The jury in the Vetrano case looked like it was almost ready to acquit the defendant Chanel Lewis

If the interviews with the jurors that appeared in the NY Post are an accurate snapshot of the Vetrano Case jury,  these good and true citizens of Queens were already in agreement that Defendant Chanel Lewis was NOT GUILTY of one of the major charges  ---  and a clear majority of that jury had even voted to acquit Chanel Lewis of the charge of murder

Taken as a whole, this article makes it clear that this Queens jury had rejected much of the prosecution's theory of the case, as well as much of the tendered evidence,  including testimony by a superstar, hero cop, and even what some consider to have been compelling DNA evidence presented by the NYC ME's top DNA expert

Oddly, the New York Post article not only buried any lead that this jury was leaning toward an acquittal, it hardly gave any credence or quantum of credit to that possibility whatsoever....   Boy, that really does look like some real editorial overreach by a paper obviously lookin' for a hangin'  (See "Jurors on Karina Vetrano case wanted more time to deliberate" by Priscilla DeGregory, Georgett Roberts  & Lia Eustachewich,  11/21/18,  NY Post/  Metro  [nypost.com/2018/11/21/jurors-on-karina-vetrano-case-wanted-more-time-to-deliberate/]).

Something else comes through in this particular NY Post article, and it's as clear as corillion  bells on Easter morning.  ---  The trial judge,  Justice Michael Aloise,  disliked something about this case so intensely that he singled himself out to take the heat,  and he put a fork in it, post haste.....

Let's start at the front end of the Karina Vetrano Case --- what the timeline shows

First, Detective  Lieutenant John Russo singles out Chanel Lewis,  because he was a black man hanging around Howard Beach wearing clothes that seemed too heavy for the season  ---  he made sure that the local police took down Lewis' name and address, so they would have a record of his having a history of being in Howard Beach if anything happened in the future [this was months before Karina Vetrano's murder]

A day or two later, somebody in Howard Beach made a 911 call to report that a "Chanel Lewis" was behind one of the houses in Howard Beach with a crowbar [again, months before the Karina Vetrano murder]  ---  after local police interrogated Mr. Lewis to give an account of his comings and goings,  they took him to Far Rockaway, which is very far from Chanel Lewis' home in Brooklyn, and the police left him there alone

On the night that Karina Vetrano went missing, only a few hours after she had left to go running, her father, Philip Vetrano called a neighbor, who has been described by a police official as a "Chief" in the NYPD, to tell him that his daughter had recently gone missing and that Vetrano was putting together a search party to look for her. Even though she was only missing for a few hours,  the police sent detectives and a helicopter to aid Vetrano in his search

In spite of all the help, Vetrano found his daughter's murdered body all by himself. It was described as being near a marsh pool about fifteen feet off of the running/walking path in the Spring Creek Park section of the Gateway preserve  ---  a spot that has been described as hard to find in newspaper accounts

For about six months the regular efforts by the NYPD to follow-up on every lead resulted in no progress in locating Karina Vetrano's killer

It was then, six months into the murder investigation, that another Howard Beach neighbor of Mr. Vetrano,  Det. Lieut. John Russo  >>>  REMEMBERED <<<  Chanel Lewis, and Russo told investigators to look at him as a suspect in the Karina Vetrano case.  After a couple of days investigating and questioning Mr. Lewis,  with his full voluntary cooperation, along with that of his family, NYPD detectives had discovered and taken possession of  ALL THE EVIDENCE that they would need to charge Lewis for the Vetrano murder,  and to present at trial against him, including the very problematic DNA samples 

Here's an interesting tid-bit;  Det.Lieut. John Russo is the Chief of Detectives'  liaison to local detective squads.  His colleagues also say that he is an expert on NYPD  >>> procedures <<<

Russo might or might not be a great artist as a detective,  but he sure looks like he is one master framer.....

Some things somebody needs to ask McCabe's guy Ulrich..... After all, this scandal is on his patch.....

Can you get good police work from bad cops ?  ---  OR  ---  Was this just another attempt to railroad a minority defendant involving bad NYPD detective work ???  ---  OR  ---  IS SOMETHING BIGGER GOING ON ?????

Last week,  a case against a problematic defendant in a Howard Beach murder case was bounced by a Queens Judge  ---  because the case, supposedly  “broke by a hero cop,”  actually stunk to high heaven and the jury couldn’t get itself together enough to convict or acquit  

So,  what does the local City Councilman for Howard Beach and surrounding neighborhoods have to say about that ?????

This blog has jumped on bad prosecutions for years  ---  usually focusing on the dirty prosecutors, people like Marty Golden-Mike Long buddy Charles Hynes  ---  this time it looks like the weak link is a pretty high up NYPD detective,  who many including the Mayor of the City of New York have called a “hero cop”…..  Strangely, on this case, this "Fearless Fosdick" did all his detecting as a free-lancer and off-the-books  ---  and for fun and profit,  he helped round-up one of them "likely suspects"

THE KARINA VETRANO CASE IS SPECIAL  ---  BECAUSE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT IS ESPECIALLY BAD.....

The man up to now charged with this murder is a black guy named Chanel Lewis;  and you are almost as likely to have killed Karina Vetrano as he is.

Last week a Queens Judge granted a defense motion for a mistrial after the jury in the case against Chanel Lewis said they were deadlocked after only a couple of days of deliberation.  The judge's actions at this stage of proceedings was unusual and he seemed to be sending somebody a message. he didn't even formally instruct the jury to try harder to reach a verdict.....  Many court watchers were surprised, some were even shocked.  The New York Post was especially NOT AMUSED;  but, this time,  they have it all wrong.

The real villain in the piece isn't Chanel Lewis,  it is an Detective Lieutenant  named  John Russo.....
Now, he is an interesting character, and he has some obvious reasons for taking a special off-the-books interest i this case  ---  however, I think that the real nefarious stuff might not be nearly so obvious.  (I will leave the things about Det. Lt. Russo remain at the teaser level for now.....  I've done teasers like this before, so you know something bigger and more substantial is coming.....)

THIS POST IS BEING PUBLISHED AT THIS TIME BECAUSE OF ERIC ULRICH'S APPEARANCE IN OUR PART OF THE WORLD

The reason for this blog posting at this time is to alert somebody to ask Liam  McCabe's friend Mr. Eric what he thinks about this case and all of the stuff surrounding it.  After all isn't he talking about being a "Public Advocate"  ---  well, let's see how he intends to advocate about the murder of Karina Vetrano.  He should know all about it and have lots of opinions  ---  in fact, we already know that he did quite some time ago.....

When Chanel Lewis was first arrested, it's clear that Eric wanted to rush to judgment.  According to a print report by "QNS.COM":   "....   'With the arrest of Chanel Lewis, a suspect in custody in connection with the gruesome murder of Karina Vetrano, hopefully the Vetrano family can begin to have closure and the entire community can breath a sigh of relief,'  Councilman Eric Ulrich said. 'I commend the NYPD officers who worked the case and the office of the Queens District Attorney for their tireless efforts identifying and arresting this individual. Justice will be served.'...”   ( See,  " 'He’s a demon!’ Reaction to arrest in Karina Vetrano case ranges from vengeful to relieved"  by Robert Pozarycki,  2/6/17,  QNS.com   [https://qns.com/story/2017/02/06/hes-demon-reaction-arrest-karina-vetrano-case-ranges-vengeful-relieved/]).

Eric have you thought about this case since the mistrial ?   And what do you think ???

Re-post of: Will Dirty DA Hynes Legacy Help Pelosi to Return in January as Speaker of the House ???

The following post originally appeared at [http://galewynmassey.blogspot.com/2018/11/will-dirty-da-hynes-legacy-cause-pelosi.html] on November 16th;  however the gremlins made it completely disappear

It has been reprinted here in much of it's earlier glory:

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Friday, November 16, 2018

Will Dirty DA Hynes Legacy Help Pelosi to Return in January as Speaker of the House ???

Democrat Kathleen Rice, the Long Island Congresswoman, is one of a hand-full of Members of Congress that have come out publicly against the return of Democrat Nancy Pelosi as Speaker  ---  BUT  ---  According to "The Hill," Rice also has been mentioned as a possible opponent to run for the top spot against the venerable former speaker and current Minority Leader

Needless to say,  this will put Ms. Rice's less than spotless record under a microscope 

During her years in Brooklyn,  ADA Rice was close to DA Hynes, and top ADAs Vecchione and Amoroso, and she worked on cases with Detective-Investigator Scarcella  ---  Later on, when she ran for public office, her problem files in the Brooklyn DA's Office were "scrubbed"

This blog has looked at Kathleen Rice closely in the past in connection with her time working under Brooklyn DA Charlie Joe Hynes.  And based on that old research,  one wonders how the emerging and very progressive Democrat majority in the House could possibly get behind a "Kathleen Rice" for anything, much less as Speaker.....  (See "GOP Congressional Candidate Bruce Blakeman needs to Tie former Brooklyn ADA Kathleen Rice into more than Nassau DA's problems as Moreland Commission Co-chair 'Assisting' Investigators" by Galewyn Massey,  8/4/14  [on this blog below 4+ years ago][https://galewynmassey.blogspot.com/2014/08/gop-congressional-candidate-bruce.html]).

Kathleen Rice was known to be close to, even the protege of,  some of DA Hynes' most nefarious and infamous henchmen, specifically:  Michael Vecchione;  Dino Amoroso and even the very problematic detective-investigator Louis J. Scarcella.  Needless to say, that would mean she had involvements with many of the Hynes' office's bad cases. She was the lead prosecutor in one particularly dirty Hynes prosecution, the "persecution" of one,  Antoine Butts.  This one was so bad that,  once his conviction had been overturned, it cost the City millions of dollars to settle his case for damages.

Of course, many have mentioned the obvious racial component of so many of the Hynes' office's bad prosecutions.  However, nobody has asked how so many of Hynes' top people, like Rice,  stayed in the Brooklyn DA's office when it became known to them that Brooklyn DA Hynes had such a very close personal association with the Breezy Point Cooperative in Queens,  during an era when that lilly-white enclave was widely viewed as a racially and religiously segregated community within the boundaries of New York City.

Oddly,  it might be something else that Rice did, or actually didn't do, during much of her time as an ADA for Hynes that will be her ultimate undoing.   VOTING  ---  or should I say  "NOT VOTING".....  Initially,  Rice registered as a Republican like her parents,  but she figured that this might interfere with her progress in an office run very politically by Hynes.  So what did Kathleen do, she let her voter registration lapse by  >>> not voting <<<  for eighteen years (18 yrs.).....   In openly admitting to that fact,  Rice added that she only re-registered when she started thinking about running for elective office.  As a result, anybody digging into Kathleen Rice's history could easily argue that  >>> she only votes when something is in it for her. 

To many reading this, it might seem that all of that doesn't add up to very much,  however that is only what I know.  Wait until Palosi's bloodhounds drop this on some of their friends in the national press,  then you'll see how it adds up pretty quickly,  especially when they find even more tidbits from her days working for Hynes.

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gail, did you put any of this stuff on Wikipedia, or did you get it from there?

November 16, 2018 at 7:05 AM

Anonymous said...

Hynes & Golden were such a jolly couple. Press conferences together, fundraisers together. And eventually the voters had enough so they both got tossed out. But not together.

November 16, 2018 at 8:17 AM

Anonymous said...

Long and Kassar convinced Hynes he could hang on as Brooklyn DA by running on conservative line. They convinced Marty to get a recount and were there for the end of Donovan. These guys are the election night Grim reapers for everyone except Grimm.

November 16, 2018 at 8:37 AM

Anonymous said...

Artie Lange returns. Save the material 8;37 the Louie CK warm up show.

November 16, 2018 at 9:27 AM

The party's over --- it's time to call it a day --- Marty Golden CONCEDES.....

After almost two weeks,  Marty Golden finally throws in the towel with only a very slight change in the vote tally since Election Night

It's the end of an era in Southwest Brooklyn politics.....  

Is it the end for all Kings County Republicans,  as well ?????

On Monday, November 19th,  State Sen. Marty Golden conceded that he had lost his state senate seat to Democratic challenger Andrew Gounardes,  as the NY Board of Elections completed its final count of absentee ballots. 

Said Marty  in a formal statement  ---  "I congratulate Andrew Gounardes and wish him well in his service to the people of the 22nd State Senate district....   Although we came up just short this election, I am grateful my career in public service has been full of much success as a police officer and as an elected official....   As I think of the future, my supporters, neighbors and friends can be sure that I will still always look for opportunities to make our neighborhoods an even better place to live, work and raise a family."

According to the unofficial New York Board of Elections results, Gounardes was leading by more than 1,000 votes; and there were still about 1,400 absentee ballots that needed to be counted after election day.

The information above is from an "AM New York" report by Nicole Brown [https://www.amny.com/news/elections/golden-concedes-1.23586208].

With the Florida "Recount(s)" nearly complete.....

...  the Republicans for the U.S. Senate and the Florida Governorship are looking like the winners  ---  just like they did on Election Night.....


...  the first "official" count or "recanvas" of the vote in the Golden-Gounardes State Senate race is still not done  ---   any day,  now  ---  ANY DAY.....


...  And since the ambit of this blog now includes an "overseas" component [Staten Island], maybe it's time for the blog to start talking about some real international issues.  ---  For example, one of my top BSIs wants me to do a feature post about a shift in U.S.-N.A.T.O. policy and a completely new approach to America's post-World War II strategic European posture ---  taking us back to being an enforcer and protector of the good-for-Russia parts of the Yalta and Potsdam agreements (something that WE RENEGED ON ALMOST FROM THE VERY BEGINNING).

I don't know if I and/or my readers are ready for that.

What do you think ???

WTF --- Another delay in the Golden-Gounardes count --- This time it's "machines to count" the "absentee ballots"

Is the Brooklyn BOE a remote piece of the Broward County Florida election  mess  ---  or is it something unique to Brooklyn ???

The "progress" of the recanvas of the Golden-Gounardes results sure looks like a tin-type of what's happening in Florida  ---  but maybe,  looks can be deceiving !!!

There's little hard data available;  and even the Brooklyn Eagle's most recent coverage is little more than a few mumbles from here and there  (See  "Absentee vote count postponed in Golden-Gounardes race" by  Paula Katinas, 11/15/18,  Brooklyn Daily Eagle   [http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2018/11/15/absentee-vote-count-postponed-golden-gounardes-race]).  

Once again, the NYC BOE seems to be having a problem getting the right equipment where it needs to be to do a routine job.....

Steeplechase Strategies, Inc. --- In-and-for politics it's your "Premiere Political Consultant Agency" --- IF YOU WANT YOUR STRATEGY TO BE DEFEAT

Yes, the time has come to torch this bunch of parvenue "consultants" who have turned their brand of political montbankerie into an art  ---  and fleeced quite a few naive and unsuspecting GOP victims in the process [they have felt free to try to invade my domain here on this blog --- so turn-about is fair play]

The principals,  Liam McCabe, Robert Morgan, Alexandra Sherer, Nachman Mostofsky and Christine Sisto are all pretty well known to Brooklyn Republicans  ---  HOWEVER  ---   only one of them,  Liam McCabe, actually is a Brooklyn Republican [and he only a recent and opportunistic convert  to the fold;  you see, he is a "recovering..."  member of the Conservative Party]

So why all the consulting work for Brooklyn Republicans ?   Don't YOU think that's a good question ???   What is their rather recent juice and cred with the Kings County GOP generally, and significant pockets within that so-called "county" organization, in particular ?????

Well listen my children, and you will hear......  Do duh name,  Jazzy Kuhzah, mean sumptin to yuhz ???    

Okay, how about Jerry Kassar ?????   Yes, the once upon a time Chairman of the Kings County Conservative Party;  oh, and don't forget soon to be ex-Chief-of-Staff to the soon to be ex-State Senator Martin J. Golden.  You see Kassar has used his gunzels (love that word; and all that it means) from Steeplechase Strategies, Inc. to maintain his control over the Brooklyn GOP and most of its candidates ever since his "boss" Marty took over the Brooklyn GOP and installed Ted Ghorra as "Chairman."

All of this is pretty well known to most of the real Brooklyn Republicans,  many of whom took a walk on the wild side in 2018,  and decided to try "good government independence" for a change.....    BYE-BYE MARTY.....   BYE-BYE DANNY BOY.....   (Everybody knows what you do with used-up scumbags  ---  you just give them the "deep six".....)

WHAT TO DO ABOUT STEEPLECHASE STRATEGIES INC.

If anybody needs a pox on their houses it's this crew.  

They tout themselves as "Reliable"......   Christine's recent Al-Anon memo about Liam says it all on this subject.....   But, if you focus on Bob and Allie,  you'll see that they are even more of a "bag of glass" for the kids to play with.  They have yet to find a campaign to which they can't bring their own special brand of FUBAR..... 

After being underlings in a few campaigns here, there and god-knows-wherever,  this crew of miscreants have fancied themselves "experts" on the following:  "Direct Mail";  "Robo-calls & Surveys"; "Graphic Design"; "Web Design";  "Fund Raising";  and " Branding".....

Generally,  just look at what this crew has done recently in Brooklyn:   2017 -- the primary campaign of Liam McCabe -- LOSS;  2018 --  the primary campaign of Michael Grimm  --  LOSS: 2018 --  the general campaign of Steve Saperstein -- LOSS;  2018 --  the general election campaign of Marty Golden -- LOSS.   Forget any of the subspecialties in those fiascos.  [A real expert on these matters, with many Republican clients over the years, that I know pretty well tells me that their work in all these areas is worse than "sub-standard".....]

"Web Design" -- Whoa !!!  What a joke ---  just look at their own web page and look at "Testimonials".......   GIVE ME A BREAK !!!   What a look.....  What's with all that Latin ?????

And best of all "Branding".....   This from the crew that decided to re-brand the Metropolitan Republican Club into an  "OPEN MIKE NIGHT FOR RIGHT WING HATERS CLUB"  ---  OR  ---  "THE PROUD BOYS VERY OWN METROPOLITAN REPUBLICAN CLUB".....

But don't take it from me; ask their friends and enemies.  I'm sure that you'll find plenty of the latter;  the former, eh maybe, not so much.

What happened to "South Brooklyn Red" --- Did it all >>> END <<< on election night ?????

Hey Johns,  Quaglione & Seravalli,  what gives ?????

I visited the [your] Twitter site  ---  NOTHING NEW THERE FROM YOU SINCE BEFORE ELECTION DAY

Enquiring minds want to know.....

The last entry is on election night,  but it's from Ross Barkan;  you know,  the former DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE FOR THE STATE SENATE against Gounardes and Golden.....

The Brooklyn GOP* --- "LOSERS & LOSERS" Feature Edition --- And, the big "Winner" is: MARTY GOLDEN

Steve Witt's "Kings County Politics" blog is way off-the-mark when it comes to observations about the "Winners & Losers" coming out of the Kings County Republican debacle of 2018  ---  it's worth a read though,  just to see some of what are some of  the  >>> not-the-right-answers <<<  for the Brooklyn GOP

To my mind, the biggest  "winner" of a kind is the man that looks like the "biggest loser of the bunch" of Kings County Republicans  ---  the soon-to-be-former State Senator,  Bay Ridge's own  >>> Martin J. Golden (R-C) <<<   His bravura performance as "Your own State Senator Marty Golden" finally won for him his pot-o-gold at the end of the rainbow  >>> A WELL-EARNED DEFEAT <<<

Marty Golden both generated and catalyzed the zeitgeist of the "circular firing squad" that has permeated Brooklyn GOP politics almost since the day that he was first elected to the City Council  ---  near the end,  he also chatellized the Brooklyn Republican Party's piece of the BOE for purposes of an "EVERYTHING HAS TO GO"  >>> "Liquidation Sale" <<<

I've told a lot of people lately that Marty Golden's movie persona had become that of "Johnny Rocco"  ---  the Edward G. Robinson** character in "Key Largo"  [this bravura performance by one of Hollywood's greats made that movie work;  and Bogie & Bacall were just part of a finely moulded cast that framed Robinson's performance]  ---  the same exact thing can be said about the latter day Brooklyn GOP and Marty Golden.....

I could go through all the featured and bit players who made up the "Losers & Losers" in the GOP Brooklyn Mining Disaster of 2018  ---  but too many are friends of mine and they would be "hurt" if I twisted the knife in their back one more time  ---   besides, I've  >>> briefly <<<  lost the taste for it.....  And it would be like doing movie reviews for most of the extras in "Ben Hur".....

Instead, let me do this "Johnny Rocco" sequence from "Key Largo."  It represents a leitmotif of the Marty Golden era in the Brooklyn GOP that ultimately led to his defeat:


"....Johnny Rocco [Edward G. Robinson]: There's only one Johnny Rocco.

James Temple [Lionel Barrymore]: How do you account for it?

Frank McCloud [Humphrey Bogart] : He knows what he wants. Don't you, Rocco?

Johnny Rocco : Sure.

James Temple : What's that?

Frank McCloud : Tell him, Rocco.

Johnny Rocco : Well, I want uh ...

Frank McCloud : He wants more, don't you, Rocco?

Johnny Rocco : Yeah. That's it. More. That's right! I want more!

James Temple : Will you ever get enough?

Frank McCloud : Will you, Rocco?

Johnny Rocco : Well, I never have. No, I guess I won't...." 

At this time, there's nothing that I can add that would make the point any better.....

However, in memory of Mr. Edward G. Robinson** [and also the NRA's Chuck Heston] let me close by saying,  "Soylent Green is people....."

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*As soon as I get my feet on the ground here in Staten Island, I'll be wading into the pool of local GOP and related politics in Richmond County with the same gusto and zeal as my Brooklyn coverage.....
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** And, yes, Edward G. Robinson's last movie was "Soylent Green"

Three cops in a bar on election night

Some instances encapsulate everything going on elsewhere.....

Tuesday night in Pipin's was one such instance

There were three cops at the bar....

Let's start off with  ---  how did you know they were cops ??? 

Well, it's pretty much the same as the way that you knew it was raining out last Tuesday night and for some reason there were orange cones all over Third and Fifth Avenue to stop people parking there.....  That and their cop jargon about this in  the "72" or that in the "69,"  something or other only going on "...in 'this part of Brooklyn," and  "people around here not knowing how good they have it".....

The friend of mine asked for some of the more viewable TVs to turned to the election results that until then were only on one screen in the corner;  and the bartender said sure  ---  the three suddenly seemed to start talking under their breath rather than how they seemed to be chatting  a couple of minutes before.

The big instant came a while later,  around ten o'clock when it was obvious that the cable network covering the elections was not going to do local coverage.  My friend spoke over toward the three guys in suits,  "Did you hear how Marty Golden is doing ?"

The answer from one of the guys was quick and to the point  ---  "There's no results on that tonight...."  It wasn't long later that the three left.

It's kinda funny  ---  maybe these guys weren't cops  (Right, maybe they weren't !!!)  ---  but  ---  WHY THE ATTITUDE  --- AND  ---  HOW DID THEY KNOW ?????

 

A message from Galewyn Massey --- A big "whoopsy-daisy" --- my plans to leave Brooklyn couldn't be changed --- hence the change of the name of this blog

A little while back, and with great fanfare, I had announced that if Marty Golden were to be re-elected as state senator, I'd move out of Brooklyn.....

Sometime in mid-summer 2018, it looked to me like the Gounardes Campaign wasn't getting any traction  ---  so I finalized my plans to move to Staten Island.....

Marty Golden wound up LOSING to Andrew Gounardes  ---   however, my plans to move have already been implemented and they can't be changed

I stayed in Brooklyn sixty years longer than the Dodgers.....  I'm not far over the bridge (now with two "Zs").....

All politics is local --- AND --- the GOP got a drubbing locally all around New York State --- AND --- THAT MIGHT BE THE TREND FOR THE FUTURE

The loss of Republican control of the New York State Senate was a long time in coming and it is likely to last for a very long time going forward

There is only one shot left in that old bottle of booze,  possible Republican control in the NYS Senate;  but,  if the GOP State Senate Conference doesn't completely rebound in 2020 and regain ALL the 2018 losses  ---  they are done having a meaningful say in New York State politics for at least a generation  ---  if the Democrats control the post-2020 reapportionment of the NYS Senate,  the GOP will have a shot at no more than a 2-to-3 minority in the NYS Senate for the next ten years (and that might even be closer to a 1-in-3 minority)..... 

Things are even worse when it comes to the NYS Congressional Delegation going forward.  The NYS Republican delegation to the U.S. Congress suffered grievous loses in 2018  ---  mostly along the "Hudson" from Staten Island and Brooklyn to north of Saugerties  (and even Chris Collins in Western NYS might still lose his seat by the end of the count[s];  then again, Claudia Tenney still has a remote chance to pull out a win in the Southern Tier on the recount[s])  ---   after reapportionment following the 2020 election,  the long-term ratio of Republicans to Democrats among NYS Members to Congress is likely to come in at no higher than 1-in-5  (really, think long and hard about that)

Something more than hand-wringing must be done..... 

What could that possibly be ?????

NYS Libertarian's achieve ballot status --- NYS Reform Party, not so much.....

There had been talk of the Reform Party attaining permanent ballot status thanks to their endorsement of Republican-Conservative Marc Molinaro  ---  that strategy/ tactic didn't work out so well for them.....

Meanwhile,  the Libertarian Party did earn ballot status statewide with the vote total earned by that party's candidate for Governor Larry Sharpe  ---  at least 90,664 votes have been tallied for Mr. Sharpe, with 99% of the gubernatorial vote counted 

During his campaign Mr. Sharpe pushed to legalize marijuana, eliminate the state income tax and sever  New York State's ties with the U.S. Department of Education.

The Libertarian Party was formed in 1971, and it is the third-largest political party across the United States behind the two major parties, the Republicans and Democrats.   At this time,   according to a party spokesperson, there are approximately 186 Libertarians holding elected offices across the country  ---  56 of those  offices involve a partisan identification and 130 of the offices are "nonpartisan."

In addition to the Libertarians, who succeeded, and Reform Party, which did not;  the Women’s Equality Party also was hoping to retain their status as a recognized party, fell well short of the 50,000 votes needed.  In addition,  the Green Party garnered enough to stay on for another four years.

A recognized party can field statewide candidates for four years without petitioning, if they conduct qualifying convention,  also enjoys campaign fundraising perks,  and can have a lower threshold for fielding legislative candidates.

CITIZENS OF BAY RIDGE --- LET'S SAVE THE BAY RIDGE MANOR BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE !!!

What would Exxon be if there were no oil in any of the pipelines, tank farms and salt domes ?  Hint:  It would be a  >>> former <<<  energy giant.....


Marty Golden and his family's main business holding the Bay Ridge Manor,  find themselves in that very same  >>> former energy giant <<<  boat  

BUT QUICK  ---  SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE WHILE MARTY GOLDEN WANDERS AROUND BAY RIDGE TRYING TO FIND HIMSELF

People of Bay Ridge,  you need to act before it's too late.....
Maybe you are closing your eyes to a situation that you do not wish to acknowledge,  or you are just not yet aware of the caliber of disaster that would be indicated by the presence of a shuttered catering hall in the middle of your community.....

These are the times that try men's souls.  In the course of our neighborhood's history,  the people of Bay Ridge have rallied bravely whenever their community has been threatened.  Today, the day after the fateful election of 2018,  a new crisis has arisen.  A very heavy and burdensome blight is about to befall the local population in the form of the immanent collapse of a hallowed and beloved Bay Ridge institution.

Citizens, hear me out, this is about to happen to all of us,  if we don't act now.

....  Well, let me tell you of the story of a man named Marty 

On a tragic and fateful day He put a big wad in his pocket,

Kissed his wife and family

To be re-elected state senator at the end of  day....



Well, did he ever return?

No he never returned and his fate is still unlearned (what a pity)

He may lurk forever 'round the streets of Bay Ridge

He's the man who never returned

But with Marty suddenly out of the picture, who will funnel the cash into his beloved 76th Street big party joint necessary to keep it a going as a business entity ?    Now that Marty can't use his position as a state senator to keep the sluices open for what, up to now, seemed like a limitless flow of shekels,  what will keep the Bay Ridge Manor afloat ???

Here's where you have to do your part.....

I'm NOT asking anybody to pass the hat for the Golden family in this,  their hour of sudden need.  There are no need for raffles or bake sales, either.  

What we do need is this:                                                                                                                        >>>  for everybody in Bay Ridge and even Dyker Heights <<<  to try to think of some function or event to book into the Bay Ridge Manor  ---   and quickly call up, whichever Golden family member Marty left in charge,  to make sure that they know there is still business coming to keep the Manor going.  It could be something for the Girl Scouts,  or an AA anniversary party,  maybe a K of C or Hibernians secret degree ceremony,  it could some old bunch of retired Sisters of Saint Joseph's nuns getting together for drinks and to get a feed on, or even some particular class out of OLA's alumni association and (even though Irish Catholics are preferred), this effort is open to all.  

AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT:   IF YOU CAN  ---  GO THAT EXTRA MILE   >>>   PUT ON "THE FULL BUFF"  <<<   YOU'LL BE GLAD THAT YOU DID !!!!!

NOTHING MORE NEEDS TO BE SAID --- OR DOES IT ???

TO ALL INDEPENDENT-MINDED REPUBLICAN VOTERS IN BROOKLYN *

RIGHT NOW,  THERE IS SO MUCH WRONG WITH THE BROOKLYN GOP  ---  PARTICULARLY, THE WAY IT IS CURRENTLY CONSTITUTED AND LED AROUND BY MARTY GOLDEN, GOLDEN'S UN-ELECTED STAFF AND CAMPAIGN BOSSES (SOME EVEN DEMOCRATS, LIKE MICHAEL TOBMAN)  ---  AND ESPECIALLY, THE NYS CONSERVATIVE PARTY'S  BROOKLYN TENTACLE, WHICH IS WRAPPED TIGHTLY AROUND IT.....


THE ONLY THING LEFT FOR REAL REPUBLICANS AND CONSERVATIVES TO DO IS TO REBEL  ---  COMPLETELY SHUN THE REPUBLICAN AND CONSERVATIVE PARTY LINES  ---  AND INSTEAD, VOTE IN PROTEST FOR ALL THE CANDIDATES RUNNING ON THE REFORM PARTY LINE IN 2018  ---  REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY ARE RUNNING ON ANY OTHER PARTY LINES  ---   OR WHETHER THEY ARE PRINCIPALLY REPUBLICANS, DEMOCRATS OR SOMETHING ELSE

>>>  In particular, that means making the tough choice when it comes to the State Senator from the 22nd District.  ---  It means, as an extreme protest, not casting any kind of vote for Marty Golden on any of the lines upon which he is running; and as a one-time practical alternative, giving your vote to Andrew Gounardes, a moderate Bay Ridge Democrat,  running on the Reform Party Line.  <<<

REMEMBER, JUST THIS ONCE,  BY NOT VOTING FOR MARTY GOLDEN AND VOTING FOR ANDY GOUNARDES INSTEAD,  YOUR PROTEST VOTE WILL HAVE TWICE THE POWER AND STRENGTH THAT IT OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE BY PROTESTING IN MERELY NOT VOTING FOR STATE SENATOR AT ALL.....

*****

***  ALSO, YOU NEED TO KNOW THERE IS A VERY GOOD CHANCE  ---  THAT BY VOTING FOR STEVE SAPERSTEIN, NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS, AND DAN DONOVAN ON THE REFORM PARTY LINE  ---  YOU WILL ENSURE THAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY NOT ONLY REMAINS ALIVE IN  BROOKLYN  ---  IT WILL BE REVITALIZED AND STRONGER BY DUMPING GOLDEN AND HIS CABAL OF OUTSIDERS  & SELF-SERVERS ***

_____________________

*  Here at  "The Brooklyn Independent GOP Fountainhead"  blog  ---  we don't believe in half-measures or pulling our punches  ---  regardless of outcomes, or the outrage of entrenched and/or self-important, quasi-influential RINOs in Brooklyn or elsewhere around NYS.....

                                                            ---   Galewyn Massey, 11/6/18

GOLDEN IN POSSIBLE ELECTION EVE SCANDAL --- A TAX MONEY - KICKBACK SCHEME

It's all there  ---  the history  ---  the cash  --- the usual suspects  ---  and the cash going in a circle with Marty Golden being one of the drops


Repeat after me:  Roger Adler means "kickbacks"  ---   Roger Adler gets beaucoup taxpayer $$$,$$$ from Dan Donovan and the NYS Senate Republicans  ---   Adler's son-in-law Michael Tobman works for Marty  ---  Adler donates to Marty Golden  ---  Oddly, Adler and Tobman are both Democrats  ---  What is going on here ?????   Somebody needs to get to the bottom of this.....

It's deep in the weeds, but it is also obvious  ---  another scheme to funnel money to Marty Golden has been described and it involves two sources of taxpayer money. 

At last all the usual suspects are linked together in a circular arrangement, ultimately with cash reaching Marty Golden's coffers:  first, you have Michael Tobman, who  has been working for State Senator Marty Golden as a "spokesperson" for some time now; second, is his father-in-law, Roger Adler, who recently was hired by the Republican Majority in the NYS Senate;  next, you can throw in Dan Donovan (who was one of the few people that Marty Golden thanked at his Bay Ridge Manor "rally" last evening), who also steered lots of cash to Roger Adler in one of his last acts as Staten Island DA; and last, as the keystone guy in this daisy-chain, there's NYS Senator Martin Golden.   

When I saw all of these characters tied together in something involving Marty and a multi-step conduit to tax money,  I immediately thought that some kind of >>> kick-back scheme <<<  might be in the works.  I guess Marty's Bay Ridge Manor scam (working fine as recently as the Bay Ridge  Manor "rally" last night) has its limitations. And since Marty G might suddenly need even more money in case he needs to retire again,  he opened up a new pipeline to funnel a new source of cash into his pockets. 

You see the key to this is Roger Adler.   Several years ago, he was caught red-handed kicking back to Brooklyn DA Hynes, along with several other "Special Prosecutors";  it was an ill-disguised scheme to channel 10% of their special prosecutors' fees back to benefit DA Charles Hynes.  (You don't have to believe me about this, the Daily News broke that story way back when it was happening.)  Much more recently, Dan Donovan arranged another sweetheart deal for Mr. Adler.  According to a recent item appearing in Chris Bragg's column for the Albany Times Union,  Dan Donovan had set up Adler to have a super payday by having him investigate Democrat Debbie Rose for something involving the Working Families Party (WFP)  ---  I only say "investigating... something,"  because Roger Adler was paid well over half a million dollars in "special prosecutors" fees, but he couldn't find that Ms. Rose had done anything wrong (See "Prosecutor in Working Families probe now working for Senate GOP" by Chris Bragg, 11/2/18, Times Union/ Capitol Confidential [https://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/284655/prosecutor-in-working-families-probe-now-working-for-senate-gop/]). 

Many have said that this referral to Adler by Donovan was a phony from the very beginning.

With all that as background,  we now have ostensible Democrats, Adler and his son-in-law Tobman, both getting paid by Republican State Senators by a variety of means.  It all sure looks strange, because there is no apparent benefit for the Republicans that are paying the bills to these guys. It's clear that something weird (an anagram for "wired") is going on here.

This is where the next piece of the puzzle makes the whole picture clearer  ---  According to Chris Bragg's article in the (A)TU,  Roger Adler has been a  donor to Marty Golden's campaign funds.....   That's the link that completes the $$$$$ circuit to Marty.

Of course, there might be some "other consideration" involved for Golden and the rest of the Flanagan crowd; there have always been whispers that Tobman and Adler are some kind of behind the scenes, Ninja-style fixers. BOOOOOOH !!! --- SCARY STUFF KIDS.....  But even upon direct questions from Bragg about what Adler might be doing for the GOP State Senators  ---  mum's the word.

There should be more about this soon,  Roger Adler has long been on the NY Daily News radar;  and even the NY Times' Jim Dwyer has eyeballed his "special prosecutor" fees coming from the Donovan referral.  However,  for now content yourself with the early spade work done by Chris Bragg for his Times Union column  "Capitol Confidential" and my early musings on the matter.

Capano and Sliwa put on their final push for independent voters to go with Gounardes --- Reformers say "The Time is up for Golden"

Maybe,  it's just a political letter coming by snail mail  ---  but it will influence some independent voters to vote for Gounardes  ---  Who knows,  maybe it's the straw that breaks Marty's back.....

The recent "local" coverage of the Reform Party had an unfortunate headline that made it seem like "old news"  ---  but a Brooklyn Reporter article last week revealed what's behind the Reform Party's last minute push for Gounardes and against Golden

Yes,  the Reform Party is targeting independents in the final hours of the Golden-Gounardes campaign;  and it is doing it for Andy Gounardes.

Their latest letter starts like this:
"Dear Neighbor,
Sixteen years. That’s how long Marty Golden has been in office. In each of his past elections, we have supported him, but NOT in this one. Simply, his time is up and we are asking you to join us in supporting Andrew Gounardes for state senate on Tuesday. The Reform Party, which we lead, has endorsed Mr. Gounardes because we are tired of the same old politics as usual and the outsized role of special interests and big money in politics. We trust Andrew to have our best interests at heart, because the first bill he has promised to introduce when he’s elected is campaign finance reform to get money out of politics and prevent politicians from using their positions to line their pockets. Unlike Marty Golden, Andrew’s campaign is largely funded by donations from individuals like you and us. When we send him to Albany, we’ll know he will have our backs. Our party also stresses term limits for all elected officials and this election is a natural means to achieve this goal with Marty Golden. Through his own actions, Marty Golden has made himself the poster child for term limits...."

And it ends like this:
"....  This election, we can go with the same Senator who hasn’t done more than deliver the bare minimum for our community, or we can vote for Andrew Gounardes and put our future on the right track. This Tuesday, please vote for Andrew Gounardes on the Reform Party line to send a message that you are tired of the same old politics as usual!
Sincerely
/S/ Curtis Sliwa...  NYS Reform Party Chairman

/S/ Bob Capano...   Brooklyn Reform Party Chairman"

RECENT ARTICLE HAS A OLD LOOK  ---  BUT IT TELLS IT ALL IN AN UP-TO-DATE-REPORT  ---  THE QUOTES BY SLIWA AND CAPANO ARE FRESH & FEISTY

Here's the meat ant potatoes as doled-out by by Paula Katinas:

"Sliwa, who is the party’s state chairperson, and Bob Capano, who heads the Kings County Reform Party, are snubbing Republican state Sen. Martin Golden and are supporting his Democratic opponent, Andrew Gounardes, in the Nov. 6 election....   Golden is running for re-election in the 22nd Senate District, a seat that takes in parts of several neighborhoods across Southwest Brooklyn, including Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Manhattan Beach, Marine Park and Gerritsen Beach. Golden was first elected to the state Senate in 2002....   (See  "Reform Party Snubs Golden, Endorses Gounardes" by Paula Katinas, 10/31/18,  Brooklyn Reporter/  Politics & Government   [https://brooklynreporter.com/2018/10/reform-party-snubs-golden-endorses-gounardes/]).

In this article,  Paula gives her principal interviewees  a chance to have their own say, as follows:

CAPANO'S QUOTES

"....  Capano, who was born and raised in Bay Ridge, and who was a longtime Republican before joining the Reform Party, said the reason for his support for Gounardes can be summed up in two words: term limits....  'I and the Reform Party are firm believers in term limits. After 16 years with the same person in the Senate, it’s time for a change. Andrew Gounardes is a Bay Ridge guy. He is a pragmatic, sensible Democrat. He is the right choice this time,'  Capano told this newspaper....   Capano said he got to know Gounardes years ago when he served as a top aide to Marty Markowitz when Markowitz was Brooklyn borough president. Gounardes was a Bay Ridge community leader at the time. 'You really get involved and get to know the issues and the people,' he said....   Capano’s break from the GOP and from Golden is striking. He ran for Bay Ridge’s City Council seat in 2009 as a Republican and lost to incumbent Democrat Vincent Gentile....   

SLIWA'S QUOTES

"....   Sliwa, co-host of the popular 'Curtis and Cosby' show with Rita Cosby on WABC-Radio, said term limits also entered into his thinking when he decided to back Gounardes over Golden....   'Marty is a poster child for term limits,'  Sliwa told this newspaper....   Sliwa is well known in New York for being the founder of the Guardian Angels citizen patrol group....   Sliwa said he has always enjoyed a friendly relationship with Golden but added that the lawmaker has changed in the years since he first met him. “You used to approach Marty on the street, go have a cup of coffee with him. He was approachable. Now, he’s aloof and unapproachable. He’s out of touch,” Sliwa said....  Gounardes 'is a much better fit for the district,' Sliwa said. 'Bay Ridge is not a radical place. We didn’t feel that supporting Gounardes it would be like voting for a Socialist.'...”

*** L O L *** Ian Reilly felt so >>> DEFAMED <<< that he got some lawyers to write a letter

Marty Golden's campaign boss, Ian Reilly, leads with Marty's chin  ---  in another massive unforced error

Some shysters named Warshaw & Bernstein let one of their guys,  Russell W. Rosen,  send out a “lawyers letter” to Democrat State Senate hopeful Andy Gounardes on behalf of State Senator Marty Golden’s campaign boss,  Ian Reilly

Seriously ???  ---  I mean  >>> SERIOUSLY !!!!! <<<

WHAT’S  THE  BEEF ???   Well,  it looks like Ian-baby found somebody,  who must have gotten his law degree as a prize in a box of Cracker Jack(s) to call one of the solicitation letters from a group calling itself  “ANDREW FOR NEW YORK”  a defamation of Mr. Reilly by Mr. Gounardes  ---  maybe I got this wrong,  BUT I think that Ian Reilly,  Russell W. Rosen and Warshaw & Bernstein got this thing 100% ass backwards and upside-down.

Because there ain't no falsehood,  there ain’t no lawsuit here:   no libel  ---  no slander  ---  no per se  ---  no per quod  ---  no intrinsic defamation  ---  no extrinsic defamation  ---  no damages  ---  AND  ---  because everybody involved is a public figure [and involved in an election campaign] the standards of proof of malicious intent are almost impossible to attain

Let’s start with the fact that Ian Reilly’s name isn’t mentioned in the solicitation letter,  which only says that it’s about somebody on Marty Golden’s  “payroll”…..   I don’t even think that Ian Reilly technically is on any payroll of State Senator Marty Golden’s…..

This "lawyers letter" is complete and absolute horse shit;  >>> and so is the Proud Boys lovin’ Ian Reilly,  who almost single-handedly turned out the lights of the venerable Metropolitan Republican Club forever when he invited one of the Proud Boys’ top toughs to speak at that club and street violence involving the Proud Boys ensued quickly thereafter outside the well-known GOP site.  Besides,  even without his now close Proud Boys connection, which has been reported-on across various types of media,  somebody like Ian Reilly is unslanderable,  and everybody knows it.   He has no reputation that is worth thirty-six cents  ($ 0.36).

I hope that some lawyer for Mr. Gounardes,  or maybe even Andy himself,  replied to the Russell W. Rosen letter on Warshaw & Bernstein letterhead with a appropriate “Dirty Harry” response:   “Go ahead,  make my day”…..