DEMS TRY SNEAK AT-TAX ON BRUNO By FREDRIC U. DICKER State Editor October 11, 2007 -- ALBANY -
The Dirty Tricks Scandal took a new twist yesterday as one of Gov. Spitzer's top Democratic allies was caught secretly plotting to sic the IRS on Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.
Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith of Queens sent three Democratic senators copies of a proposed letter seeking an Internal Revenue Service probe of Bruno's potential income-tax liability for alleged personal use of state aircraft.
But one copy mistakenly wound up in the hands of a Bruno political ally.
Aides to Bruno (R-Rensselaer) said they believe Spitzer himself was behind the effort, with one noting, "Malcolm Smith doesn't even jump without the governor's OK, so he had to be told to do this."
Smith told The Post that it was his staff, not he personally, who sought to unleash the IRS on Bruno by sending the letter. He conceded that aides to Spitzer also were involved.
"This was one of the things the staff people were looking at in terms of our strategic plans," said Smith, noting his aides "were definitely talking" to Spitzer's advisers about the attack on Bruno.
But Smith insisted, "I shut it down" when he was asked to approve the letter to the IRS, insisting that members of his staff had distributed the letter without his approval.
The letter, which was supposed to go only to Sens. Liz Krueger of Manhattan and John Sampson and Velmanette Montgomery of Brooklyn, carries the signatures of all three Democratic lawmakers and is addressed to Linda Stiff, acting commissioner of the IRS.
"We are writing to call to your attention [to] possible violations of the Internal Revenue Code and implementing regulations involving Sen. Joseph Bruno, the Majority Leader of the New York State Senate and his use of New York State aircraft," says the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Post.
It goes on to cite newspaper stories involving the Dirty Tricks Scandal in which top Spitzer aides used the State Police to gather information on Bruno purportedly showing that he had improperly used a state helicopter for political, and not governmental, purposes.
"We urge you to conduct a review into Sen. Bruno's use of the aircraft and his obligation to pay federal income taxes on the fair market value of the unreimbursed non-official portion of his travel," the letter continues.
The letter, with copies "cc'd" to the state tax and finance commissioner, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, and Manhattan and Albany District Attorneys Robert Morgenthau and David Soares, makes no mention of Cuomo's explosive July 23 report on the scandal, which found aides to Spitzer plotted against Bruno and found that Bruno had done nothing wrong.
Bruno spokesman John McArdle said the letter "shows that the governor and his surrogates in the Senate have learned nothing from the scandal as they continue to abuse the power of their offices in pursuit of more dirty tricks."
He said Bruno owed no taxes on his aircraft usage because "there was no personal use involved at all."
Smith told The Post that it was his staff, not he personally, who sought to unleash the IRS on Bruno by sending the letter. He conceded that aides to Spitzer also were involved.
"This was one of the things the staff people were looking at in terms of our strategic plans," said Smith, noting his aides "were definitely talking" to Spitzer's advisers about the attack on Bruno.
But Smith insisted, "I shut it down" when he was asked to approve the letter to the IRS, insisting that members of his staff had distributed the letter without his approval.
This Malcolm Smith sounds like some of the elected officials on the county legislature. Now all they need to do is 'speak up' regarding their chair woman, Ms. Suzie Savage. At least good old Malcolm had the sense to speak up even if it was against the wishes of his boss and our beloved Spitzer. Malcolm can has the smarts enough to recognize a sinking ship when he sees one. Or in his case 'on one'! (Just like our county legislatures)
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
CAPITOL Spitzer allies accused in new plot against Bruno BY VALERIE BAUMAN The Associated Press
Several Democratic state senators allied with Gov. Eliot Spitzer drafted a letter to the Internal Revenue Service urging the agency to investigate Republican Senate leader Joseph Bruno, a move Bruno blasted as the latest in a smear campaign against him despite the fact the letter was never sent. Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith notified Bruno about the letter, first obtained by The New York Post, which pushed for an IRS investigation into whether the majority leader had any income tax liability for personal use of state aircraft, Bruno said Thursday. “There were communications between my staff and the governor’s staff about this matter,” Smith said in a written statement. “I want to be clear. We — my staff and I — decided not to pursue this matter.” Signed by Sens. John Sampson, Liz Krueger and Velmanette Montgomery, the letter cited reports in The Times Union of Albany and the results of an investigation by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo as evidence of wrongdoing. Cuomo’s report and the newspaper reporting both “suggest that Senator Bruno has repeatedly used state aircraft for travel that was not primarily bona fide state business and as such, we believe that he should be reporting imputed income for unreimbursed travel,” the letter said. In a written statement, Bruno said he believes the governor was behind the letter. “Senator Smith called me last night to confirm that his office had written the letter, but that he stepped in to stop it,” Bruno said. “He also informed me that Spitzer administration officials were involved in this plot and that other similar dirty tricks were planned, the IRS effort being just one.” “Recent published reports have said that Senator Bruno could have a tax problem with the IRS,” Smith said. “If the facts show there is something there, it should be looked into by the appropriate authorities.” Smith did not return calls or answer specific questions about when he learned of the letter. “Executive Chamber staff and Senate staff appropriately discussed whether these alleged tax violations should be formally referred to the relevant authorities,” Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson said in a written statement. “Senator Bruno is simply trying to divert attention by claiming that it was somehow improper for government employees to consider asking enforcement agencies to look into this matter. It is not.” Spitzer doesn’t plan to personally refer the matter to the IRS, Anderson said. The governor said it’s up to the appropriate authorities to determine whether further action is needed. A Bruno spokesman said the senator had not paid taxes on any of the transportation because he was on official business in each instance. “The governor’s office and their surrogates were caught red-handed,” said John McArdle, Bruno’s communications director. “Rather than sanction those responsible and apologize for their misdeeds it is apparent that political gamesmanship is more of a priority to them than doing the people’s business.” This is the latest development in the ongoing fight between two of the state’s top political leaders. Top Spitzer aides were accused earlier this year of having state police track Bruno’s use of state aircraft and police drivers. Last month, Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares found no crime in that case and said there was no evidence of a plot behind gathering the data provided to the Times Union under the state Freedom of Information Law. In July, Cuomo’s report said no crime was committed, but the aides acted improperly in a plan intended to discredit Bruno. “This latest revelation confirms that Governor Spitzer and his subordinates continue to obsess with efforts to personally attack me and have no interest in governing,” Bruno said. “Senator Bruno’s statement verges on the delusional while his spokesman’s repeated insistence that ‘there was no personal use involved at all’ in the Senator’s repeated use of state aircraft is patently false,” said New York State Democratic Party Chair June O’Neill in a written statement. “Joe Bruno is not the victim of a personal attack. Rather New York’s taxpayers are the victims of the Senator’s repeated abuse of New York state law.” Joseph Mondello, chairman of the state Republican Committee, said he plans to call on the state Public Integrity Commission to investigate whether government employees and resources were used for political gain in the latest episode. “Senator Smith and Governor Spitzer should immediately fire any employee who utilized taxpayer dollars and resources in this outrageous attempt to enlist the IRS in the cabal to personally destroy Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno,” he said.
Cant we impeach these guys just for this crap.......they are wasting our $$ and time......get them out now.....IMPEACH, IMPEACH, IMPEACH, IMPEACH, IMPEACH, IMPEACH, IMPEACH..............................................
Quoted Text
Main Entry: 1im·peach Pronunciation: \im-ˈpēch\ Function: transitive verb Etymology: Middle English empechen, from Anglo-French empecher, enpechier to ensnare, impede, prosecute, from Late Latin impedicare to fetter, from Latin in- + pedica fetter, from ped-, pes foot — more at foot Date: 14th century 1 a: to bring an accusation against b: to charge with a crime or misdemeanor; specifically : to charge (a public official) before a competent tribunal with misconduct in office c: to remove from office especially for misconduct 2: to cast doubt on; especially : to challenge the credibility or validity of — im·peach·able \-ˈpē-chə-bəl\ adjective
I CHARGE BOTH PARTIES WITH BLOWING SMOKE UP THE NYS CONSTIUENTS A@#$# AND NOT PERFORMING AS THEY WERE ELECTED TO DO....SHORT OF GETTING THINGS WITH THEIR NAMESAKES ON THEM FOR NOTHING........................... > > > >
Hey, Mr.Silver, Mr.Tedisco, Mr.Amedore, Ms.Clinton etc etc........what the hell are ya'll doin'
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Spitzer needs to get out. Bruno is defending himself, rightfully.
Be careful, saying stuff like this (no matter how true it is) is liable to get you called to the carpet by some people. Show any political idea that even seems like it might lean to the left, you might get a scolding from some people.
Bruno works for firm that manages funds for unions
The Associated Press ALBANY — An investment firm that employs one of New York’s s top lawmakers also manages major funds for unions in the state, according to state records and tax documents. Joseph Bruno, Senate Republican majority leader since 1995, is an employee of Wright Investors’ Service, based in Milford, Conn., part of the Winthrop Corp., since the mid-1990s. Bruno’s annual ethics reports disclosed the employment, though not what he does there. The state ethics law allows officials to have outside employment, though they cannot engage in activities that create or appear to create a conflict with their public duties, and they are barred from obtaining unwarranted privileges for themselves or others. Eugene Helm, president of Wright Investors, told The New York Times in Saturday’s editions that the company’s relationship with unions predated Bruno’s employment, which he described as “business development.” He declined to disclose details. Some of Bruno’s outside business interests have been the subject of a federal investigation. Helm said his company has “never run afoul of the law or had a suit against us.” Officials from several unions that have pension or health funds managed by Wright said they didn’t know Bruno worked there. Al Catalano, the former president of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 2, based in Albany, said he believed the union began investing with the firm in the mid-1990s, but said he was unaware of its affiliation with the senator. He said he’s had only one meeting with Bruno, which concerned workers’ compensation and occurred several years ago. “There was never any pressure,” he said. John McArdle, a spokesman for Bruno, declined to say what the senator did for Wright. “It’s an outside business that he’s entitled to do as a part-time legislator,” McArdle said. “The fact that you found out who some of the clients are and they said they had no idea Bruno was involved, that should tell you everything you need to know.” Government watchdog groups said that the situation highlights the weakness of ethics and disclosure laws in New York.
Carl Strock THE VIEW FROM HERE Carl Strock can be reached at 395-3085 or by e-mail at carlstrock@dailygazette.com. Sen. Bruno: Things I’d love to know
I was interested to learn that Sen Joe Bruno is employed by a Connecticut investment company that manages tens of millions of dollars of labor union money from New York. Interested, because Bruno, like almost every other member of our state Legislature, is so resolutely subservient to those unions. It is one of the few things that seem to unite our legislators — their eagerness to do the bidding of both public-employee unions and private construction trade unions. He and his colleagues almost never say no to requests to increase benefits and grant special treatment, regardless of the cost to the rest of us. That he should be on the payroll of a company that profi ts from union investments, as reported yesterday in The New York Times, certainly makes me sit up and take notice. He has been employed by the Winthrop Corp., parent of Wright Investors Services, since the mid-1990s, the Times reported. The newspaper discovered the connection to union money by reviewing ethics records and tax documents. We don’t know how much he gets paid or what service, if any, he is supposed to perform. This new revelation in turn makes me wonder what has become of the FBI investigation of Bruno’s other business connections, revealed a year ago, like his home-based Capital Consulting Group. I realize that neither the FBI nor the U.S. Attorney’s offi ce discusses investigations in progress, but still, it’s been a year, and I’d love to know. My concern is that the U.S. attorney for this district, Glenn Suddaby, who is a Republican stalwart now in line for a federal judgeship, might not be over-eager to pursue the state’s most powerful Republican office-holder (Bruno) and might just let the thing evaporate. We do know that Bruno had both personal and business dealings with one Jared Abbruzzese, who provided him with free airplane travel, among other things, and we know that Bruno, in turn, bestowed $500,000 worth of state grants on a business, Evident Technologies, of which Abbruzzese was co-chairman, but we don’t know if there was any corrupt quid pro quo. It will be for Suddaby, appointee of a highly political Republican administration in Washington, to decide if the evidence merits presentation to a grand jury and prosecution. I will bet no money, remembering as I do that a few years ago a Conservative-Republican officeholder in Schenectady, John DeGeorgio, seemed to be a candidate for indictment but was left untouched, while a Democratic confederate of his, Jim Constantino, was nailed good and proper and wound up spending a year and a half in prison. According to court transcripts and the word of an assistant U.S. attorney, they worked partly together and partly against each other in the shakedown of a Rotterdam businessman, Tim Larned, who ran a sand-and-gravel company, with DeGeorgio ultimately passing Constantino an envelope containing $8,000 in cash in Constantino’s town hall office. (Constantino was Rotterdam supervisor; DeGeorgio was both a Rotterdam department head and a county legislator.) When Constantino got nailed, we waited and waited for DeGeorgio to follow, but nothing happened. Will anything happen with Bruno? Again, we wait and wait. But indictment or no indictment, here is a question to ponder: Would any business pay Joe Bruno any money at all if he weren’t majority leader of the New York State Senate? And what kind of system do we have when someone in Bruno’s position, or in the position of Sheldon Silver, for that matter, in the As- sembly, can have lucrative outside dealings but no requirement to disclose them. Silver is a lawyer in Manhattan. His list of clients is a secret, and so is his income from those clients. Bruno is a private business consultant out of his home in Rensselaer County and also an employee of a financial management company. His services and his income from those services are likewise secret. Is that any way to run a state? When you consider that powerful interests — labor, business, health — are constantly entreating these two men for favors? Wouldn’t you like to know who is paying them outside of class?
Friday, August 30, 1996 New partnership bails out AquaticThe Business Review (Albany) - by Michael Farrell Print Article Email Article Reprints RSS Feeds Add to Del.icio.us Digg This Related News Great Escape Lodge set to open in late 2005 [Albany] Pool equipment company sees sunny skies ahead [Albany] Pool plan hinges on financing [Albany] Austin company to buy Albany telecom consulting firm [Albany] Consumer confidence down in August statewide survey [Albany] Jared Abbruzzese, chairman of CAI Wireless Systems Inc., the Albany wireless cable television company, appears to be expanding his investment horizons to include a local manufacturer and developer of pool equipment and water parks.
Haig Capital LLC, a Connecticut partnership managed by Corotoman Partners LLC--of which Abbruzzese is the managing partner--has taken a $525,000 mortgage on property on Boght Road in Colonie owned by Aquatic Development Group Inc. of Cohoes.
The site covers 195 acres in the northeastern corner of the town, bordered by Boght Road, Route 9, Baker Road and Columbia Street. It was the subject of some controversy a few years ago, after the state Department of Environmental Conservation declared 70 acres a protected wetland. That designation derailed plans by Herbert Ellis, Aquatic Development's president, to develop the property for single-family homes.
The Haig mortgage may be just the tip of the iceberg, though.
Aquatic Development, which officially emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July, said in the past that its reorganization hinged on an investment of $2.2 million from an out-of-state "investment group." All signs point to Haig and Abbruzzese as filling that bill.
"Haig Capital is part of an investment group that is participating in the restructuring [of Aquatic Development]," Ellis said last week, declining further comment.
Abbruzzese, through a secretary, declined to comment on Haig Capital or Aquatic Development.
Aquatic Development's reorganization plan was approved by the bankruptcy court in January, but that approval hinged on the closing of the investment by the outside group. That investment did not close until July.
Ellis said in January that the new investors did not want to be identified and that each party had signed a confidentiality agreement to not identify the investor. All records pertaining to the investment were sealed by the court.
Along with securing the needed investment, Aquatic Development also was able to remove another albatross from its neck: a $3 million debt to two affiliates of Lawrence Group Inc., the insurance holding company based in Schenectady.
Spitzer administration gets subpoena from Soares The Associated Press
Gov. Eliot Spitzer confirmed Monday his administration has received another subpoena from the Albany County district attorney, but refused to say what the prosecutor is seeking. “That, you’ll have to ask them,” Spitzer said of the office of District Attorney P. David Soares. “I have answered all these questions at length and we are cooperating fully.” Soares, however, has refused to comment on the investigation into events surrounding two Spitzer aides accused of misusing state police to compile Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno’s travel records. Bruno called their actions political espionage. Spitzer, who answered reporters’ questions as he left a news conference, didn’t respond when asked if he would instruct his attorneys to publicly release information about what the subpoena covers. Spitzer acknowledged that when he was a prosecutor, he wouldn’t release information about subpoenas. The state Public Integrity Commission continues to investigate the case and how it was handled within the administration. Republicans have claimed that responsibility for the plot went higher than the two aides initially blamed. The issue has since gridlocked Albany, with Spitzer and Bruno not speaking about state issues for months at a time, according to Bruno. The subpoena was first reported Monday by the New York Daily News. In September, Soares found no crime in the case and said there was no evidence of a plot behind gathering data about Bruno’s use of state resources on trips that mixed meetings with lobbyists and political activities. In July, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issued a report that no crime was committed, but the aides acted improperly in a plan intended to discredit Bruno. But since Soares’ initial findings, questions have been raised about the testimony of witnesses to his investigators and others probing the incident.
CAPITOL Bruno quits consulting firm with controversial union ties The Associated Press
New York Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said he has resigned from his job with a consulting firm that led to criticism from good-government groups amid an FBI investigation into his private business dealings. The Rensselaer County Republican said Friday he and Wright Investors’ Service agreed to end their relationship on Monday. The Milford, Conn., company manages major financial funds for some of the state’s politically powerful unions. Bruno said he was ending the part-time job that had become a distraction. “I have done so because the focus on my outside interests has taken attention away from more pressing issues such as our efforts to address the critical needs of our State going forward,” Bruno said in a written statement released Friday. “There has been a great deal of discussion regarding the ability of part-time legislators to pursue outside interests. I look forward to the continuing debate over that idea and whether it makes sense to have a full-time legislature or part-time legislators who are allowed to have outside income.” Bruno has refused to say what his role was, how much he was paid or which clients he dealt with. His spokesman, John McArdle, continued to refuse to detail the private consulting role on Friday. “Senator Bruno has complied completely and fully with all state disclosure requirements regarding any non-legislative business he and other legislators are allowed to engage in, and that includes the work he did for Wright Investment Services,” McArdle said. In New York, lawmakers are considered part-time and allowed to hold other jobs. Most of those jobs are with law firms, and lawmakers — including Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver — don’t divulge their clients, saying it would violate attorney-client privilege. There was no immediate comment from Silver, Spitzer or from Wright Investors. Bruno’s annual ethics reports disclosed the employment, though not what he does there. The state ethics law allows offi - cials to have outside employment, though they cannot engage in activities that create or appear to create a conflict with their public duties, and they are barred from obtaining unwarranted privileges for themselves or others. Eugene Helm, president of Wright Investors, told The New York Times that the company’s relationship with unions predated Bruno’s employment, which he described as “business development.” He wouldn’t disclose details. Some of Bruno’s outside business interests have been the subject of a federal investigation for more than a year, but Helm said earlier this month that his company has “never run afoul of the law or had a suit against us.” Officials from several unions that have pension or health funds managed by Wright said they didn’t know Bruno worked there. Government watchdog groups said that the situation highlights the weakness of ethics and disclosure laws in New York.
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