I know forty-something pages is a lot for Marty Golden to work through — but his crack staff should have given him the “Cliff Notes” or “Classics Illustrated” version by now
Nick Reisman mentioned that Marty G, State Senator, did his Jackie Gleason “Chef of the Future” impression as he went from “No comments....” to “Deer in the Headlights” when he saw cameras were rolling
It pretty much has come down to this so far: “Earlier today, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's office unveiled a six-count, 43-page complaint against Skelos alleging that the Nassau County Republican tried to “monetize” his office through the solicitation of kickbacks from real estate developers and by trying to influence the awarding of a storm-water treatment contract from Nassau County.... Republican senators Tom Croci, Kemp Hannon and Ken LaValle, all of Long Island, declined to comment, as did Senator Marty Golden of Brooklyn....” (See “Senators on Skelos‘ fate: ’Too early' ” by Josefa Velasquez, 5/4/15, Capital New York
[http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2015/05/8567279/senators-skelos-fate-too-early]). There it is — an allegation of wrong-doing in Skelos' capacity as a New York State Senator and Majority Leader of the Chamber.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “... [a]t a news conference Monday afternoon, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the elder Mr. Skelos ‘unlawfully used his power and influence as Senate majority leader, repeatedly, to illegally enrich his son, Adam, and indirectly, himself…as alleged, father and son entered into a scheme to monetize Dean Skelos’s official position.’ ***
According to the allegations in the complaint, the senator and his son pressured the senior executive of a major real-estate development firm, a person who has been cooperating with the government, to arrange for Adam Skelos to be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars. The payment was aimed at influencing the senator’s legislative actions, the complaint alleges....” (See “N.Y. State Senate Leader Dean Skelos, Son Arrested on Corruption Charges” by Rebecca Davis O’Brien & Erica Orden, 5/4/15, Wall Street Journal [http://www.wsj.com/articles/n-y-state-senate-leader-skelos-son-surrender-to-authorities-1430747813]).
The WSJ article ended with this — “Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the chamber’s Democratic leader, said the charges against the senator are ‘deeply disturbing.... I cannot imagine him continuing to serve as leader as he deals with the cloud of corruption,’ she said. ‘There are many pressing issues that must be addressed during the remainder of the legislative session, and the Senate Republican majority must ensure that this body is not bogged down in scandal.’...” This is a very telling aspect of the WSJ report.
It makes Brooklyn GOP State Senator Marty Golden’s silence sound like the roar of a revved up jet engine.... Marty has to get his mind around all of this very soon....
More came out as the day wore on.
According to Nick Reisman, “At least three [ ] Republicans — Sens. Terrence Murphy, Marty Golden and Cathy Young — ha[d] expressed varying degrees of support for Skelos to other reporters over the weekend....”
But all of that changed by early Monday when the charges against Skelos were made public
Later in the day Reisman was putting out that “Republican Sen. Rich Funke told reporters the allegations against Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos are “disappointing” and stop short of backing him staying on as the head of the GOP conference. *** ‘I think it would be very difficult at this point,’ Funke, a Rochester-area lawmaker, said. ‘We’ve got work and we need to do it. We don’t need distractions.’ *** Skelos is expected to address the Republican conference this evening after appearing at a news conference in New York City. *** At least one Republican lawmaker, Sen. John Bonacic, is calling on Skelos to step aside....” (See “Posts by Nick Reisman” 5/4/15, State of NY Politics [http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/author/reisman/]).
12 comments:
Gale, what about Andy Lanza? Don't let him off the hook either, word is he's looking to get out of Albany. Possibly something to do with a law firm he's of counsel to which he coincidentally started working for around the time Republicans reclaimed the majority.
All this Abtech stuff in the Skelos indictment refers to vague technology stuff the senate was doling out.
Wasnt Marty talking tech and incubators last year.
UPDATE: THE “NEW YORK STATE REPUBLICAN STATE SENATORS FLIP THE BIRD TO EVERYBODY” EDITION
GOP CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES THAT DEAN SKELOS, UNDER FEDERAL INDICTMENT FOR ABUSE OF HIS POSITION AS NYS SENATE MAJORITY LEADER, WILL REMAIN IN THAT POSITION
ROB ASTORINO SAYS DEAN SKELOS SHOULD STEP DOWN — IN HIS BROADER ATTACK ON ALBANY’S CULTURE OF CORRUPTION
According to a blog report by Nick Reisman, “Majority Leader Dean Skelos will stay in the top leadership post following a closed-door GOP conference on Monday night, Sen. Ken LaValle announced..... ‘The leader has indicated that he would like to remain as leader and he has the support of the conference,’ said LaValle, a fellow Long Island Republican and a top ally for Skelos in the conference. ‘The conference also wants to get back — we were working on things, education, and the conference wants to get back to working.’...” ( See “Senate Republican: Skelos Will Stay Leader” by Nick Reisman, 5/5/15, New York State of Politics/ Nick Resiman/ Dean Skelos [http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2015/05/senate-republican-skelos-will-stay-leader/]).
Now it appears that the whole Republican Conference is acting in defiance of the actions of federal investigators and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara by staying behind Skelos as leader. As Nick Reisman specifically noted, “... Skelos [, ] the leader in charge as Senate Republicans[, still] will be negotiating an extension of rent control as well as the 421a tax abatement issue, both of which were named in the federal government’s complaint as areas in which the Nassau County Republican allegedly sought to exert undue influence....” Speaking for the GOP Conference, State Senator LaValle said, “We have a number of issues that we are going to address.... We have five and a half weeks left in the session and we’re going to get focused with our conference with our leader addressing all of those issues....”
Reisman also pointed out that Skelos’ tenure is not guaranteed — “Whether Skelos’s support holds with Republican lawmakers remains an open question. Sen. John Bonacic of Orange County has called on Skelos to step down as majority leader, while Rochester Sen. Rich Funke has suggested it would be “very difficult” for Skelos to continue on in the top post. *** At the same time, Senate Democrats as well as dissident Republicans will continue to capitalize on his legal troubles....”
ASTORINO’S STATEMENT
Nick Reisman also reported earlier Monday that, “In the wake of the arrest of Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos on federal corruption charges this morning, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, the 2014 GOP gubernatorial candidate, issued a statement expressing ‘confidence’ that the Long Island lawmaker ‘will do the right thing and promptly resign his leadership position.... That is the noble course of action, and I know he will take it,’ Astorino said. ‘Senator Skelos and his son, Adam, can then begin their vigorous defense against these charges, as is their right.’...” (See “Astorino: Skelos Should Be ‘Noble,’ Step Down As Leader” by Nick Reisman, 5/4/15, New York State of Politics [http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2015/05/astorino-skelos-should-be-noble-step-down-as-leader/]). Astorino’s remarks about Dean Skelos were amid a scathing attack on Albany’s culture of corruption.
Caithfidh an duine i Brooklyn dul amach le neamhchiontacht airithe, toisc go bhfuil Nua-Eabhrac is fearr le feiceail leis na suile neamhchiontach.
Is that churrch lady doing her Irish thing?
Gail, if you don't know what she's saying, you should take it down, it might be secret messages from ISIS to attack PAm Geller or something like that.
A few days ago your Brooklyn State Senator Golden said, depending on what the charges were, Majority Leader Skelos might not have to step down even if he was indicted by Preet Bharara. Then Golden said that if the charges were substantial charges then the conference will look at it and have a discussion about a new senate majority leader. The last thing Golden said about it was if it’s not something he called "charges of consequence" he thought the senate Republicans would not want to have Skelos stepping down as leader, like Silver did.
Now we all know that Golden and the rest of Skelos’s team in Albany want everybody think that Preet Bharara’s indictment of Skelos is not a big deal. Bharara should let Golden know that if an indictment like Dean Skelos just got is no big deal, then Senator Golden should not mind having one too.
Replace "Abtech" and "Glenwood" with "Bay Ridge Manor" and just imagine what Preet already has on Golden.
No wonder Ray and Georgea got out while the getting was good.
this blog is for people who speak english
Ba mhaith liom a chur leis an chothromoid
UPDATE: THE “SKELOS MUST GO” EDITION
NY TIMES SLAMS GOP STATE SENATORS’ TOLERANCE FOR CORRUPTION — CALLS ON SKELOS TO RESIGN OR BE DUMPED AS GOP SENATE LEADER
THEN THE FIRST GOP COUNTY CHAIRMAN SAYS SKELOS MUST GO — DEMOCRATS GET READY TO POUNCE ON LAME REPUBLICANS IN THE SENATE — LIKE FOR EXAMPLE BROOKLYN’S MARTY GOLDEN
MORE IMPORTANT THAN ALL OF THAT, MIKE LONG SAYS THAT SKELOS MUST GO FOR THE GOOD OF THE "BUSINESS" THAT NEEDS TO GET DONE
The Times’ editors have a way with words — “How many indictments, arrests, jail sentences, scandals or embarrassments does it take for New York’s lawmakers to get the message? Like most members of the public, we are sick of the sleaziness that serves as everyday business in Albany.... This affliction knows no party lines. This time, it was a Republican, the Senate leader, Dean Skelos, charged with extortion, fraud and bribe solicitation.... Not four months ago, New Yorkers witnessed the stunning arrest of the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, the powerful Democrat who dominated that house for 20 years.... Within a few days of the arrest, Mr. Silver resigned from his leadership post to focus on his legal battles. Mr. Skelos should now do the same.... ” ( See “Dean Skelos Must Go” by the NYT editorial Board, 5/4/15 [in the 5/5/15 print editions], NY Times/ Opinion/ Editorial [http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/opinion/dean-skelos-must-go.html?_r=0]).
Tom Dadey, Republican Onondaga County Chairman, became the first local GOP official to call on Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos to resign his leadership post. In his statement, Dadey called for Skelos to step aside and for term limits for state elected officials ( See “Onondaga County GOP Chair Calls On Skelos To Step Aside” by Nick Reisamn, 5/5/15, NY State of Politics [http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2015/05/onondaga-county-gop-chair-calls-on-skelos-to-step-aside/]).
Meanwhile, a leading Democrat, Mike Gianaris, a State Senator from Queens, said the Republicans were making a big mistake in not cleaning house in the wake of the federal indictment of GOP Senate Leader Dean Skelos ( See “Gianaris: ‘It’s A Mistake’ To Keep Skelos Leader” by Nick Reisman, 5/5/15, NY State of Politics [http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2015/05/gianaris-its-a-mistake-to-keep-skelos-leader/]).
Now, I’ve saved the best for last.
MIKE LONG TELLS REPUBLICANS — IT’S BAD TO KEEP SKELOS ON — “IT’S BAD FOR BUSINESS. YOU’VE GOT TO DO BUSINESS."
According to a report by Carl Campanile, writing in the New York Post, “The head of the influential [NY State] Conservative Party urged Republican Dean Skelos on Tuesday to step down as state Senate majority leader as he fights federal corruption charges.... Skelos’ GOP members agreed to allow him to retain his post during a closed-door meeting in Albany late Monday.... ‘The Republican senators are making a big mistake by keeping Skelos on. It’s bad for business. You’ve got to do business,’ Conservative Party chairman Mike Long told the Post. *** 'It would be better for the institution if Skelos steps aside.... I wish Skelos would step aside for his own sake. By staying on, he becomes a bigger target. And it creates a problem for Republicans. Their opponents will use the issue of corruption against them,’ Long added.... On a practical level, Long wondered how Skelos can be involved in negotiating issues like property tax abatements and rent control laws....” (See “Conservative Party head urges Skelos to step down” by Carl Campanile, 5/5/15, NY Post [http://nypost.com/2015/05/05/conservative-party-head-urges-skelos-to-step-down/]).
I’ll bet you didn’t know that Mike Long had such a compelling direct interest in “doing business” having to do with “...property tax abatements and rent control laws...” Well, I guess he does -- sort of just like his ward, Marty Golden.
At any rate, I wonder if Marty Golden got the memo from Mike ? --- I guess that would more likely be a cell-phone call on the “burner phone.”
UPDATE: THE “SKELOS – 421-a CONNECTION” EDITION
WHEN MIKE LONG IS TALKING ABOUT “NEEDING TO DO BUSINESS” IN THE STATE SENATE, THIS IS WHAT HE MEANS
NY TIMES CALLS BIG TIME REAL ESTATE OWNERS AND DEVELOPERS >>> “VICTIMS” <<< OF POLITICIANS’ “EXTORTION”
THE 421-a, J-51 — FUND RAISING CONNECTION IS ONE OF MARTY GOLDEN’S BIG PROBLEMS TOO
According to an article in “City Limits” — “... The [Skelos] indictment mentions four pieces of legislation, two acted on in 2011 and two from 2013. Only one of the 2011 bills became law: the bill [Bill 5856], un-lovingly referred to as "the big ugly" that rolled into one legislative meatloaf a property-tax cap, rent-regulation renewal and an extension of the grace period for developers who wanted to enjoy an earlier version of 421-a tax benefits and escape tougher affordability restrictions that were supposed to kick in....” ( See “Skelos Charges: An Indictment of 421-a?” by Jarrett Murphy, 5/5/15, City Limits/ citylimits.org [http://citylimits.org/2015/05/05/skelos-charges-an-indictment-of-421-a/]).
The “City Limits” article goes on to say, “For years some housing activists have been calling 421-a a "scam," which may have sounded hyperbolic but might have been more accurate than even they knew. Now, with 421-a, the condo and coop tax abatement, the J-51 tax break and rent-regulations themselves all slated for a June date with destiny, Monday's indictment throws a two-pronged element of uncertainty into the works: Who will be the man from the Senate when the three men get into a room in Albany to hash it all out? And whose interests will he be representing when he gets there?”
Now, if you haven’t gone into a coma yet, there’s even more about all of it being featured by the NY Times.
The Times starts off by showing how the 421-a and J-51 legislation tied into the Dean Skelos indictment. That article also names names in the NYC-NYS real estate and developing business with a focus on the kind of corruption that Preet Bharara is investigating as a result of some of the Moreland Commission’s early findings (See “Big Names in New York Real Estate Figure Into Skelos and Silver Cases” by Charles V. Bagli, 5/6/15, NY Times/ NY/ Region
[http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/nyregion/big-names-in-new-york-real-estate-figure-into-skelos-and-silver-cases.html?hpw&rref=nyregion&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well]). Prominently mentioned in the Times article is Gleenwood Management, Leonard Litwin and Charles Dorego.
This passage leaps out from all the rest in the Times article by Charles Bagli: “No charges have been brought against the developers; in fact, their roles in the cases are as the victims of the alleged extortion....”
AND MARTY GOLDEN SQUIRMS
Just so you know, State Senator Golden’s name is again not mentioned in either of the articles cited in this comment above. However, any mention of Preet Bharara, investigations and indictments, Charles Dorego and Leonard Litwin of Glenwood Management, political donations and fund raising, and past and future bills related to 421-a and J-51 is sure to make Brooklyn Republican State Senator Golden squirm. That’s especially true now that NYS Conservative Chairman Mike Long has laid down the law that certain business needs to be done – and the NY Post made it clear that Long meant 421-a and J-51.
UPDATE: THE “NEW YORK POST EDITORIAL” EDITION
“SENATE REPUBLICANS STAYING UNCLEAN FOR DEAN SKELOS"
-- NY POST EDITORIAL
NOT ENOUGH “RESOLUTION” AMONG SENATE REPUBLICANS — AS DEMS SEEK THEIR OWN RESOLUTION TO OUST OBVIOUSLY CORRUPT AND NOW INDICTED GOP LEADER FROM HIS TOP SENATE POSITION
THE SAME EVENT WAS COVERED BY THE WALL STREET JOURNAL AS A NEWS STORY — ENDING WITH ANOTHER QUOTE ABOUT NEEDING TO DO “BUSINESS” INSTEAD OF “POLITICS”
According to the NY Post Editorial Board, “Republicans wouldn’t even allow a vote on a resolution to permit a vote on a resolution ousting Skelos as majority leader....” (See “Senate Republicans staying unclean for Dean Skelos” by the NY Post Editorial Board, 5/6/15, NY Post/ Opinion/ Editorial [http://nypost.com/2015/05/06/senate-republicans-staying-unclean-for-dean-skelos/]).
Instead Senate Republicans are showing that for a while at least, they will put up with a noisy — but effective — stunt staged by State Senate Democrats to highlight their Republican colleagues’ continued backing for their indicted GOP Conference leader, Dean Skelos. That all took place on Wednesday in the Senate Chamber in Albany. According to the Post’s editors, “... [i]t was political theater at its best: lots of screaming and turmoil, capped by a walkout by the Democrats....” And in the words of the Post’s Editorial — “ the point was sound....”
The Post concluded with this: “The clock is now ticking for the Republicans. Will they move more quickly .... removing Skelos and showing they won’t tolerate [even] US Attorney Preet Bharara’s allegations of corruption?”
The Wall Street Journal covered the events described in the Post’s Editorial, including the noisy walk-out by the Dems, in a news feature (See “Debate Heats Up About Dean Skelos’s Future as New York Senate President” by Mike Vilensky, 5/6/15, The Wall Street Journal [http://www.wsj.com/articles/debate-heats-up-over-future-of-dean-skelos-as-new-york-senate-president-1430959511]).
Yesterday it was NYS Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long; today it was the generally supportive and right-leaning New York Post. What will it take for Republican State Senators, like Brooklyn’s Marty Golden, to come to his senses and dump Dean Skelos as the GOP Conference/ Senate Majority Leader ?
Interestingly, according to the report in the WSJ, “Sen. John DeFrancisco, an upstate Republican, said the Democrats were being politically ‘smart’ but legislatively unproductive....”
Then, as if parroting Mike Long, Senator DeFrancisco said, “We’re not going to get business done if we waste time on political issues on the floor.” — Again with this “needing to do business” bit ?
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