After leaving the State Senate, claiming he wanted to spend time with family and then taking a job with a company with many state contracts, former Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno has officially registered as a lobbyist. Bruno, now CEO of CMA Consulting, said that his registration with the NY State Commission on Public Integrity was to "guarantee maximum transparency." He's unable to lobby lawmakers for two years, but NYPIRG's Blair Horner says Governor Paterson......

The State Commission on Public Integrity found that four Spitzer administrations officials broke the law as they tried to smear Spitzer's rival, former State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. However there were no charges for former Governor Spitzer. Spitzer's former chief of staff Richard Baum, homeland security adviser William Howard, former acting State Police superintendent Preston Felton and former Spitzer communications director Darren Dopp were accused of misusing the State Police, by trying to catch......

State Senator Joseph Bruno, who will retire tomorrow from his decades of public service tomorrow, will receive $90,000-100,000 annually in pension. According to the NY Times, that's a step up from his base salary of $79,500/year (plus his retirement health benefits are pretty sweet, too). But Bruno won't be kicking back, telling reporters, "I’m not the kind of guy who’s going to go off and retire and just play with horses and golf." He says......

Former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno announced today that he'll officially resign on Friday. Just three weeks ago the 79-year-old lawmaker stunned when he announced he was leaving office after 32 years in the state Senate (and claimed it had nothing to do with the FBI investigation into his finances). In his statement, he mentioned how he was proud of steering projects that led to job creation and thanked his colleagues, "Now I will bring......

State Senator Joseph Bruno told reporters, "There'll be a vacancy until Assemblyman Roy McDonald gets elected in this district." This suggests the former majority leader will be leaving office before the November election in which McDonald, a Republican, will try to win Bruno's seat. Bruno announced he wouldn't run for re-election two weeks ago, surprising many and giving the Democrats a chance to possibly win over the State Senate. Bruno has repeatedly said his decision......

Even though everyone knows Albany is full of people doing terrible things, even politicians and lobbyists are shocked at the events of the past year, from Comptroller Alan Hevesi stepping down from Comptroller to former Senate Majority leader Joseph Bruno retiring, with nadir/peak being Eliot Spitzer's fall from grace. Various parties share their amazement with the times--lobbyists don't want to look at their Blackberries, Governor Paterson acknowledges the "consistent number of weird situations that just......

While State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno has denied his surprising decision not to seek re-election had anything to do with the FBI's investigation into his finances, the FBI hauled away a "massive volume" of Bruno's records, dating back to 1995. The Post says the FBI seized the documents hours before Bruno's Monday afternoon announcement. In 2006, Bruno announced that he was under investigation, for various deals involving land, racehorses, and labor unions. Interestingly, the......

A day after his stunning decision to leave the State Senate after 32 years, Majority Leader Joseph Bruno held a sentimental press conference. Capitol Confidential and Daily Politics has highlights from his remarks, like “Life decisions are never easy. And I’ve made a life decision. My life decision is to step back, and step out" and answering "I have news for you, we're all terminal here" when asked if he is terminally ill. Bruno was......

The highest ranking Republican in NY State, State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, announced he would not seek re-election this fall. The 79-year-old released a statement; here is an excerpt (the full statement is after the jump: "Today I met with my Republican colleagues in the Senate and informed them that I will not be running for re-election this November. 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."...

Bigger isn't always better, warned Governor David Paterson. Yesterday, Albany lawmakers passed a $121.7 billion budget, which is 6% bigger than last year. The Times Union calls it a "Budget built on borrowing, fees." Paterson says the slowing economy will require a "change in culture and a change in course of where this state's priorities are...We're running out of time thinking we can tax our way into the future." But State Senate Majority Leader Joseph......

Albany County District Attorney David Soares released a second report saying that former Governor Eliot Spitzer did, according to an aide's testimony, tell his aides to release state travel records about his Republican rival in a smear attempt. This report reverses Soares' September report, which concluded Spitzer's aides broke no laws. Interestingly, Soares says if Spitzer had not resigned, he could have faced impeachment or other disciplinary action because he lied about his involvement, repeatedly......

Perhaps realizing he's best received as a leader in a time of crisis and disarray--and no stranger to cheating on his wife while in public office--former Mayor Rudy Giuliani may offer himself as a candidate for governor in the case Governor David Paterson has to step down. Paterson was ushered abruptly into office after revelations of Eliot Spitzer's consorting with literal, rather than political and figurative, whores. In his first two weeks in office, Paterson......

Just as news settles that former Governor Eliot Spitzer was personally involved in trying to bring down rival State Senator Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, the Albany DA's office probably won't prosecute anyone in the Troopergate mess. Not only will former Spitzer spokesman Darren Dopp, who leaked information about Bruno to the Times Union back in July, not face perjury charges, it also looks like Attorney General Andrew Cuomo knew about Spitzer's plan to use the......

Former Governor Eliot Spitzer was deeply involved with the plot to smear rival State Senator Joseph Bruno to the point of being so mad he would spit his coffee, according to NY Times sources. Troopergate investigation insiders described testimony Spitzer's former communications director Darren Dopp gave, indicating the former governor's extreme interest in taking Bruno down, by way of leaking state police records on Bruno to Albany newspaper The Times Union. (The Times Union wrote......

State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno spoke to reporters around 11 a.m. The Spitzer rival appeared to take no pleasure in the governor's fall and invoked the importance of governing and helping the overtaxed residents of New York. Here are some of his remarks via Cityroom: For the last several days New York has faced a crisis unlike any other ever faced in state history. But it is now time to move on. At times......

New York State Senate leader Joseph Bruno is still under FBI investigation for possibly improper ties to unions that deal with state pension agencies! In 2006, Bruno said of the FBI's look, "I have nothing to hide. They are going into background over the past five or six years," but the NY Times describes the feds' current investigation as widening. At issue are tens of millions of dollars paid by Albany labor unions in fees......

Even while targeted in the Troopergate scandal, State Senate leader Joseph Bruno was living in high style. The New York Sun is reporting that Bruno enjoyed a 3,500 square foot, two-story penthouse suite at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, just weeks before the legislature selected the hotel chain to construct a luxury hotel in Albany.On November 30, the nine-member board of the Albany Convention Center Authority, which includes a member appointed by Mr.......

Today, Governor Spitzer is giving his second State of the State Address. Which makes us recall last year's State of the State. A year ago, everyone was all smiles on the podium as Spitzer delivered his first address [pdf]. It was going to be a new Albany, free of discord and full of bipartisan cooperation to benefit all New Yorkers. Senate Majority leader Joseph Bruno was on board (“This is our agenda. Tax cuts, no......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a possible abduction on Warwick St. and Livonia Ave. in Brooklyn, a police involved shooting on West Kingsbridge Rd. in the Bronx, and an abduction on 33rd St. and 5th Ave. in Manhattan. A contestant on Deal or No Deal from Bayonne, NJ tells host Howie Mandel that the godawful smell around there is from the dump on Staten Island. Residents of Richmond County are not amused. Two pitbulls,......

In spite of the presence of a new governor, Albany politics has been as insanely frustrating as usual. And the NY Sun's year-end interviews with the top three lawmakers - Governor Eliot Spitzer, State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, and Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver - demonstrate why pretty much everyone sighs when they think of the capitol and state politicians. Bruno, the lone Republican, tells the Sun that Silver needs to deals with insults better,......

In what was probably an end-of-year house cleaning, the e-mails related to the Troopergate re-investigation were obliterated and thus made unavailable to Albany County District Attorney David Soares. The Spitzer administration has been stalling for weeks to make e-mail records available to Soares and state computer recovery experts are now saying that servers and hard drives were deliberately purged and scrubbed. Troopergate was initially about Gov. Spitzer or his aides using State Police to effectually......

Governor Spitzer may have been proud of not doing things the usual Albany way at the beginning of his term, but in the wake of Troopergate and other missteps, he's apparently desperate for support. So desperate that he's turned to lobbyists. According to the NY Times, there's been a distinct shift in how the Spitzer administration works with lobbyists. While the staff doesn't favor certain lobbyists (the way Governor Pataki's did), the administration seems to......

Albany county attorney general P. David Soares is taking another stab at the Troopergate scandal by issuing subpoenas for Gov. Spitzer's e-mails to and from his aides, as well as e-mails between aides. Troopergate centered around accusations that Spitzer and/or his top aides used state police to essentially spy on Spitzer's primary foe in Albany--state senate leader Joseph Bruno. The first Troopergate investigation resulted in the resignation of Spitzer's communications director Darren Dopp. The broad......

Troopergate is the story that just keeps giving! Yesterday, we found out that Darren Dopp, former aide for Governor Spitzer accused of leaking information to smear Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, probably won't face perjury but there's question as to whether a sworn statement he gave is actually a sworn statement since it doesn't have the language "I swear to the truth of this statement." Now it turns out that Dopp called Attorney General Andrew......

While Governor Spitzer has been trying to get back to business, the Senate Investigations Committee and Albany County DA's office have been busy deciding what to do with Spitzer's from communications director Darren Dopp. Dopp resigned after he at least co-devised a plan to smear Spitzer's rival Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno over the summer. The NY Times reports the Albany County DA's office is not going to charge Dopp with perjury - yet. Dopp's......

Well if it's not the driver's license issue that's plaguing Governor Spitzer, it's Troopergate and its fallout. Spitzer's former communications director Darren Dopp (pictured), who was faulted for at least co-devising a plan to smear Spitzer rival State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, may have perjured himself during an investigation and now the Albany County DA's office has opened an inquiry. Back in July, Dopp gave a sworn written statement to Attorney General Cuomo. But......

The NY Post has been claiming that Mayor Bloomberg is flirting with the idea of a gubernatorial run in 2010, and the Mayor keeps on denying it. After the latest "Governor Bloomberg" rumor offered by the Post, Mayor Bloomberg told reporters that the Post never contacted his office to confirm whether reports of him discussing plans with a GOP strategist were true: "I categorically will not run for governor." The Post, however, has an article......

Even though he has amended his plan to give illegal immigrants the opportunity to get driver's licenses, Governor Spitzer can't make everyone happy. The governor's new plan has three tiers: There will be the Real ID (the one passed by Congress in 2005 - the very program Spitzer's own Homeland Security director criticized last month) which will be offered to citizens and legal immigrants, plus, per the NY Times, "an enhanced driver’s license that......

State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver made a public plea to Gov. Eliot Spitzer to cool down his feud with State Senate Leader Joseph Bruno. The so-called Troopergate scandal began when the Governor allegedly sicced State Police on Bruno to monitor his business travel practices. In the aftermath, Spitzer lost some of his long-time aides when he claimed he knew nothing about the surveillance and they resigned. Darren Dopp recently was hired as a lobbyist after......

Yeah, it was too much to hope that the two of the most powerful men in Albany could put aside their differences and, uh, govern. Now, Governor Spitzer's aides are suggesting that State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno should pay income taxes on his many flights on state aircraft. The Republicans got a hold of a letter drafted by State Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith's aides that asked the IRS to look into the matter.......