Pressroom show yesterday, that the hike “would be in order” this year.
Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, wants to increase the wage from $7.25 to $8.50 a hour and then tie to the rate of inflation.
But today, with Silver sitting next to him in the Red Room, Cuomo said the likelihood of passage is in doubt.
“I’ve usually supported the concept on the minimum wage. That’s a different question than rather I think it will get this year,” Cuomo said.
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos has said he considers the bill a “job killer” and told reporters earlier in the week he didn’t think Silver’s bill would pass his conference.
Skelos wants to push through a package of tax credits and cuts for businesses, which he said would be unveiled sometime this month.
But his comments come as the New York Catholic Conference, led by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, calls for a “modest” minimum wage hike this year.
The conference says in a statement released widely this morning that the Legislature and governor should “come together for some sort of action toaddress the grave problems facing the lowest wageearners in our state.”
AP: Obama Coming to GlobalFoundries
May 3rd - 1:26 pm
The Associated Press is reporting that President Obama will pay a visit to GlobalFoundries in Malta next Tuesday – his third visit to the Capital Region since his 2008 election.
Much like Obama’s January 2011 visit to GE, the focus of this trip will be the economy.
Of course, the stakes are considerably higher now, since the president isn’t merely gearing up for his re-election bid, but smack in the middle of a campaign with an opponent – former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney – whose chief talking point is his experience in the private sector.
Global Foundries is a $4.6 billion facility in Saratoga County that manufactures computer chips and will ultimately employ about 1,400 people. It was the subject of an ABC World News report this week, which was panned by local media outlets for failing to get all the facts on the massive development project.
Chief among the complains was the fact that the report by David Muir, who has upstate roots (he grew up in Syracuse and attended Ithaca College), made no mention of the $1 billion-plus in state taxpayer subsidies that made Global Foundries possible.
He also suggested that everyone currently working at the plant was hired locally, which, according to The Business Review, is not the case.
So official word on this trip yet from either the White House or the Cuomo administration. The governor was on hand to greet the president on the tarmac when he arrived at Albany International for his Schenectady trip.
When Obama first visited the area back in 2009, David Paterson was governor. The presiden’ts visit to Hudson Valley Community College in Troy was supposed to focus on his speech about technology. But that message was drowned out by the report just before the president’s trip that the White House was trying to strong arm Paterson out of the 2010 governor’s race to make room for then-AG Cuomo.
During the trip, Obama praised Paterson, but positively gushed over Cuomo. Five months later, Paterson had ended his bid to be elected to the seat he had inheritied from former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, clearing the field for Cuomo.
Now, of course, Cuomo is widely speculated to have his eye on a 2016 White House bid – a run that arguably would be made easier if Obama loses to Romney this fall. (Although there is that little wrinkle of a potential run by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton).
Name-Dropping Al Smith And Robert Moses
May 3rd - 12:52 pm
It’s no secret that one of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s models is Al Smith, the bombastic Democratic governor from the 1920s who reshaped the state’s bureaucracy.
If Nelson Rockefeller is the father of the modern New York state government, then Al Smith is certainly its grandfather. 
But as Jimmy Vielkind at CapCon aptly pointed out at today’s news conference unveiling the NY Works Task Force, Smith relied on Robert Moses, the controversial master builder who remade New York through a system of bridges, byways and highways.
As anyone who has read Robert Caro’s history of Moses, Jimmy pointed out that he has been criticized for using a “ramrod” to get his projects through.
Given that, will the NY Works Task Force operate in the light of day?
The question resulted in a reflective comment from Cuomo, who seemed to disagree with the contention that Moses resorted to a “ramrod” approach. The answer provided a good insight into how Cuomo views government’s role and leveraging of power.
It’s also worth noting that Caro met with Cuomo back in December, according to his official schedule.
“The point of Al Smith and his ability to manage the government just on this point I thought was profound, especially coming in the door because in many ways that’s enemy number one. The misamangement the atrophy of state government that has been years in the making…that’s what Al Smith was all about.
…
People trusted Al Smith. They trusted the government’s capacity and integrity. There are ways for government to get things done without using a ramrod, obviously. Your characterization that Mr. Moses used a ramrod — other people would disagree with that characterization, but it was yours. But the consultation and the process shouldn’t be paralyzing. You know, government needs to work, society needs to be able to replace a bridge.”
Smith’s portrait hung in the governor’s Red Room, his ceremonial office, up until recently when it was moved to the refurbished Hall of Governors.
Court Of Appeals: 63rd Senate Seat Constitutional
May 3rd - 9:38 am
Another day, another victory for the Senate GOP.
This time in the realm of redistricting.
The Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling that the Republicans’ creation of a 63rd seat – a move the Democrats insist was motivated solely by the GOP’s desire to maintain the majority – is indeed constitutional, despite the fact that they employed two different methods for determining representation.
The court writes:
“We find that petitioners have failed to satisfy their heavy burden of establishing the unconstitutionality of this legislation and we therefore affirm.”
“…It is not our task to address the wisdom of the methods employed by the Legislature in accomplishing their constitutional mandate.”
“Rather, here, we consider only whether the methods chosen amount to “a gross and deliberate violation of the plainintent of the Constitution and a disregard of its spirit and thepurpose for which express limitations are included therein.”
“…Therefore, despite petitioners’ assertions, we cannot say that consistent application of one method of calculation is required, given the Constitution’s silence on this issue and our recognition that the Legislature must be accorded a measure of discretion in these matters.”
Update: Senate Democrats issued a statement saying they hold out hope the redistricting plan will be tossed out through their final legal challenge:
“While we are disappointed with today’s decision, we are hopeful that remaining legal challenges will overturn the unfair State Senate maps,” said spokesman Mike Murphy. “In any event, Senate Democrats remain confident that even if the existing gerrymandered maps are ultimately upheld, Democrats will gain seats and retake the majority in the State Senate this November.”
Source: 2nd Bruno Indictment Expected Today
May 3rd - 9:28 am
A source close to former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno says the Rensselaer County Republican is expected to be indicted for a second time on corruption charges sometime today.
Bruno, as you’ll recall, was convicted on two counts of felony mail fraud in 2009 in connection with 11 payments he received from companies controlled by Loudonville businessman Jared Abbruzzese.
The jury found the former senator and GOP powerbroker not guilty on five other counts and could not reach a verdict on a sixth.
Bruno, who was 80 at the time, faced 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each felony count.
But he appealed, and ast year, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the theft of honest services statute, vacated his conviction.
However, the court also rejected Bruno’s bid to prevent a retrial. At the time, the TU’s Brendan Lyons reported:
“Federal prosecutors had conceded that under a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last summer, a federal honest services prosecution must include specific allegations of a bribe or kickback, which Bruno’s case did not.”
“The Justice Department did not oppose vacating Bruno’s conviction but they argued he should face a new trial on allegations he sold his political muscle as one of New York’s most powerful lawmakers.”
“The ruling states that ‘there is sufficient evidence of a quid pro quo for a reasonable jury to convict Bruno.’”
Bruno, who retired in advance of his first indictment in January 2009, has maintained his innocence throughout this ordeal.
This story is breaking and developing. We’ll be updating and reporting new information as it is available.
A Campaign Finance Movement Turns Its Lonely Eyes To NY
May 3rd - 9:08 am
ICYMI: Filmmaker Steve Cowan joined me on CapTon last night prior to the screening of his documentary, “Pricele$$”, about the absolute power of money in national politics, and expressed confidence that Americans are finally sufficiently fed up to demand reform.
It would be extremely helpful, Cowan said, if New York would take a leadership position in this fight.
The Assembly Democrats have proposed a bill to establish a public campaign finance system, but so far, the Senate GOP isn’t interested and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, while in favor of the concept of taxpayer-funded campaigns, hasn’t put any muscle behind the measure.
“I think change is coming, and I don’t know when it’s coming for the state of New York,” Cowan told me. “But I think all eyes are actually on New York.”
“The whole national movement to mandate this kind of reform…if New York got into a position to really lead on this, I think it would help change in Washington, D.C.”
“Other states have done it already: Airzona, Maine, Connecticut. But New York is the Big Apple, so to speak.”
Cowan’s visit to the Capital Region from his home state of Oregon just so happened to fall on a day when Cuomo decried the power of money at the Capitol, calling it “unbelievable,” just hours before he headed to Buffalo for a $5,000-a-head fundraiser to benefit his 2014 re-election campaign.
The Buffalo News’ Bob McCarthy reported this morning that Cuomo’s take from the event was about $450,000, making it one of the most successful political fundraisers in WNY history.
That sum, according to McCarthy, is thought to be the most ever earned locally for a gubernatorial campaign.
On April 25, Cuomo, who made public campaign finance part of his 2010 campaign reform agenda and highlighted it in his 2012 State of the State address, had this to say on whether action might be taken this year:
“Campaign finance, which is going to be difficult to get an agreement, I think if you listen to the two sides of the issue on this, you’ll get a sense right away of the gap.”
The Senate Democrats held a press conference this week to declare their collective support for campaign finance reform, and insisted the popular governor could convince their Republican colleagues to move on this if he really wanted to.
Cuomo had just over $14 million on hand as of Jan. 15. He’s expected to have far more than that when the next filing is made public in mid-July.
Here And Now
May 3rd - 7:24 am
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in Albany and makes an announcement at 10:30 a.m. in the Capitol’s Red Room.
Cuomo was protested at his $5,000-a-head fundraiser in Buffalo. He did not speak to reporters outside the hotel where the event was held.
“Without a hint of irony,” Ken Lovett notes, Cuomo was pocketing campaign cash from rich donors just hours after complaining on the radio that “power of money in this Capitol is unbelievable.”
The event raised at least $450,000 for Cuomo 2014. Bob McCarthy says it was one of the most successful political events in WNY history, and is thought to be the most ever earned locally for a gubernatorial campaign.
Writes McCarthy: “No host committee or list of sponsors was included on the invitations to supporters, but sources say several local Democrats, government officials and lobbyists were involved in encouraging attendance.”
Cuomo finally took a position on minimum wage, saying an increase “would be in order…especially in times like now.”
Cardinal Timothy Dolan and the state’s Catholic bishops are urging the Legislature to raise the minimum wage. The Senate GOP – so far – continues to balk, saying to do so would be a “job killer.”
Here’s the NYS Catholic Conference’s official minimum wage statement (provided a day early to the NYT).
The DN’s Tom DeFrank says Hillary Clinton both looked and sounded like a presidential candidate during her brief trip to Syracuse University last week, especially when she showed “a little partisan leg” toward the end of her speech.
Charter school operators and former NYC Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz is mulling a 2013 run for mayor, and will decide in the next month or so.
NYC’s five GOP county chairs are aggressively courting NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and billionaire John Catsimatidis to run for mayor. But neither has committed as yet, so party leaders are still looking.
Catsimatidis says he’s in the “bull pen” if Kelly doesn’t run. He doesn’t think publisher Tom Allon is ready to be mayor, and suggests he run for Manhattan BP instead.
Extras
May 2nd - 7:02 pm
Tom Precious talks hockey with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. (Amazing. Totally worth a listen). The speaker’s beloved Rangers are facing off in the playoffs against the Capitals tonight.
Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, admitted that his public endorsement of same-sex marriage (he appeared in one of HRC’s videos) was “not without a price,” adding: “There was some adverse reaction by someone…They didn’t want to continue a relationship that they had with us in money management.”
What’s in it for Mayor Bloomberg if he endorses Mitt Romney?
Alex Pareene thinks Bloomberg is leading both the Romney and Obama campaigns on and won’t endorse either candidate in the end.
Manhattan BP Scott Stringer: “For every time the mayor has lunch with Mitt Romney, he should take five council members to lunch.” (Actually, yesterday’s Bloomberg-Romney meeting took place over breakfast, and they didn’t eat anything).
In a move of “protest” Sen. Kevin Parker voted against a bill he actually supports.
George Demos is hitting his GOP primary opponent, Randy Altschuler, for taking campaign cash from supporters of a Long Island casino.
Here’s a helpful map of fracking bans and moratoria.
Wendy Long on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: “She speaks in friendly bromides that seem designed to keep her in office, so that she can tell all the rest of us how to run our lives. It reminds me of a phrase that Tocqueville used: ‘velvet tyranny.’”
How to become a “Times-whisperer” – a consultant who has figured out how to sway Gray Lady editorial gatekeeper Eleanor Randolph & Co.
Cuomo wants you to love your state parks during a volunteer clean-up day this weekend. He will be participating, but did not reveal where.
This is a real story.
NYC elected officials called on their counterparts in Albany to pass the Reporductive Health Act.
Bloomberg will release his 2013 budget Thursday.
Newt Gingrich’s “truly wild ride” is truly over. He hasn’t endorsed Romney (yet). That comes later.
George Clooney’s house beat Reese Witherspoon’s house in the who-will-host-Obama’s-fundraiser sweepstakes.
Can you guess who said this? “Banking should be boring. When banking isn’t boring, bad things happen.” (Don’t cheat. Guess first. Then click).
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