Results tagged “senator”

Queens Assistant District Attorney Scott Kessler delivered closing arguments yesterday in state Sen. Hiram Monserrate's assault trial—and he's sure somebody is a liar. According to the Daily News, the prosecutor argued that the senator's girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, was telling a lie or two in hopes of keeping Monserrate a free man—and from losing his Senate seat.

Earlier this month, upstate Assemblyman Mark Schroeder said Bronxchester Senator Espada was a "thug" and should resign. Now state Senator Neil Breslin of Albany is piling on, telling churchgoers at a public gathering that Espada is a "crook" who "should be in jail." Espada is still under investigation by the Bronx DA (for allegedly residing in Westchester, outside his Bronx district) and the Attorney General (for whether he illegally used a nonprofit group he controls—Soundview Health Clinic—to promote his political campaigns). But both those investigations were launched back in May, and here we are on the cusp of October, with Espada still "doing a cha-cha" around the law, as one Albany insider put it. So while it's nice to hear Senator Breslin state the obvious, the dance grinds on!

You may recall that State Senator Pedro Espada's son Alejandro—not the one who got hired by the Senate and then quickly quit, a different one—pleaded guilty to harassment against 76-year-old blogger Rafael Martínez-Alequin at a campaign rally last September. According to Martínez-Alequin, several people, including Alejandro, began shoving him and trying to grab his camera as he approached Espada with questions. Here's video, which shows the infamous Bronxchester Senator smugly telling Martínez-Alequin, "He's trying to teach you manners papa. He's trying to teach you manners." Alejandro was charged with harassment and criminal mischief for (allegedly) pushing Martinez-Alequin and breaking his camera, but he struck a plea bargain, pleading guilty to second-degree harassment and agreeing to pay $432 for the camera. Anyway, Alejandro was supposed to be sentenced yesterday, but that never happened because the judge was absent. So Martínez-Alequin didn't get to read his contemptuous victim's-impact statement, which calls the Senator "a common street thug. It is most unfortunate that a politician can resort to thuggish tactics and not be held fully accountable. Senator Espada encouraged his son to assault a defenseless 76-year-old man." Somebody sure needs a lesson in manners, among other things.

Rep. Peter King (R-Long Island) was considering challenging Senator Kirsten Gillibrand next year, but now says he's not running. Why not? He can't compete with Gilly's money... or her blandness, saying that the new junior Senator "generates neither strong support nor opposition," thus making it "virtually impossible" to raise money against her in state that has many more registered Democrats than Republicans.

The Kennedy family estimates (via Twitter) that 25,000 people paid their respects to Senator Edward Kennedy at the J.F.K. Presidential Library in Boston yesterday. The library was scheduled to close at 11 p.m., but stayed open until 2 a.m. due to the long lines. The family said, "We could not be more grateful for the amazing support. Thank you."

Plans for Senator Edward Kennedy's funeral services have been made: The Boston Globe reports, "The path of remembrance for Senator Edward M. Kennedy will follow the trail of his celebrated life - from his beloved Hyannis Port to his fallen brother’s presidential library in Dorchester, from the Mission Hill church where Kennedy prayed for his daughter to survive her bout with cancer to Arlington National Cemetery, where he will be buried beside his brothers after losing his own yearlong battle."

Democratic State Senator Pedro Espada Jr.—who was just caught illegally residing outside his Bronx district in tony Mamaroneck—is in the hot seat again for what one Bronx political veteran describes as doing "a cha-cha around the campaign finance law—spirit and letter." After the Daily News's scathing report on Espada's conduct, Senate majority leader Malcolm A. Smith called him into a closed-door meeting, giving Espada one week to rectify illegalities with his campaign committee. But Smith is also downplaying the severity of the brewing scandal, telling the Times, "I don't think it's raining problems, the fact that a member has a challenge with his campaign finances, which he's had for awhile. So basically, he's got to correct it. He has until this time next week to correct it, or else I will take some action." Woah—a promise of action in Albany!

Washington is all astir today at the bombshell news that Republican Senator Arlen Specter will leave the GOP and join the Democratic Party, bringing Democrats within reach of a filibuster-proof majority—if and when Al Franken is seated as Minnesota's senator. A 29-year senate veteran and the fifth-oldest senator, Specter is switching his party affiliation now so he can run in the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary.

CBS 2 just conducted a scathing sting on State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., discovering that the powerful politician actually resides in tony Mamaroneck, outside his Bronx district. The exposé found that Espada's Westchester home is worth almost $700,000, and that while he claims his residence to be a co-op in the Bronx (at 325 East 201st Street), tenants there say he's never around. One resident tells the news channel, "I have never seen him in the building, not ever. I do my laundry in the building. I come and go with my 1-year-old. Unfortunately, I've never seen him here." Espada could be violating state election law by making Mamaroneck his home, and the revelation may further exacerbate New Yorkers' anger at the politician for his role in blocking any MTA bailout. A spokesman for the senator insisted that while he's owned the Mamaroneck house for 18 years, the Bronx co-op is his primary domicile. But when approached by a camera crew outside the Westchester home, Espada, ever the politician, tried to disguise his identity by holding a baby in front of his face.

Afternoon diners at the Indus Vally Indian restaurant saw their curry spiced up with some shattered glass Saturday when an SUV bearing a Haitian senator plowed into the enclosed patio after being clipped by a cab. Seven passengers from the two vehicles were treated for minor injuries at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, and no one in the restaurant was hurt. Waiter Kabin Hamal told the Daily News, "All the glass came flying. People were hiding under the tables." A hole had to be cut into the roof of the SUV in order to remove the senator—in town to raise money for hurricane relief—and her entourage. A produce seller across the street described the scene to the Columbia Spectator: "I heard some screeching, and then I saw the car turn really slowly into the restaurant. The glass just exploded out of the wall." Hamal added that two diners who were seated where the SUV crashed had vacated their table "like one minute before."

Senator Charles Schumer believes that the oil bills for winter home heating will come as a shock to homeowners. Newsday reports that, based on his office's estimates, Long Island homeowners will have to bear a $966 increase while NYC residents will see a $720 jump. Schumer is working on a bill to help out low income families help cover the bills. The senior Senator from NY also defended his comments on IndyMac, disagreeing with regulators who think his discouraging remarks caused a run on the bank.

Like the last party guest who lingers long after her welcome and leaves the hosts feeling a little awkward and anxious for her departure, Hillary Clinton finally conceded that she is not going to get the nomination of the Democratic Party in the 2008 Presidential election. In a fairly upbeat address at the National Buildings Museum in Washington, DC, Clinton pledged to work to unite Democrats after a long and bitter campaign.

Rudolph Giuliani's apparent health scare that caused his campaign jet to turn around and land back in St. Louis, Missouri was allegedly not as serious as it was made out to be. The Presidential candidate and former Mayor of New York is begging ignorance as to why his staff members said he had flu-like symptoms, when he says he just had a bad headache. Someone told the press that Giuliani blacked out at some point, which he denies ever happened.

“You’re going to have to ask them,” he said, when asked about their statement. “I’m telling you what actually happened. I had a very, very bad headache. It got worse on the plane. I then got checked out. Went through a lot of tests. All the tests came back 100 percent normal. That’s the bottom line.”

Health concerns are not a new event for Giuliani during the electoral seasons. When he was running for the NY Senate seat after his terms as Mayor of the City of New York, he withdrew from the Republican ticket and effectively ceded the office to current Sen. Hillary Clinton. The incident that instigated Rudy's withdrawal from that race was a sudden bout with prostate cancer. He says that he's feeling better and plans to get back on the campaign trail with an appearance in New Hampshire. In an interview this morning, he told George Stephanopoulos, "I'm back on the trail, ready to go, hale and hearty, feeling great."