De Blasio Avoids Criminal Charges

Politico NY:

Mayor Bill de Blasio and his aides will not face criminal charges for their role in soliciting donations for the mayor's campaign and an affiliated nonprofit group, prosecutors announced on Thursday morning.

In separate statements, the Manhattan district attorney's office and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District announced they had concluded their months-long investigations into whether the mayor or his aides had acted illegally in soliciting donations and providing special access to donors who gave to de Blasio or his nonprofit group, the Campaign for One New York

This all be assures that de Blasio will win re-election in November:

Bradley Tusk, a former aide to Michael Bloomberg who has publicly encouraged Democrats to challenge de Blasio, said the mayor is now likely to coast to re-election.

"Although the city deserves far better than this, the people best positioned to succeed in a Democratic primary are now unlikely to run, and we should therefore expect four more years of Bill de Blasio," Tusk said in a statement.

If Tusk is throwing in the towel against de Blasio, well, that's a pretty good sign de Blasio's re-election is all but a done deal.

De Blasio To Be Questioned Today By Federal Prosecutors In Corruption Probe

Today's the day:

Reporters outside loading dock of Manhattan building where federal corruption probers are reportedly set to question @NYCMayor @BilldeBlasio pic.twitter.com/uka0RfRGwG

— Matthew Chayes (@chayesmatthew) February 24, 2017

the tabloids appear to be relishing Mayor de Blasio's reported plan to meet with federal prosecutors today pic.twitter.com/fIY0tYr9Ek

— Colin Campbell (@colincampbell) February 24, 2017

The NY Times sets the stage:

Ending months of anticipation and speculation, Mayor Bill de Blasio will meet on Friday with federal prosecutors and F.B.I. agents who have been investigating the mayor’s campaign fund-raising for nearly a year, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

A grand jury has heard evidence in the case, some of the people have said, but it remains unclear whether the investigation, focused on whether the mayor or others in his administration traded beneficial city action for donations to his 2013 election campaign or to his now-defunct nonprofit political group — or both — will result in charges. Either way, the interview is an indication that the expansive criminal inquiry is most likely in its final stages.

...

The mayor is expected to be questioned on Friday morning in a conference room at Kramer Levin’s offices in Midtown Manhattan, according to the people with knowledge of the planned session, which they said is expected to last about four hours. The prosecutors and agents want to question the mayor about more than a dozen topics.

In addition to investigating whether the city took any action on behalf of Mr. Indig as a result of his support for the mayor, the prosecutors and agents are also likely to focus on a number of other donors who have come under scrutiny, including two who have been of intense interest to prosecutors. They are Harendra Singh and Gina Argento.

The Times also has a bit a "new" news:

In recent weeks, investigators appear to have focused on a relatively new area in the inquiry, looking into the mayor’s relationship with a Brooklyn businessman who hosted a fund-raiser for him in October 2013, after the Democratic primary but before the general election, according to two of the people. Like others interviewed for this article, they declined to comment because they were not authorized to discuss the continuing investigation.

In recent weeks, investigators appear to have focused on a relatively new area in the inquiry, looking into the mayor’s relationship with a Brooklyn businessman who hosted a fund-raiser for him in October 2013, after the Democratic primary but before the general election, according to two of the people. Like others interviewed for this article, they declined to comment because they were not authorized to discuss the continuing investigation.

 Louis Flores on what may be going on here:

Friday’s tête-à-tête btwn de Blasio and Preet's prosecutors is "a proffer session" https://t.co/K2RAyPUBrV

— Louis Flores (@maslowsneeds) February 24, 2017

Proffer or "queen for a day" letters are written agreements between federal prosecutors and individuals under criminal investigation.... pic.twitter.com/VWsXYzndHn

— Louis Flores (@maslowsneeds) February 24, 2017

de Blasio’s aides fear he will ‘sacrifice’ them to the Feds #profferagreement #nonprosecutionagreement https://t.co/DtF49LcJmN #Preet

— Louis Flores (@maslowsneeds) February 24, 2017

You can bet Hakeem Jeffries, Scott Stringer, Ruben Diaz Jr and other potential challengers are watching what happens today and ensuing days closely.

So far, no serious challenger to the embattled de Blasio has emerged but clearly an indictment of de Blasio on corruption charges will set off a free-for-all in the Dem primary.

It's difficult to say what indictments of current and/or former aides do to de Blasio's 2017 re-election chances - it all depends on how much residual damage is done to de Blasio if/when that happens.

De Blasio has led a bit of a charmed life these past few months, having much of the news around the corruption investigations buried under an avalanche of Trump news while de Blasio attempted to become the local face of opposition to Trump's policies on immigration, health care, etc.

Other pols - including Governor Cuomo - have attempted similar anti-Trump PR efforts recently (see here and here, for example.)

Both Cuomo and de Blasio are using the Trump election for their own ends of course (Cuomo as rationale for 2020 White House run, de Blasio as rallying cry and distraction from his corruption woes), but in another way the Trump election has helped de Blasio out - it's given Cuomo something else to shoot for instead of de Blasio himself.

For the last few years Cuomo has spent much of his free time looking for ways to torture de Blasio, including looking for potential challengers to the mayor for 2017, but with the Trump administration ensconced in Washington, Cuomo appears to have lost his relish for de Blasio combat and begun setting his sights on a 2020 run instead.

As a result, de Blasio appears to have a pretty easy time of it in his re-election bid - barring criminal charges and/or residual damage some to him by criminal charges on people around him that is.

But that could all change today.

We'll know soon enough. 

As the Times reported, the questioning of de Blasio today means the investigation is about to come to a close.

Odds On De Blasio's Re-Election

Telling statement from Hakeem Jeffries, charter school shill and oft-rumored Cuomo fave for running against de Blasio in a Democratic primary for mayor, in this Wall Street Journal piece on de Blasio's chances for re-election:

“Short of the investigations showing anything happening to Bill de Blasio, it’s not clear to me that he has anything to be concerned about with respect to his re-election,” said U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat who represents portions of Brooklyn and Queens. “It’s always difficult to unseat an incumbent when the economy and public safety numbers are not subject to heavy criticism.”

Sounds like Jeffries is going to stay in Congress, doesn't it?

Unless those investigations into de Blasio turn up something, of course - but no one seems to know what's going on with any of this:

Here's how the WSJ reports on potential challengers to de Blasio:

City Comptroller Scott Stringer, a Democrat, has privately told consultants and others that whether anyone is indicted has significant sway over whether he runs, people familiar with those discussions said. Mr. Stringer has said he wants to be ready to announce by the end of the year, but isn’t committed and is less likely to run if no one is charged, they said.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., another Democrat, also has expressed an interest in running but remains unsure if Mr. de Blasio is beatable, a person familiar with the matter said, and believes his chance at being competitive hinges in part on the investigations.

Mr. Jeffries said he is unlikely to run but would make a decision after November. Real-estate executive Paul Massey has said he would seek the Republican mayoral nomination, but it is unclear how formidable a GOP contender would be next year.

Diaz Jr has been investigated in the past by the feds and comes from a family with a history of corruption, so I remain skeptical that's the guy who gets to run successfully against de Blasio on the morals/ethics issue.

As for Massey, a real estate exec running for mayor of NYC? 

Good luck with that.

My thinking on that is, you want to be from a different industry with real estate money backing you to win (you know, like de Blasio...) 

If Jeffries doesn't run (and it sure sounds like he isn't), then only with Stringer do you have a realistic challenger to de Blasio, but until/unless we get more on the investigations in the next few months, Stringer's going to have to sit on his ambition and wait.

Post Cuomo administration indictments, I'm not convinced indictments of de Blasio staff and/or donors will be a fatal shiv for his re-election.

An indictment of the mayor himself would be.

Like everyone else, we'll just have to wait and see.

As a little tea leaf reading, a couple of weeks ago Preet made a de Blasio joke at a public function:

It seems that U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s recent slapping of federal charges on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s closest associates in an alleged bid-rigging scheme has emboldened him to take jabs at just about everyone—right up to Mayor Bill de Blasio and his infamous affinity for traveling all the way to his old neighborhood of Park Slope to exercise at the YMCA during working hours.

Bharara was honored as “Newsmaker of the Decade” by City & State and served as keynote speaker at its 10th anniversary gala tonight at Vermilion Restaurant in Midtown Manhattan.

...
 

The federal prosecutor didn’t reference the case against Cuomo’s top lieutenants, but instead poked fun at another target of his recent investigations: de Blasio, who faces federal probes into his police department and defunct political nonprofits.

Bharara tweaked the mayor’s fondness for traveling 12 miles from his Gracie Mansion home to the Park Slope YMCA—a subject he hates to talk about—and his preference for eating pizza with utensils—known jokingly as “Forkgate.” He praised City & State for choosing Vermilion Restaurant as a venue, saying that he understood it to be “Indian fusion” which resonated well with him because “I’m kind of Indian fusion myself”—but he said de Blasio would prefer the gym if it were an event for him.

“If it had been Mayor de Blasio, we’d all be eating at the Park Slope YMCA,” Bharara said, as attendees shouted “Ooh!” and laughed raucously, “and we’d eat pizza with a knife and fork. It’s just jokes.”

Would Bharara be making Park Slope and pizza jokes about de Blasio if he were going to arrest him on corruption charges in the near future?

Seems weird, but maybe I'm overthinking it.

Andrew Cuomo Is Either Corrupt Or Incompetent

.@NYGovCuomo is either a clueless idiot or complicit. It's one or the other. #BuffaloBillion #Buffaloboondoggle

— Steve McLaughlin (@SteveMcNY) September 22, 2016

That's Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin reacting to the various criminal charges levied against nine individuals with connections to Governor Andrew Cuomo yesterday, including Cuomo's former top aide and all-around fixer, Joseph Percoco.

When you look closely at the criminal complaint unsealed yesterday, you notice that McLaughlin has an excellent point.

Percoco started soliciting bribes and favors even before his boss, Andrew, was elected governor and Cuomo himself was never far from the action, as this NY Times account makes clear:

Though rarely mentioned in the federal complaint, Mr. Cuomo hovers in the background of the narrative of his former aides’ misdeeds — and some of the more embarrassing revelations. Proximity to the governor and the executive chamber were the currency in which both Mr. Howe and Mr. Percoco traded, often by invoking Mr. Cuomo’s name or exploiting his presence.

In October 2010, for example, as Mr. Cuomo was running for governor, Peter Galbraith Kelly, Jr., chief lobbyist for a power company that was seeking state assistance for its plant in the Hudson Valley, arranged for the company to donate a private jet to fly Mr. Cuomo and his staff to campaign events, the complaint says. It was all part of Mr. Kelly’s bid to ingratiate himself with Mr. Percoco, according to the complaint, as it became increasingly apparent that Mr. Cuomo would be elected.

At various points, the complaint says, Mr. Howe and Mr. Percoco referred to generous donors and clients of Mr. Howe’s as “friends,” short for “friends of the governor” — people who, it seemed, could expect special treatment from the governor’s inner circle. In March 2015, according to the complaint, Mr. Howe and Mr. Percoco set up a meeting for Mr. Kelly with the governor’s secretary, a central figure in the executive chamber.

“As Joe told you, Braith is ‘family,’” Mr. Howe wrote to the secretary, referring to Mr. Kelly’s nickname, the complaint says.

In early 2014, Steven Aiello, president of the Syracuse-area developer COR Development Company, another “friend” and major donor to Mr. Cuomo, was scheduled to meet with Mr. Percoco at the governor’s office in Midtown Manhattan, according to the complaint. Mr. Howe emailed Mr. Percoco, employing an affectionate nickname the two men often used for each other, “Herb,” and dropping in a “Sopranos” reference to ziti as a slang for money: “Lay it on thick, govs loves you … Lay it on heAvy Herbie! Zitti herb! Zitti!!”

Thus prompted, the complaint continues, Mr. Percoco replied that he might have Mr. Cuomo drop by the meeting to say hello. Mr. Howe told investigators that Mr. Percoco did this so he could pressure Mr. Aiello later for more bribes.

The governor’s name came up again in September 2015, according to the complaint, when Mr. Aiello complained to Mr. Howe that he had not been invited to attend Mr. Cuomo’s events during a planned trip to Syracuse. After Mr. Percoco intervened, Mr. Aiello was asked to give the governor a tour of a new hotel he was building in the city.

The coziness depicted in the complaint makes it difficult for some to believe that Mr. Cuomo did not know something was amiss.

“It’s unrealistic with an adviser that was this close to the governor, that the governor doesn’t know what was going on,” said Doug Kellogg, a spokesman for Reclaim New York, a good-government group. Or, if Mr. Cuomo truly did not know, Mr. Kellogg added, “It’s a sign that he’s not minding the store.”

The line out today from Cuomo shills is that Cuomo was clean while he was betrayed by his friends, associates and donors in these matters, but he will now use these betrayals as impetus to push for a cleaner Albany.

But that line is horseshit.

Either Cuomo knew part or all of what was going on under his nose and chose to look the other way (how about those "free" private jet flights back in October 2010, Andy?) or he didn't know and was a) a terrible judge of the character of the people around him and b) incompetent in his stewardship of his administration and its signature economic initiatives (which appear to have been run more to line the pockets of his friends, associates and donors than actually provide any economic development.)

Given Cuomo's reputation as a micromanager with his fingers on everything going on around him, it's difficult to believe Cuomo didn't have some inkling of the games Percoco, Howe, Kaloyeros, et al. were playing and the money and favors that were rolling their way.

Yesterday U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara was asked if the governor was in any trouble for any of this and he replied with a statement that basically said "No - not yet, at any rate":

“What I can say at this moment is that there are no allegations of any wrongdoing or misconduct by the governor anywhere in this complaint. That’s all I’m going to say.”

That's not exactly a clean bill of health for the governor from the U.S. attorney and while multiple outlets have run stories today with the headline that Cuomo's skating on criminal charges while many around him are not, there remains the possibility that one or more of those guys arrested yesterday decides to tell tales on the governor and give a blueprint for where all the bodies are buried in the Cuomo administration.

Even if that doesn't happen, Cuomo ought to be finished politically, as it's quite clear that his "effective" and "ethical" stewardship of the state government is neither of those things.

But as is always the case with Cuomo, he's searching for ways to survive and thrive - thus an appearance in Buffalo today and the line out of his shills about how Cuomo will use these arrests as motivation to clean up state government.

He cannot be allowed to get away with that nonsense.

Andrew Cuomo was either complicit in the corruption in his administration or he was ignorant of it, in which case he is an incompetent fool.

The only way the cesspool that is Albany gets even a bit cleaner from all the corruption is when Andrew Cuomo is finally shown the door and kicked out of office and power.

Preetmas Eve

Various outlets on the Cuomo corruption story today - first the NY Times:

Federal corruption charges were announced on Thursday against two former close aides to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a senior state official and six other people, in a devastating blow to the governor’s innermost circle and a repudiation of how his prized upstate economic development programs were managed.

The charges against the former aides, Joseph Percoco and Todd R. Howe, and the state official, Alain Kaloyeros, were the culmination of a long-running federal investigation into the Cuomo administration’s attempts to lure jobs and businesses to upstate New York’s limping economy by furnishing billions of dollars in state funds to developers from Buffalo to Albany. Mr. Howe is cooperating with the investigation, according to a 79-page criminal complaint unsealed on Thursday.

The charges stemmed from “two overlapping criminal schemes involving bribery, corruption and fraud in the award of hundreds of millions of dollars in state contracts and other official state benefits,” federal prosecutors said in the complaint.

Politico NY:

ALBANY— Alain Kaloyeros, the now former CEO of SUNY Polytechnic Institute, has been charged with three felony counts in connection to an alleged bid-rigging scheme, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Thursday.

The complaint against Kaloyeros, 60, alleges he steered, or agreed to steer, the awarding of contracts to favorable companies, including Columbia Development, a real estate firm with extensive ties to the Capital Region.

The complaint alleges Kaloyeros improperly used the Request for Proposal process to direct contracts to certain firms for the construction of facilities for SUNY Poly. 

“A year-long investigation by my office found that Alain Kaloyeros allegedly used his perch atop SUNY Polytechnic [and] engaged in brazen bid-rigging, using taxpayer dollars and abusing his power to enrich himself and his cronies,” Schneiderman said at a press conference in Manhattan. “According to our criminal complaint, Kaloyeros gave insider information to friends and fixed the bidding process to ensure his cronies lucrative contracts, funded in part by the state of New York.

Kaloyeros, who is expected to be arraigned in Albany City Court on Friday, has been charged with three felony counts of Combination in Restraint of Trade and Competition. Joseph Nicolla, the head of Columbia Development, has been charged with one felony count of of Combination in Restraint of Trade and Competition and is expected to be arraigned on Monday.

Is Cuomo himself implicated in any of this?

Bharara was asked if Cuomo himself has any involvement in the case by a reporter who noted that he had once issued a statement absolving the governor of wrongdoing in connection with the early demise of the corruption-busting Moreland Commission. His reply:

“What I can say at this moment is that there are no allegations of any wrongdoing or misconduct by the governor anywhere in this complaint. That’s all I’m going to say.”

When pressed on whether it’s “realistic” to believe that the governor, who has a reputation of being something of a micromanager, did not know what his top aide was up to, Bharara said simply: “It’s not my job to comment on what is realistic or unrealistic.”

Bharara also said that this investigation, “as a general matter,” remains open.

Politically there's going to be some serious fallout for Cuomo and he's never going to want Sandra Lee to make "ziti" every again, but he appears to be skating on criminal charges, at least for now.

Whether that changes as a result of any of the fellows charged today dishing dirt on him, we'll just have to wait and see.

In any case Happy Preetmas Eve everybody.

Next up in the NY Corruption Season - Bill de Blasio and those donors.

Cuomo Looks To Take Out De Blasio In Election But Ought To Be Looking Over His Own Shoulder

This showed up in the NY Times today:

Maybe it was Mayor Bill de Blasio’s rough week at the Democratic National Convention, when he was relegated to a daytime speaking slot and upstaged by his archrival, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, and his predecessor, Michael R. Bloomberg.

Maybe it was the drumbeat of bad news related to the multiple federal and state investigations swirling around City Hall. Or maybe it was a recent poll suggesting that half of New York City voters believe Mr. de Blasio does not deserve to be re-elected to a second term.

Whatever the reason, members of New York’s political class have turned their attention to the 2017 mayoral race, or more precisely, to the question of whether Mr. de Blasio will even face a serious challenge when he seeks re-election.

While the recent poll, released this month by Quinnipiac University, found that a majority of respondents disapprove of Mr. de Blasio’s performance as mayor, none of his obvious potential opponents fared well against him in hypothetical matchups.

The poll’s findings, however, suggested that there may be an opportunity for a Democrat running as an independent against Mr. de Blasio in the general election, perhaps after a strong but losing run in the Democratic primary or after skipping the primary altogether.

The piece goes on to suggest that one third party option against de Blasio in the general could be - wait for it - Cuomo's fake women's party:

The poll results showed that Mr. de Blasio would handily beat two prospective challengers — Christine C. Quinn, the former City Council speaker who ran against him in 2013, and the city comptroller, Scott M. Stringer — in a primary. But it also showed a closer race if either Ms. Quinn or Mr. Stringer ran as an independent in the general election, although the survey’s questions did not reflect the presence of a Republican candidate, which may have affected some voters’ responses.

“I am certain somebody somewhere is going to challenge the mayor,” said Rachel Demarest Gold, acting state chairwoman of the Women’s Equality Party, a third party closely aligned with Mr. Cuomo. “He is a lightning-rod mayor and he has whipped up extreme feelings on both ends of the spectrum and people are going to respond to that.”

The Women's Equality Party (WEP) is not just a third party aligned with Cuomo - it's a third party created by Cuomo as retaliation against the Working Families Party (WFP) for humiliating him back in 2014 and forcing him to grovel for the WFP endorsement.

The idea was, WEP would end up on the ballot near WFP and confuse just enough voters to drive down WFP support and, maybe, drive down enough support to force WFP from the ballot next time around.

That didn't happen, but now we see WEP, Cuomo's fake women's party, being floated as the possible vehicle for a de Blasio challenger - clearly a gambit by Cuomo to convince somebody to run third party against de Blasio since, at least so far, de Blasio appears fairly strong against direct party challengers within the Democratic Party.

Cuomo is spending an awful lot of time trying to take out de Blasio, as was reported by Fred Dicker in the NY Post a while back, and this WEP gambit appears to be just one more attempt at that.

But even as Cuomo plays games with de Blasio, he has his own potential challenger on the horizon for 2018 - Tom DiNapoli, the New York Comptroller.

DiNapoli has released multiple audits this year questioning the effectiveness of Cuomo's economic development programs and the veracity of the PR Cuomo uses to sell them - something that apparently irks King Cuomo and came to a head this week:

In Buffalo on Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo criticized state lawmakers and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli for expressing skepticism over the effectiveness of his economic development spending upstate.

Cuomo, who has long had a truculent relationship with DiNapoli, a fellow Democrat, said the comptroller was “dead wrong” on the issue of tax breaks for jobs and “should educate himself in the area.”

“You will not attract jobs, you will not keep jobs unless you are willing to work with the private sector and incentivize them,” Cuomo said. “This is not a highly competitive arena. If we are not as competitive, we will lose to the other states.”

DiNapoli’s office has issued a series of critical audits and reports questioning Cuomo’s handling of the START-UP NY program, which provides a decade of tax-free operations in New York for companies that move to the state and create jobs.

The program has come under scrutiny after a report found only 400 or so jobs have been created so far despite the heavy spending for the effort.

But Cuomo insisted the tax breaks were necessary in order to compete with other states who have similar programs in place.

“The incentives are working and the incentives are working by definition by what it requires to win,” he said.

DiNapoli, in a statement, responded to Cuomo’s criticisms.

“There is no debate on the need to create jobs in New York,” he said. “Our audits have thoughtful, constructive recommendations for how New York’s economic development programs can be more effective.”

Perhaps further irking Cuomo, DiNapoli has been making the rounds on the radio and appearing with hosts that, well, let's just say might be DiNapoli's way of sending a message to Cuomo:

Enjoyed talking this week with @NYPost’s Fred Dicker @fud31 on NY’s jobs programs and economic forecast. Listen: https://t.co/nVvx2PFL1Z

— Tom DiNapoli (@NYSComptroller) August 6, 2016

Oh my. Cuomo's 2014 opponent interviewing DiNapoli, whom Cuomo does not care much for. https://t.co/N82W6RO9O0

— Jon Campbell (@JonCampbellGAN) August 11, 2016

There was talk during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia that Bernie Sanders supporters are looking for a challenger to take out Cuomo in the 2018 primary.

DiNapoli is starting to look like he could be that challenger.

How delicious the irony, even as Cuomo desperately works to find a challenger to take on de Blasio in 2017, he appears to be getting his own challenger in 2018.

Now here's the thing about all of this.

Until we know how the various federal investigations into de Blasio turn out, we're not going to see any prominent Dem (e.g., Stringer, Diaz Jr.) make any public moves to primary de Blasio - the Q poll shows the potential futility of taking on de Blasio directly in the primary, at least for now.

But if indictments come to de Blasio's inner circle, that will change but quick and if de Blasio is indicted himself, well, put the fork in him.

The machinations against de Blasio here, from Cuomo behind the scenes, from Bloomberg crony Bradley Tusk publicly, make for a good summer story in the NY Times, but I'm not sure how meaningful any of it is until we get some resolution from US Attorney Preet Bharara on de Blasio.

The same can be said for Cuomo.

Bharara is investigating many of those Cuomo economic development programs the governor loves to tout and news came early this week that one of his cronies, lobbyist Todd Howe, has made a deal with the feds in return for leniency.  Howe has been close to Cuomo since the HUD days and, while the governor has said he isn't really that close with Howe anymore, news reports (and photographs) suggest otherwise.

If/when indictments come to Cuomo's inner circle, the prognosis for Cuomo's 2018 re-election gets a little murkier, especially if the US attorney takes apart Cuomo's economic development programs as little but a cash register for Cuomo cronies like Todd Howe and former aide Joe Percoco.

There also remains the possibility that Cuomo himself is the ultimate target of these investigations, since many of Cuomo's donors have been subpoenaed and the pattern - "donate to Cuomo = get state contract/tax break/favors in return" remains in play in many of these instances.

In the end, I think we'll know fairly soon what's going to happen with de Blasio and Cuomo regarding the Bharara investigations. 

There was a report in Dicker's column in the Post that the public would get some inkling of what's going on in the Cuomo investigations by the end of the summer. With the election coming soon, the likelihood is we'll get some inkling on de Blasio too.

But until Bharara makes his moves, all of the 2017 and 2018 jockeying is little more than noise.

You know, the kind of shit Cuomo is best at.

Cuomo Associate Has Cooperation Deal With Preet Bharara

Have been waiting post-conventions for some Preet news.

Here is an interesting bit of it:

The corruption probe of Gov. Cuomo’s two longtime associates has taken a critical turn with Todd Howe, onetime lobbyist and longtime Cuomo family confidant, signing a “cooperation agreement’’ with US Attorney Preet Bharara, a source close to the investigation told The Post.

The agreement promises Howe, whose ties to Cuomo go back three decades, “favorable treatment’’ and “leniency’’ in the event that he’s criminally charged, in exchange for full details of his lobbying activities on behalf of several major state contractors with senior Cuomo administration officials.

Those officials include Joseph Percoco, Cuomo’s closest friend and top aide who is currently senior vice president at Madison Square Garden, the source said.

Howe has been interviewed by federal prosecutors “about six times,’’ most recently about two weeks ago, when he “traded something that has to do with Percoco’’ and provided information on the influential, Albany-based, Whiteman Osterman & Hanna law firm, with which he had been affiliated, the source said. 

Howe, who worked for Cuomo when the current governor was federal housing secretary under President Bill Clinton, was described by the source as isolated from friends and family and disconsolate as Bharara’s investigation continues to unfold.

“He doesn’t have a job and no one from Andrew Cuomo’s entourage will even deal with him,’’ said the source.

Cuomo claimed that he didn't have much to do with Howe in the recent past, but Tim Knauss discovered that he was showing up at Cuomo functions like this one:

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A smiling Todd Howe was photographed, standing in the background, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo enthusiastically shook hands with the president of COR Development Co. during an October 2012 visit to Syracuse.

Four years later, Howe is no longer in the background. The Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist is front and center in a federal investigation of Cuomo's Upstate economic development projects, according to published reports.

Another person named in the federal probe is Joseph Percoco, Cuomo's former executive deputy secretary, who appears with Howe in the background of the 2012 photo from Syracuse.

The photo was taken during sunnier times for Cuomo's Upstate economic initiatives, years before U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's investigation raised a cloud of suspicion.

The picture captures the role that Howe has apparently been playing for years in Syracuse economic development projects. Since the federal probe became publicly known, Howe's image has emerged as an affable guy to see for help in getting state funding or access to Albany power.

In the foreground of the 2012 photo, Cuomo shakes hands with Steven Aiello, president of COR, a Fayetteville company. COR is one of more than 20 companies about which Bharara has subpoenaed information from the Cuomo administration, according to reports.

Howe was also used as the "hand model" for Mario Cuomo's portrait in Albany:

ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo claims he barely knows a fired lobbyist under federal investigation — yet he was close enough to the family to be the secret hand model behind Mario Cuomo’s official portrait, The Post has learned.

The liberal legend Mario had scoffed for years at having his likeness hung among the Empire State’s other leaders, so Andrew went behind his back to have the work secretly created from a 1989 photograph.

But the artist demanded it include Mario’s hands clasped on his knee, even though the photo didn’t clearly show his mitts.

“The artist insisted that he needed to see the Governors [sic] hands to paint them,” Howard Glaser, Andrew’s former director of state operations and Mario’s senior advisor, wrote in a private Facebook post obtained by The Post.

Enter Todd Howe, who is being probed by the feds for lobbying work he did for three firms that are part of the Cuomo administration’s economic-development program, the Buffalo Billion.

He raced down to the painter’s Maryland studio and literally lent a hand.

“The artist painted Todd’s hands into the painting to complete the work. So, yeah, it’s actually Todd Howes hands you see painted in the final portrait!!!!! Classic!” Glaser wrote.

Peter Cutler, a former Cuomo spokesman who is also named in a federal subpoena, replied, “Todd told me, saying it was pretty nerve-wracking — as I’m sure we can all understand,” he wrote.

“Thank God GAMC [Governor Andrew Mark Cuomo] pushed to get the portrait done & installed.”

The artist, Simmie Knox — who also did official portraits for then-President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary — recalled Howe giving guidance on how they wanted the painting done, but clammed up when he found out that the lobbyist was under a federal probe.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo presented the painting to his dad as a birthday gift at a 2012 ceremony.

Cuomo distanced himself from Howe in May and in June, claiming he and Howe were not "close."

The record appears to contradict that Cuomo assertion.

Whether Howe is telling tales on Cuomo or just providing evidence against Percoco and the entities involved in state contracting, well, that's hard to say.

Fred Dicker's piece says Howe is promised "'favorable treatment' and 'leniency' in the event that he’s criminally charged, in exchange for full details of his lobbying activities on behalf of several major state contractors with senior Cuomo administration officials."

The phrase leaves "senior Cuomo administration officials" is the interesting thing there.

That may mean people around Cuomo, or previously around Cuomo (like Percoco.)

But, since Cuomo has been known to leak anonymously to the press under the moniker "a senior Cuomo administration official," it also could mean Cuomo himself.

Time will tell whether Cuomo is actually the target of all of this or if Bharara gets to his inner circle without touching Cuomo himself.

So far, we have no direct indication that Cuomo is in any legal jeopardy.

But you can bet that if the Cuomo people didn't already know that Bharara has Howe wrapped up with a cooperation agreement, they're not happy now that the news is in Dicker's column in the NY Post.

Because who knows what Howe is telling Bharara now that he's cooperating.

Quid Pro Cuomo's Fundraising Track Record: Collect Cash, Dish Out Favors, Contracts And Legislation

Bill Mahoney at Politico NY anticipates Governor Cuomo's release of his last six months of fundraising with an analysis of last year's haul:

POLITICO New York examined each of the 454 checks Cuomo collected in last year’s July filing period. More than 90 percent of his money, or $4.5 million of the $5 million he raised, came from advocates for legislation or donors with business directly before the state.

This includes $268,250 from registered lobbyists and the firms for which they work. Clients for these lobbyists accounted for an additional $2 million, and companies that were identified as recipients of executive branch contracts by the comptroller’s Open Book New York site gave $393,500. The rest of the money primarily came from appointees to various state posts, companies that received contracts from authorities or individuals who were the principal funders of lobbying campaigns.

Mahoney shows how Cuomo collected the money at roughly the same time he was doling out favors, contracts or legislation in return.

For example:

The Cleveland-based NRP group was one of two companies involved in an affordable housing development in Corning. On May 12, the governor announced a $4.7 million state grant for the development. On May 13, the developer gave $25,000 to the governor. (In Cuomo’s first term, that company loaned the governor a private jet for campaign purposes and it received $3.3 million to construct housing in Ballston). 

Or this:

New York State Homes and Community Renewal joined MacQuestern Development to break ground on a Mount Vernon project on March 27; the company and its executives gave Cuomo $30,000 over the succeeding five days and an additional $30,000 in July.

Or this:

An executive at Triangle Equities, to whom the Cuomo administration proposed giving $16.5 million in subsidies for work in Staten Island, gave $25,000. And as the Times Union previously reported, Steven Aaron — whose LLCs gave the governor $25,000 during this six-month stretch and much more in prior years — received millions from the Division of Housing and Community Renewal for work in Schoharie after Cuomo-appointed commissioner Darryl Towns “bypassed competing projects that had higher recommendations from his staff.” 

There's a lot more - read the whole piece.

Some of the contributions Mahoney details are ones we've heard about before - like the $250K Cuomo took from multiple LLC's linked to a Kiryas Joel developer at the same time he was vetoing legislation the developer wanted vetoed or the education reformer/hedge fundie money he was taking at the same time he was pushing through "reforms" to the system.

The governor says he is not swayed by any of these donations in the least.

But the message here is pretty clear here.

If you want the governor to do something for you, pay him. 

John Flanagan Rakes In $150K In Outside Income Despite Claims To The Contrary

Go get him, Preet:

ALBANY — Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan earned up to $150,000 last year from a Long Island law firm despite claims that he was giving up his outside legal work, according to documents made public Tuesday.

Flanagan's 2015 financial disclosure statement showed that he earned between $100,000 and $150,000 from Forchelli, Curto, Deegan, Schwartz, Mineo & Terrana in Uniondale — the same amount he reported earning in 2014.

After he became majority leader in May of 2015, Flanagan (R-Suffolk County) told reporters that he’d stopped working for the firm to fully concentrate on his legislative job.

Flanagan spokesman Scott Reif insisted that Flanagan has not done any “active legal work” since becoming majority leader.

Must be nice to do "no active work" and still make an extra $150K a year.

According to the DN, Flanagan's disclosure claimed:

that he did not provide “direct services” to clients in 2015. Instead he provided “indirect services to the law firm in the areas of corporate trusts, tax certiorari, wills and estate, land use and planning.”

I bet if somebody with subpoena power were so inclined, he/she could look to see just how much "indirect service" Flanagan provided for the $150K.

Cuomo Closely Tied To Politico Indicted For Bribery/Extortion

Fred Dicker reported Governor Cuomo's close ties to indicted Western New York power broker Steven Pigeon in yesterday's New York Post, noting that Pigeon was so tied to Cuomo last election cycle that the governor had him attending both election strategy and policy meetings:

Cuomo was so close to Pigeon — charged last week with nine felonies in connection with the alleged bribing of a state Supreme Court justice — that he gave him a key role in his 2014 re-election campaign despite objections from more important political aides like Joseph Percoco and Larry Schwartz, who considered him “untrustworthy and a little sleazy,’’ a source close to the campaign told The Post.

Cuomo directed Percoco, the focus of an ongoing probe by corruption-fighting US Attorney Preet Bharara, and Schwartz, Cuomo’s former chief of staff, and a handful of other trusted aides to allow Pigeon to attend key strategy meetings at the campaign headquarters from which virtually all other political operatives were excluded, said the campaign source.

“They objected, but the governor forced Pigeon on them,’’ according to the source. “At first Pigeon started to just show up at campaign strategy meetings, even though no one knew who had invited him to come.

“But it turned out that it was the governor who invited him to be there because the governor had come to believe that Pigeon was some kind of a political genius,’’ said the source.

Cuomo sought re-election obsessed with racking up a big vote in Buffalo and Erie County, Pigeon’s bailiwick, which he had lost four years earlier to Republican Carl Paladino, the source said.

Pigeon, the longtime Erie County Democratic chairman, “was the guy who Andrew was taking counsel from as to how to win in Buffalo this time around, but he was also taking his counsel on broader statewide issues,’’ the source said.

A second source said Cuomo was so close to Pigeon that in 2010, Gov. David Paterson refused to allow then-Attorney General Cuomo to name a special prosecutor to investigate election-related corruption charges being made against Pigeon — because he felt Cuomo “couldn’t be trusted to authorize a fair probe.’’

“Everyone knew at that time how close Cuomo was to Pigeon,’’ said the source.

Dicker writes that Cuomo was partly behind the 2009 Senate coup by turncoat Dems that Pigeon helped engineer, with Cuomo and Pigeon in close communication as the coup unfolded and control of the state Senate went to Republicans after turncoat Dems like Pedro Espada and Hiram Montserrate threw their lots in with Republicans (both men ended up in prison for corruption charges unrelated to the state Senate coup.)

Just as Cuomo has tried to distance himself from his former aide and lobbyist pal, Todd Howe (now squarely in the sights of federal prosecutors for corruption), Cuomo wants to distance himself from the now-indicted Steve Pigeon and make believe like he barely knows him.

But the record, when fully examined, shows Cuomo was as close as could be with both Pigeon and Howe (see here how Howe kept showing up at Cuomo functions and/or raising money for the governor simultaneous to the time Cuomo claims not to know what Howe was doing.)

Same goes for Pigeon - see the Buffalo News piece on Pigeon from 2013 as well as yesterday's Dicker piece.

You can bet if investigators look real close at the Cuomo relationships with his corrupt associates - Pigeon, Howe, former aide Joe Percoco, SUNY Poly head Alain Kaloyeros - they will find some interesting things, some of which may turn out to be criminal.

Whether they go that far, well, that's hard to say.

But Preet Bharara has warned executive branches in the state that malfeasance in the executive will be rooted out.

So Cuomo shouldn't get to comfortable thinking all he's got to do to keep himself from scrutiny is just keep repeated "I don't know these people, I don't know these people..."

Cuomo Crony Scene Right Out Of Goodfellas

The NY Post says this scene is right out of The Sopranos, but I see Goodfellas as the better comparison:

ALBANY — Like a scene from “The Sopranos,” a political operative busted by the state Attorney General’s Office held secret meetings at his elderly mother’s house and had a campaign worker paid with grocery bags stuffed with cash, a former upstate prosecutor told The Post.

Steve Pigeon — a Buffalo-area Democrat — had a waterfront condo but the neighborhood was also home to a number of judges, so he conducted his shady business at his mom’s, according to former Erie County prosecutor Mark Sacha.

“It was like ‘The Sopranos.’ They wanted to hire this phone-bank guy to make calls for a candidate,” Sacha recalled.

“So, they go to his elderly mother’s house in a quiet suburban neighborhood in the middle of the night. This is where they agree to hire the phone-bank guy for $20,000, but the campaign account is drained so they arrange to deliver cash in grocery bags,” said Sacha, a former assistant DA who investigated Pigeon three years ago and who is now running for district attorney.

...

Twice, the operative was paid $10,000 stuffed in Tops Supermarket grocery bags, Sacha said.
“I’ll never forget this phone-bank guy telling me about meeting the donor [a Pigeon crony] having this ‘hoochie coochie’ girl with him,” Sacha said.

“I see no difference between these guys and organized crime, except these guys are corrupting elections,” Sacha said. 

Sources say Pigeon helped Cuomo navigate politics in Western New York and backed the governor’s unsuccessful first bid for the seat he now holds.

Through a spokesman, Cuomo denied Pigeon is a close ally.

Reminds me a little of this scene in Goodfellas where the boys make a late night trip to Tommy's mother's house (sans the not-quite dead Billy Bats, of course):

Buffalo Schools General Counsel Linked To Pigeon Bribery/Extortion Case

New details on the Steven Pigeon/John Michalek corruption case, with an education angle:

A new element from Michalek and Pigeon’s relationship emerged in court over the last two days – an extortion charge against Pigeon.

One of the favors Pigeon allegedly asked from Michalek was for the judge to appoint a young local attorney as a receiver. Appointment of a receiver to temporarily manage a business, property or other entity involved in a foreclosure action or some other litigation can be lucrative for an attorney, according to legal experts.

“Depending on the length and complexity of the litigation, a receivership can earn an attorney anywhere from a few thousand dollars to six figures,” one knowledgeable Buffalo attorney told The Buffalo News.

Michalek admitted in court that, in 2012, Pigeon asked him to appoint a local lawyer as a receiver in a case Michalek was handling. The attorney was a recent law school graduate and had not yet been approved by the state courts as a qualified receiver. Nonetheless, Michalek gave him the assignment.

“We pushed it through anyway … have to give them a spec reason etc. … will figure it out … John,” Michalek emailed to Pigeon in May 2012.

Later, according to state prosecutors, Pigeon pressured this receiver to hire some of Pigeon’s “cronies” to do some work on a property the receiver was overseeing. The receiver refused to hire the “cronies,” and Pigeon retaliated by taking $5,000 from the receiver by “extortion,” according to court papers.

That receiver was Edward A. Betz, a former Pigeon associate who is now general counsel for the Buffalo Public Schools.

While declining to talk in any detail about the receivership or the alleged extortion, Betz told The News: “My only involvement in this matter is that I was asked to violate my ethical responsibilities as a receiver, and I steadfastly refused to do that.”

While Betz confirmed that he was the attorney appointed to the receivership, he declined to address any further questions about the Pigeon case. Sources said he has cooperated with the state attorney general’s investigation.

Here's a fun question to ask: How did Betz get the Buffalo schools gig?

Here's how:

It was several months in the making, but it’s official: Rashondra M. Martin is out as general counsel for Buffalo Public Schools.

Edward A. Betz is in.

After a closed-door session lasting about an hour and a half Wednesday evening, the Buffalo Board of Education took only a matter of minutes to fire Martin and appoint Betz, who was recommended by Superintendent Kriner Cash.

The two separate resolutions were supported by board majority members Jason McCarthy, Carl P. Paladino, Patricia Pierce, Larry Quinn and Board President James Sampson. The actions were opposed by the other board members who were present – Sharon Belton-Cottman, MaryRuth Kapsiak and Barbara Seals Nevergold. Theresa Harris-Tigg was absent.

In the end, Martin, who was hired by then-Superintendent Pamela C. Brown, was fired effective immediately and Cash was given the green light to negotiate a contract with Betz to take over the position at an annual salary of $160,000, which is $33,000 more than Martin was making.

Prior to voting, Belton-Cottman, Kapsiak and Seals Nevergold said the termination seemed like “punitive action” against Martin, who had filed a civil rights complaint against Paladino with the state Division of Human Rights. It was filed after a February 2015 board meeting in which Martin was asked to give advice on a key matter of parliamentary procedure. Her response frustrated members of the board majority, including Paladino, who asked Martin, “How can you be so ignorant?”

Terminating Martin was not an act of retaliation, argued some of the majority members of the board, but rather an issue of incompetence.

Paladino said Martin failed to disclose pertinent and time-sensitive information to the superintendent and the board, and she has failed to cooperate with Cash.

Members of the minority bloc said hiring Betz gave the perception of favoritism because Betz has no experience in school board law or as a district counsel, and he will be paid more than Martin was. They also pointed out that Betz was Quinn’s campaign manager when he won his School Board seat last year, and represented McCarthy in a matter that went before the state Education Department.

Members of the majority bloc and Cash countered that Betz is a former assistant corporation counsel for the City of Buffalo, a former general counsel for the Erie County Water Authority, has extensive knowledge of state Civil Service Law and the Taylor Law and experience in public employee relations matters. 

I'm sure Betz's "extensive knowledge of state Civil Service Law and the Taylor Law and experience in public employee relations matters" was why Betz got the general counsel gig.

I mean, three and a half years out of law school is a lot of time, you know?

Here's one commenter on the Betz hire:

There is no doubt that Martin was incompetent and needed to go. However, what happened to hiring QUALIFIED candidates? This is yet another disappointing hire by the superintendent. He continues to hire every political hack that Quinn and Paladino send his way. (For the record, I supported Quinn and Paladino until they continued the nepotism that they vowed to correct.)

I challenge the Buffalo News and the Board of Ed to pull the resumes of the attorneys who applied for this job and then tell me that Betz, a lawyer with NO education law experience, is the man for the job. Moreover, look into HIS resume and I think you will find that his qualifications, as noted in this article, are inaccurate. It is clear that qualifications didn't come into play, as it was common knowledge that Betz had the job before it was even posted. I did a little research and Betz isn't some prize lawyer, every job he has had was given to him as a favor. Take this one for example: http://www.buffalonews.com/app...

As for the salary, while Martin clearly ended up not being the person for the job, she was more qualified and paid much less. Explain how that works?

Follow the link above and you'll find this:

Edward A. Betz, an attorney who has been active in Democratic political campaigns, was promoted last month on a temporary basis to serve as associate attorney at a salary of $117,877. Betz previously worked in the Law Department at Buffalo City Hall and has managed local political campaigns.

Pigeon only extorted $5000 from Betz?

Hell, the number of sweetheart gigs Betz was getting from his connections, he could have hit him up for so much more.

What a sewer New York is.

Cuomo Ally Pleads Not Guilty To Nine Count Felony Indictment (Update)

Niagara Gazette:

G. Steven Pigeon, a longtime Western New York political operative and former chairman of the Erie County Democratic Party, pleaded not guilty Thursday to multiple corruption charges filed in an indictment announced by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

The 55-year-old political consultant has been charged with bribery in the second degree, a class C felony; bribery in the third degree, a class D felony; grand larceny theft by extortion in the third degree, a class D Felony; and six counts of rewarding official misconduct in the second degree, a class E felony.

Pigeon, who appeared in court with his attorney, Paul Cambria, entered his plea during an arraignment Thursday morning in front of State Supreme Court Judge Donald F. Cerio, Jr. who set bail at $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond.

Following the arraignment, Cambria met with reporters outside the courtroom where he said Pigeon vehemently denies any wrongdoing and looks forward to his day in court.

Pigeon's arraignment follows Wednesday's guilty plea from former State Supreme Court Justice John A. Michalek. The 65-year-old Michalek resigned from the bench after pleading guilty to various charges in what Schneiderman's office has described as a scheme that involved receiving bribes from Pigeon, and for filing a false document with the New York State Office of Court Administration when he appointed a receiver who had been suggested by Pigeon. Michalek admitted guilt to a pair of felonies, including bribe receiving in the third degree and offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree. In addition to entering the plea, Michalek submitted a letter of resignation to the chief administrative judge, effective immediately.

The charges stem from an ongoing public corruption investigation by the attorney general's office. Schneiderman is scheduled to hold a press conference this afternoon at his office in Buffalo to discuss both cases in greater detail.

The Buffalo News reported this morning that this case is not likely to end with only Michalek and Pigeon facing criminal charges:

Schneiderman, who investigated Pigeon’s activities based on original complaints about election law violations, emerged as the only prosecutor or official in New York State willing to take on the case. And according to a source familiar with the charge, more counts could be forthcoming. The source pointed out nothing in this week’s court proceedings yet addresses the concerns that led Schneiderman’s investigators, the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the FBI in May of 2015 to raid the homes of former Buffalo Deputy Mayor Steven M. Casey and Christopher M. Grant, former chief of staff to Rep. Chris Collins, R-Clarence.

For now, the state focuses its next steps on Pigeon, who has garnered complaints from political opponents and elections officials for many years over his controversial methods of raising money for independent political committees. Much more serious charges now face Michalek and Pigeon as a result of the original complaints, though those close to the case say more charges could still be pressed.

Pigeon's connections to Cuomo are well known and the governor's name even popped up in the indictment:

In March 2012, Michalek emailed Pigeon regarding a lawsuit pending before him, providing Pigeon with details concerning a motion filed by a non-party to the litigation seeking a protective order from a subpoena served by one of the parties.

In a written decision issued approximately two weeks later, Michalek denied the motion for a protective order, just as Pigeon had requested. Michalek then sent Pigeon an email with a copy of the decision attached and thanked Pigeon for “his efforts” on behalf of his first relative looking for a job, the complaint said.

Pigeon responded by email a short time later with an offer of additional assistance to the relative.
The complaint also indicated that on Dec. 10, 2012, Michalek emailed Pigeon concerning assistance in securing the Appellate Division appointment. Michalek wrote: “think there is a seat open in App Div … I applied … Normally I wouldn’t mention it to you … wonder if you could help.”

That same day, Pigeon replied: “I will start talking u up.”

The documents then indicate that on Jan. 8, 2013, Michalek wrote to Pigeon: “Unc Steve...How’d you do with the Gov??? ...” Later that day, Pigeon responded: “Bunch happening ... in albany now... Gov went well ... Talked u up ... Let’s have coffee soon.”

The complaint draws a clear link between Pigeon and Michalek’s desire for a gubernatorial appointment to the appellate court.

Pigeon had bragged that he was Cuomo's go-to guy in Western New York (this was the subject of a Buffalo News story back in 2013), so the Michalek appointment convo may not be the only time Cuomo shows up in this case.

We'll see.

No matter what happens with the Pigeon case, the Buffalo Billion case is still ongoing as well, with two former Cuomo aides and one current Cuomo associate facing what will almost certainly be criminal charges for corruption.

It is going to be an interesting summer waiting to see how all of this shakes out.

Today Cuomo went to the Catskills with Robert DeNiro.

Here is a transcript of what transpired:

@J__Velasquez @NYGovCuomo A Goodfellas re-enactment for Steven Pigeon: Keep your mouth shut, don't rat on your friends.

— rbe (@perdidostschool) June 30, 2016

UPDATED - 1:55 PM: Former assistant district attorney Mark Sacha insinuates  Attorney General Schneiderman is engaging in a cover-up by going after low-lying fruit with the corruption indictment while ignoring the election fraud crimes Pigeon was engaged in that could take down a whole swath of politicians:

Former Erie County DA Mark Sacha on Steve Pigeon https://t.co/J5B8HVU62V via @YouTube

— Buffalopundit (@buffalopundit) June 30, 2016

Would note also that Risa Sugarman, Cuomo's hack at the Board of Elections, referred the Pigeon case initially.

That itself is interesting, since it's doubtful that the independent in name only Sugarman, appointed by the governor, would initiate anything without Cuomo's OK.

In any case, a sordid affair exposing Erie County corruption right to the very core - the justice system, the political system, the election system.

More as we get it.

Legal Fees In Cuomo Investigations Mount

From Jimmy Vielkind at Politico NY:

ALBANY — The state’s economic development authority is tripling the amount of money it’s spending to deal with a federal probe of the Cuomo administration’s Buffalo Billion, documents show.

Empire State Development voted on Thursday to amend its contract with WilmerHale, which has been advising the authority since it received a federal subpoena for records last summer.

The firm was originally retained for $200,000, but the amount was increased by $400,000 in the final minute of Thursday’s board meeting. The unanimous vote came after 40 minutes of discussion in executive session. 

...

The allocation by ESD is just one slice of taxpayer-covered legal payments related to Bharara’s probe. SUNY Poly has retained Richard Strassberg of Goodwin Procter, but a spokesman would not say how much he is being paid.

A spokesman for Gov. Andrew Cuomo last month confirmed that Elkan Abramowitz is still representing the governor, as was the case with an earlier Bharara probe. It’s unclear if Abramowitz will be paid by taxpayers or from the Democratic governor’s campaign war chest.

And there is an outside inquiry by Bart Schwartz that Cuomo commissioned after his executive chamber was subpoenaed on April 29. Schwartz and his firm, GuidePost, are examining what took place and are reviewing ongoing payments.

His contract has not been finalized.

Bharara warned executive branches in the state yesterday:

We have found that corruption is rife in a lot of institutions in New York and throughout New York,” Bharara said during a national TV interview.

“That’s true in the legislature. It’s also the case that there’s corruption, we believe, in the executive branches as well. And we’ll ferret it out wherever we find it.”

Clearly a bow shot at Cuomo, as well as de Blasio - no wonder the legal fee expenditures from Cuomo and his minions are mounting.

Bharara Warns Cuomo And De Blasio He's Coming For Them

Preet Bharara was on ABC this morning with a warning for both Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio:

Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara publicly put Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo on notice Sunday that he’s actively searching for evidence of corruption in their branches of government.

“We have found that corruption is rife in a lot of institutions in New York and throughout New York,” Bharara said during a national TV interview.

“That’s true in the legislature. It’s also the case that there’s corruption, we believe, in the executive branches as well. And we’ll ferret it out wherever we find it.”

Bharara’s stinging comments on ABC News’ “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” come amid probes by his office into fund-raising efforts by Mayor de Blasio and suspected bid-rigging in state-funded development projects.

They also followed an interview last month in which Bharara bristled at the suggestion that Cuomo had been cleared of wrongdoing when Bharara declined to charge him for unexpectedly shutting down the anti-corruption Moreland Commission in 2014.

“Nobody gave a clean bill of health to anybody. A non-indictment is not an endorsement of anyone’s conduct,” Bharara told the New Yorker in what the magazine described as “an uncharacteristically icy tone.”

Cuomo's administration is the subject of a massive federal investigation into his economic development projects all over the state.

Cuomo's top former aide, Joe Percoco, is one focus of that investigation.

A second is another former Cuomo aide and close associate, Todd Howe.

A third is SUNY Poly head Alain Kaloyeros, Cuomo's man in charge of the economic development projects.

As the Post piece notes, de Blasio is the subject of a few investigations too.

The election is coming in November, so if anything is going to come of these investigations, it will come before then.

It's not a mistake that Bharara was on ABC News this morning to talk about corruption in the executive branches in this state.

That's a little head nod that something's coming soon.

We know that one of de Blasio's fund raisers is cooperating with the feds, so my guess is, the de Blasio investigations will get movement first.

But there's a lot going on with the Cuomo investigations too.

There's no certainty that Cuomo's going to go down, but given the subpoenas that went out across the state as part of the investigation into his economic development programs, you can pretty much bet some of those associates of his are going down.

And there's an outside chance that after some squeezing, some of those associates will have tales to trade to prosecutors for lighter sentences.

One way or another, it's beginning to sound a lot like Preetmas.

Closing In On De Blasio

From the NY Times:

Three New York Police Department commanders were arrested on Monday, along with a Brooklyn businessman, on federal corruption charges linked to one of several continuing investigations into Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign fund-raising.

The arrests were one of the most significant roundups of police supervisors in the recent history of the department — a deputy chief and a deputy inspector accused of accepting expensive gifts from two politically connected businessmen who prosecutors say were seeking illicit favors from the police.

In court papers unsealed on Monday, federal agents describe how the two men, who are at the center of one of the City Hall fund-raising inquiries, showered gifts on senior police officials: jewelry for the police inspector’s wife; a video game system for the chief’s children; tickets to Brooklyn Nets games; hotel rooms in Rome and Chicago; even a private-jet flight to Las Vegas, with a prostitute on board.

The police officers arrested on Monday were Deputy Chief Michael J. Harrington, 50; Deputy Inspector James M. Grant, 43; and Sgt. David Villanueva, 42, who was charged in a separate but related scheme involving gun licenses. The businessman arrested was Jeremiah Reichberg, 42, of Borough Park, Brooklyn.

The other businessman, Jona S. Rechnitz, 33, has pleaded guilty and has provided information in the police case and in at least one of the fund-raising investigations focused on Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, and his inner circle, according to several people familiar with the case.

Let's repeat that last part:

The other businessman, Jona S. Rechnitz, 33, has pleaded guilty and has provided information in the police case and in at least one of the fund-raising investigations focused on Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, and his inner circle, according to several people familiar with the case.

Bharara said yesterday “there is no allegation that has anything to do with the mayor anywhere” in the court documents.

But the news that Rechnitz is providing information in the case against the cops and at least one of the cases focused on de Blasio suggests it is only a matter of time before some of the people around de Blasio - and perhaps de Blasio himself - have their own day in court.

John Flanagan Is Nothing But Cuomo's Flunky

Fred Dicker in the NY Post:

As the 2016 session of the Legislature wrapped up last week and came to a typically ugly end in the wee hours Saturday morning — with bleary-eyed lawmakers forced to vote on measures they didn’t even have time to read — The Post asked several lawmakers, lobbyists and journalists to assess the first full year’s performance of Democrat Heastie, a key ally of Mayor de Blasio, and Flanagan, the most powerful Republican in the state.

...

“It’s clear that Carl lacks Shelly Silver’s strengths — keen intelligence and tough negotiating skills — while possessing his own weaknesses of indecision and a lack of clear strategy,’’ said the influential lobbyist.

“While Carl took on [Gov.] Cuomo on behalf of the mayor, he wasn’t very effective in doing so because he’s basically afraid of the governor, and hence you wound up with just that one-year extension [of mayoral control of the city schools],’’ the lobbyist continued.

As for Flanagan, “It’s clear that to an embarrassing degree Flanagan is Cuomo’s flunky, his most loyal ally in the Legislature, a guy who will abandon the supposed fundamental positions of his own Republican Party in order to hold on to power,’’ said the lobbyist, a Democrat who has worked with both leaders.

Nothing to add here except this:

As corrupt as he was, when Silver was taken out, the only check to Cuomo's power was removed from Albany.

Now the governor essentially gets whatever he wants and makes sure that what he doesn't want - like real ethics reform - doesn't happen.

About the only possible check on Cuomo's power resides in the Southern District of New York, but it remains to be seen if and when that power will act to take down Cuomo.

Stringer Readies Primary Challenge Against De Blasio

Ross Barkan in New York Magazine:

With next year’s election looming on the horizon, the progressive mayor is becoming vulnerable to a primary challenge.

While a few prominent local politicians are toying with the idea, it’s City Comptroller Scott Stringer who seems to be getting the most serious about taking on de Blasio. He held a fundraiser on Tuesday night and is quietly assembling a campaign team. Elected to his citywide post in 2013, Stringer has talked up the possibility of challenging de Blasio to several Democrats over the last two months, and his chief of staff has approached at least one veteran Democratic operative about signing on to a potential bid next year.

“Stringer sees that de Blasio is weaker and more vulnerable than ever before because of the multiple scandals facing City Hall,” said a party insider familiar with Stringer’s thinking. “That’s why it’s no surprise Stringer’s political team is reaching out to consultants and operatives to gauge their interest about a 2017 mayoral bid.”

If you're looking to make book on Stringer's chances compared to other New York pols rumored to be considering challenges:

A range of Democratic sources who are aware of Stringer’s plans say he is the most hungry among a group of potential challengers that also includes Bronx borough president Rubén Díaz and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. Stringer has more than $1 million in his campaign account, according to the latest filings. De Blasio has about $890,000 in his 2017 account, and may not be able raise cash as readily as a typical incumbent, given his investigatory woes.

Stringer's plan is to run against de Blasio as a liberal who can get things done - only without the corruption.

We learned recently that Eva Moskowitz is pushing Ruben Diaz Jr. to run against de Blasio.

Given past corruption involving the Diaz family - including Ruben Diaz Jr. himself - I have a difficult time seeing Diaz Jr. take out de Blasio based on a "He's Corrupt!" campaign message.

But Stringer on the other hand...well, that's certainly conceivable.

In any case, I'm beginning to think de Blasio himself is going to be indicted on corruption charges.

The leaks we're getting on the mayor's scandals are beginning to hint at just that - take last night's leak for instance.

That's the way Preet works - ready the public for high profile arrests with leaks.

He did this with Shelly Silver, he did this with Dean Skelos.

We'll see how this all shakes out, but the way things look right now, at best de Blasio's in serious trouble and facing a primary challenge from a well-funded, well-connected Stringer while at worst, he's going to be carted out in cuffs to join Silver and Skelos in ignominy.

As for teachers supporting Stringer as a better alternative to de Blasio, pay attention to some of Stringer's backers:

One advantage Stringer has over Díaz and Jeffries is a large orbit of loyalists in the public and private sector that has been privately compared to a “Ready for Hillary” operation. They include Audrey Gelman, his former press secretary; Micah Lasher, attorney general Eric Schneiderman’s former chief of staff and a candidate for State Senate on the Upper West Side; Amy Rutkin, Rep. Jerry Nadler’s chief of staff; and Camille Joseph, deputy comptroller for public affairs and Anthony Weiner’s former campaign manager. Any 2017 bid would also likely involve Anson Kaye, a Hillary Clinton ad-maker and top strategist on Stringer’s comptroller campaign. At the center of it all, there's Sascha Owen, Stringer's current chief of staff and former campaign manager.

Micah Lasher is a former StudentsFirstNY guy and Bloomberg aide.

I've been off the de Blasio bandwagon for a while now but I wouldn't be all that thrilled to back a mayoral candidate whose large orbit of loyalists includes Micah Lasher.

Barkan writes that it's not a done deal that Stringer runs, he wants to see how the investigations proceed and if de Blasio's poll numbers continue to fall.

But given the news de Blasio's facing these days, with his chief fundraiser the focus of a federal investigation and stories about de Blasio's afternoon's at Bar Toto making fundraising calls with said chief fundraiser, I can't imagine things are going to get better for him any time soon.