Results tagged “corruption”

Disgraced former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik was released from jail last night on $1.5 million bond and placed under house arrest as he awaits his February sentencing on various federal crimes. For the next few months, Kerik must wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and is not allowed to set foot outside his $2.5 million home in Franklin Lakes, N.J., except to visit lawyers, his church, and a hospital emergency room, if necessary. He's also allowed to meet with accountants fixing his fraudulent tax returns, but yesterday a judge denied Kerik's request to walk his children to school, telling him, "This is not home confinement with morning strolls and afternoon strolls."

Former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik is expected to accept a plea bargain and plead guilty to at least one of the corruption charges against him. Under the agreement, Kerik would avoid three separate federal trials on charges of corruption, tax evasion and lying to federal officials, and serve 27 to 33 months. The Post is happy to note that had Kerik not "brusquely blown off" a similar plea offer in 2007, he'd have served just one year and saved $2 million in legal fees.

New troubles are bubbling up for the NYPD: Internal Affairs and Prosecutors have identified "as many as two dozen cases in the past year in which cops allegedly made false statements involving routine arrests," according to the Post. This is a sharp increase over previous years, when one or two such cases would be discovered and prosecuted.

Former Queens Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio, who resigned after being indicted on fraud charges for basically selling his influence for $1 million, actually racked in $2 million in bribes! Seminerio's trial is taking place, and audio of his bragging to informants was played. For instance, he'd steer state money to the Long Island Rail Road in exchange for jobs for friends: "Anytime that I would, ah, give them a $250,000 contribution or $500,000 for repair of the railroad, I need two jobs. Even if I didn't have anybody, then I find two people and get them jobs.

Former NYC police commissioner Bernard Kerik spent the night in jail, after a judge in his federal corruption trial revoked his bail. Federal District Judge Stephen C. Robinson was unsparing in his criticism of Kerik's behavior, calling him a "toxic combination of self-minded focus and arrogance... And I fear that combination leads him to believe his ends justify his means. He sees the court’s rulings as an inconvenience, something to be ignored, and an obstacle to be circumvented."

After the Post reported that at least six buildings inspectors were to be arrested, along with members of the Luchese crime family, for things like allegedly taking bribes and dealing drugs at sites, Mayor Bloomberg spoke out about the looming scandal. According to the Post, he said, "They have resigned... You can rest assured we're not going to tolerate any of this... This is an industry that obviously for a long period of time has had problems with lawbreakers. We keep working at it and working at it, and hopefully, someday, we'll get rid of everybody in the construction industry that breaks the law." Now the Buildings Department has to re-inspect those former inspectors' hundreds of sites!

How much do our elected officials in Albany get by on their salaries as legislators and how much of their regular expenditures come from campaign money raised for nonexistent election battles? The Daily News has an extensive piece today investigating just what state senators and assemblymen are using their campaign funds for—all within the scope of the law.

After a two year investigation, the office of the State Inspector General has found a "total agency breakdown" at the commission created by President Eisenhower to loosen the mob's grip on the Port of New York and New Jersey. In a press release [pdf] accompanying his report [pdf], Inspector General Joseph Fisch said, "Instead of ridding the waterfront of corruption, this agency itself was corrupt" and allowed "numerous abuses of authority in hiring, supervision and fiscal oversight." Almost the entire executive staff of the Waterfront Commission has been ousted as a result of the investigation, which uncovered such gems as the licensing of a convicted felon, the misuse of federal Homeland Security funds, and:
• The commission's auditing director, Frank Nastasi, ran a private tax business out of his commission office and accessed pornography on his official computer.
• Then-Acting Chief of Police Kevin McGowan regularly diverted two detectives from law enforcement duties in Brooklyn to guard choice parking spots in lower Manhattan for executive staff.
• The commission didn't conduct background checks on the longshoremen and stevedoring companies that unload ships, creating an important breach in the nation’s security web.

Jack Shaw, the Jersey City political consultant who was arrested last week in the massive federal corruption probe of NJ elected officials and others, was found dead in his Jersey City apartment yesterday. The Star-Ledger reports an autopsy is pending but "Three officials with knowledge of the investigation said multiple bottles of pills were found near Shaw's body. One of the officials said that while investigators suspect suicide, they did not want to jump to conclusions because Shaw suffers from an unspecified medical condition." Shaw, 61, was accused of taking a $10,000 bribe from a government informant and apparently gave that money to Jersey City mayor Jeremiah Healey. The NY Times says Shaw "was a longtime Democratic operative who cut his teeth working for Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago and later was a campaign aide to Gov. Jim Florio...He also worked on Robert G. Torricelli’s 1996 Senate race, Robert E. Andrews’s 1997 bid for the Democratic nomination for governor, and Jon S. Corzine’s election to the Senate in 2000."

Dennis Elwell, mayor of Secaucus, NJ, announced that he will resign today, after being charged with corruption—he allegedly took a $10,000 bribe from a government informant— in the massive federal probe that netted 44 arrests last week. His lawyer issued a statement, "Effective today, July 28, 2009, Dennis Elwell will resign his position as mayor of the town of Secaucus. After careful deliberation, Dennis determined this action is in the best interest of both his family and the People of Secaucus. Those who perceive this action to be an admission of culpability as to the pending criminal allegations are gravely mistaken." Elwell had been mayor since 1999. Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, who was also arrested and accused of taking $25,000 in bribes, and Ridgefield Mayor Anthony Saurez, arrested and accused of taking $10,000, have refused to resign, in spite of outcry.

About 100 protesters stood outside the home of Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano yesterday and called for his resignation, joining a public plea the day before from NJ Governor Jon Corzine. Despite being arrested as part of the massive corruption bust Thursday, the mayor has insisted he will stay in office continuing "business as usual." Corzine said if Cammarano and other officials refuse to step down, he will seek measures to force them out of office, adding, "If they want to get back into politics once they are proven innocent, I think that's fine." Cammarano was busted for taking $25,000 in bribes and his ambitious climb to become Hoboken's youngest mayor last month lead many to believe he will not go down lightly. A longtime NJ legislator said of him, "Some kids grow up and want to be the center fielder for the Mets. Some grow up and want to be mayor of their town. That was him. He was reveling in it." Meanwhile one spot getting a boost from the scandal—Hoboken's Malibu Diner, the scene of the crime. A manager told the News, “It’s not the kind of publicity we want, but business has picked up."

As the dust still settles from the massive FBI sting operation that brought down three New Jersey mayors, rabbis from Brooklyn and saw a total of 44 suspects arrested, more details are emerging about the one charge among the fray that really turned heads this week—organ trafficking.

       

Yesterday, federal agents arrested dozens of individuals, many of them NJ politicians and lawmakers as well as prominent religious figures in NJ and NY, in a probe that began as a money laundering investigation but then turned into a political corruption bust as well. The Star-Ledger reports, "The bribes went down in diners, living rooms and parking lots. New Jersey Assemblymen took them, mayors took them, and so did dozens of others. Orthodox rabbis, acting more like crime bosses than religious leaders, laundered millions through synagogues and yeshivas in Deal, one of the state's wealthiest towns. And a Realtor tried to sell an informant a black market kidney for $160,000."

       

The feds' raids and arrests this morning didn't just capture the NJ mayors and officials (past and present)—there are rabbis, relatives and apparently an organ dealer! A total of 44 people were arrested in a "broad-ranging corruption and international money laundering investigation."

It's Perp Walk Thursday for a number of NJ elected officials: The feds have arrested Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano and Secaucus Mayor Denis Elwell, as well as Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Baldini, Jersey City Council President Mario Vega and many others (such as rabbis and community leaders) in a money laundering and corruption (political bid-rigging) sweep. The Star-Ledger reports, "Nearly 20 people, including Cammarano, Elwell, and Vega, have already been led into the FBI building in Newark to face the charges." NBC New York, which has a photo of newly elected Hoboken Mayor Cammarano being hauled in, adds, "Arrests and searches are underway across Jersey City, Secaucus and numerous Hudson and Bergen county locations." The arrests are expected to take place until noon—stay tuned!

The more you peer under the rock that renegade Democratic Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. operates under, the more you understand why the Senate is so screwed. CBS2, which broke the story about how Espada probably illegally lives outside his Bronx district in fancy Westchester, has admittedly "been on his trail for months," and now they're reporting that he may have violated federal and state campaign finance laws. After not bothering to file campaign finance records for years, as required by law, Espada finally deigned to file some of them on Friday. But CBS2 says the records fail to "report significant amounts of spending, like for five glossy campaign mailings. Experts said mailings like this could cost as much as $20,000 apiece."

If you've been following along with any of the various scandals simmering around Democratic State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr.—whose defection was instrumental in returning control of the Senate to Republicans and put him next in line to be Governor (should tragedy befall David Paterson)—then you get why some people think he's "really an unsavory character," in the words of Baruch College political analyst Doug Muzzio. But we may have figured out the cause of his troubles: multiple personality disorder.

Bernard Kerik, BFF of Rudy Giuliani and former NYPD commissioner, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington D.C. The indictment relates to statements he made while being vetted to head the Department of Homeland Security in 2004—prosecutors say he was lying while Kerik's lawyer says he's being "overzealously" pursued. Kerik is accused of numerous misdoings—such as not claiming more than $500,000 in income on his tax returns, taking money from a contractor who had been angling for a city contract, taking a free Upper East Side apartment from a developer, claiming $80,000 in charitable deductions he never made—and will be tried in NY for those. Kerik's lawyer told WCBS 2, "Mr. Kerik looks forward to finally clearing his name of these corruption charges at his federal trial in New York set for October...However many trials it takes, Mr. Kerik will vigorously defend himself against these unfounded accusations and is confident that he will be completely vindicated." In 2007, Giuliani called hiring Kerik "a mistake."

In Manhattan federal court yesterday, a judge sentenced former Queens Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin to ten years in prison for taking in over $3 million in embezzlement, bribes from taxpayers and other illegal means. McLaughlin even stole $95,000 from a Queens Little League, promising voters that their donations meant that "A Child in Sports Stays Out of the Courts." Judge Richard Sullivan said that McLaughlin harkened back to the era of Boss Tweed and accused the former president of the nation’s largest municipal labor council of validating “the harshest critics of organized labor who accuse the leadership of corruption, and point to you as an example of that corruption.” Prosecutors had asked the judge for leniency, in part because of McLaughlin's cooperation in the recent indictment of another pol, Queens Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio. At the sentencing, McLaughlin, who has entered into Alcoholics Anonymous in recent years, said, "I'd like to say I make no excuses for it. But over the past three, 3-1/2 years I've had the opportunity to live the way I'd like to live my life."

The Attorney General's office, already investigating the state pension fund, is now looking at the NYC pension fund. The NY Times reports, "Investigators have long been examining why a tiny firm operated by Daniel Hevesi, a former state senator and the son of a former state comptroller, Alan G. Hevesi, was paid more than $1 million in fees for his role as an intermediary in deals with pension funds in New York City and for deals in New Mexico." (Two of Hevesi's cronies have already been indicted in the state pension fund corruption probe.) NYC Comptroller William Thompson already announced his office was investigating the use of placement agents (aka the middlemen who collect fees to match funds with investment firms) but the AG's investigation would reportedly be broader. On the state side, the Daily News says that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver arranged meetings between investors—such as former Rangers goalie Mike Richter— and the state comptroller's office. While none of those investors were selected, watchdog group Common Cause says, "It's very inappropriate because it looks as if the speaker is using his office as the most powerful elected official in the Assembly to try and influence the controller."

The trouble is just starting for private equity firm Quadrangle. Last week, it was revealed the firm's founder—and current White House auto bailout chief—Steve Rattner allegedly paid $1 million to a middleman to be included in the state's pension fund. Now it appears the investigation is heating out up over his attempts to have Quadrangle included in other pension funds—like those of New Mexico, LA and NYC. Apparently Quadrangle paid middleman/placement agent fees to the firm of Hank Morris, already indicted in state pension fund scandal, to drum up business—the NY Times reports that after a meeting with the NYC Comptroller's office, "Mr. Rattner left the meeting irritated that his own considerable connections did not seem to be enough. He soon hired Mr. Morris." City Comptroller Thompson's office is now investigating over whether Quadrangle lied about not naming Morris as a placement agent. (Also, Morris was also former State Comptroller Alan Hevesi's political consultant/top fundraiser!) To that end, the State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has banned placement agents from the pension fund, but a NY Times editorial suggests that the Legislature needs to create an independent body that watches the investments the State Comptroller makes.

Last year, a number of Department of Education officials were charged with taking nearly $1 million in bribes from private bus companies. Now the NY Times reports that DOE is examining whether those companies, which transport a fifth of students, "are fit to do business with the city." The companies haven't been charged yet—they are being investigated—but the Times points out, "The city generally avoids doing business with companies that have had a documented role in defrauding it." However, the the bus system is sort of fragile—in early 2007, there are chaos when routes changed, and it seems like school bus companies operate in a world of their own: "The presidents of four of the bus companies said to have paid bribes were also listed as the presidents of seven other bus companies with city contracts, though those companies were not named in the court papers." (Apparently companies share resources.)

A YouTube video titled "NYPD corruption at its best," depicts undercover NYPD officers stuffing cash in their pockets during a raid at embattled Staten Island bar "Beer Goggles" (MySpace). The surveillance tape was recorded back in November 2007 when cops busted the bar for promoting gambling; three employees were arrested but the charges were eventually dropped.

The NY Times reports that the NY State Inspector General is issuing a report accusing former state health commissioner Antonia Novello of using her staff as "her personal chauffeurs, porters and shopping assistants during her seven-year tenure." Novello, a Bush 41 administration surgeon general and Pataki appointment, reportedly "ordered a Medicaid fraud investigator in her department to drive her on trips to Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan... had state workers drive her or her mother from the Albany area to Newark Liberty International Airport... would embarrass and yell at [security guards turned drivers drivers] if they did not do things the way she wanted and expected them to be at her beck and call at all hours." Novello's lawyer questioned the allegations, but Inspector General Joseph Fisch, who referred a criminal case to the Albany DA, told the Times that Novello “shamelessly and blatantly exploited and abused her staff, adding a new dimension to the definition of ‘arrogance’ and ‘chutzpah.’"

Former State Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno was indicted on 8 counts yesterday for allegedly taking in $3.2 million in "consulting fees" that were actually payments from various parties who wanted the once powerful legislator's influence. Bruno, who spent 32 years in the State Senate, 13 of them as Majority Leader, said the FBI had conducted "a three-year fishing expedition that smells really, really bad and it really stinks," and vowed, "After being hounded for three years, I am being indicted on a prosecutor’s sleight of hand. I’ve been a fighter. And I don’t plan on changing now.”

We guess a federal grand jury didn't think there was enough excitement in Albany today, as one indicted former State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno for mail and wire fraud. Bruno had been under investigation by the FBI for years, and the Times Union writes, "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 spent 32 years in the Senate, 13 of them as Majority Leader, the investigation centered on his dealings with land, racehorses and labor unions.

Embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich made his first public remarks after being accused of trying to sell a soon-to-be vacated Senate seat and other charges. Besides saying he would not resign, Blago started off with, "I'm here to tell you right off the bat that I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing, that I intend to stay on the job, and I will fight this thing every step of the way. I will fight, I will fight, I will fight until I take my last breath."

President-elect Obama, during a press conference to announce former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as the head of Health and Human Services, discussed Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's alleged corruption. Obama emphasized that his staff has not been involved with deal-making for the Senate seat Obama is vacating, "That would be a violation of everything that this campaign has been about."

Who doesn't love an embattled, corrupt governor? Especially when he was apparently trying to sell President-elect Obama's Senate seat? Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is on the cover of the NY Post and Daily News, which devote a serious amount of ink to the scandal. Of course, we're a little disappointed there's no board game imagery on the Post's front page—it Operation Board Games and all.

The allegations against Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (a Democrat; pictured), who is now in federal custody, are stunning. Trying to sell or trade President-elect Obama's Senate seat? Check. Shaking down a hospital for sick children? Check. Trying to influence the Tribune's editorial board? Check!