NEW YORK'S NEXT GREAT POLITICAL SCANDAL STARTS . . .
IN KINGSTON!!!
No, Albany's infamous corruption has found its way to Kingston at Wiltwyck County Club!
We all know the State Senate first met in Kingston, now it appears the career of one prominent New York State Senator may end in Kingston as well. As reported the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS by Ulster County's own Liz Benjamin and also in the NY POST, The GOTHAMIST, Channel 7 WABC News, and NY 1, Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith is under fire for telling Albany's insider clique of lobbyists to pony up with big donations or be frozen out if the Democrats take the Majority in the NY State Senate. As reported in the NY POST of Senator Smith's comments:
"It was a shocking set of remarks and people were looking around the room in disbelief," said the well-known lobbyist, who has strong Republican and Democratic ties.
"It was far more blatant a threat than anything we're used to hearing from many of the leaders," the lobbyist continued.
"The whole thing was incredible. Malcolm got up there and thanked everyone for coming and told them we should think of his fund-raising event as being like an IPO, an initial public offering.
"He said we should get in early because then it doesn't cost as much. The longer you wait to get in, he said, the more it will cost you and if you don't get in at all, then it will be painful after November, after the Democrats win the majority," the lobbyist continued.
"Then he referred to [Bronx state Sen.] Jeff Klein about four times as his 'enforcer,' who is going to be brutal, aggressive, about collecting the contributions, and that he was the one managing the IPO."
Linking campaign contributions to future government actions is illegal under New York law, legal experts told The Post"
Words like corruption, bribery, and extortion come to mind. We hear Attorney General Andrew Cuomo will be coming to be the Ulster County Democrats keynote dinner speaker next month. Maybe the Attorney General, who is by all reports a straight shooter should do something else in Kingston - like convene a Grand Jury to discuss Senator Smith's comments.
We all know that fat cat lobbyists suck up to well heeled politicians. Even in Kingston we have seen that with Lenefsky's money flowing into County Democratic coffers while he lobbies the Democrats in Ellenville and Kingston to try and go around the Federal process of recognizing the Western Mohegan's as a legitimate tribe.
However, to see such an obvious plea for money as Democratic Senator Malcolm Smith made - saying in essence "pay up now or its gonna cost you a lot later" is alarming, even by Albany's standards.
We call upon the Ulster County Legislature to decry Senator Smith's comments and tell him that his style of pay to play politics is not welcome in Ulster County.
click here to read the NY Post story
Posts
30 comments:
No Surprise here!
Remember the comments being made during Sennett's run? Spitzer, Schummer, and HRC put their necks out supporting Sennett, and it was said if we don't deliver him to them, Ulster County will be left out, and not receive economic aid from Albany. Remember the announcement 3 or 4 months ago, regarding economic aid to the Hudson Valley? Which county was left off that list?
This is extortion. It should be sent to a grand jury and investigated.
We need to get the special interests money out of elections. Clean money/clean elections is what is needed.
Hein has to return Lenefsky's money also. Enough already with this ugly money finding its way into Ulster County government.
HA !!!!! Lenefsky has been a bad guy in his actions since Hinchey brought him out of the shadows he inhabits.
This just shows what a low-life these people are.
It did get Len Bernardo onto the top of the Freeman's 2nd page, so that was a major accomplishment.
I saw a Vietnam Veteran's truck in New Paltz with Bernardo stickers on it,,, THAT is a good sign for the Bernardo campaign, i think.
GO LEN !!!!
The staff at Ulster Politics will not post and will remove from the blog any allegations accusing someone of committing a crime.
If you want to see your comments posted, please word your comments in such a way that you do not accuse people of committing crimes.
Lets see first a democratic president, then a democratic governor, then the state senate, today a democrat in the assembly . Could we the county finally get our chance to be next in the pecking order.
10:09 Only if we elect a democrat the county executive I heard the city papers had Kingston as the armpit of corruption That should attract economic development
Smith is not in the assembly,he is in the senate. Whoever is trying to make this stick to the assembly is either uneducated on state government or a real jerk.
7:32... what blog are you reading, there are 7 comments here, there is nothing about the assembly in the comments or in the original post?
but since you brought it up, I don't think the apple falls far from the tree. I wouldn't be surprised if this same sort of crap went on in the assembly as well.
This is not the sort of thing to be joked about. If you yell "fire" in a theater and then get in trouble, you can't say "I was only joking". Those sort of matters are taken very seriously by officials, and this matter should be too. I don't know if what he did was illegal, but I think that it is highly inappropriate and should be looked into further.
Blaber News is reporting that Len Bernardo is calling for an investigation into this "pay for play" extortion scheme. Mr. Blaber further challenges Mr. Bernardo - who, unlike Michael Hein - has spoken out on the issue - to "prove" his independence.
I posted the following on Blaber News in response:
Mr. Blaber -
Mr. Bernardo has raised the issue and pointedly stated what his opinion is. The very fact that he has publicly expresed an opinion which differs from that offered by the District Attorney - who is of the same major Party which has endorsed Mr. Bernardo - is ample proof of his independent character.
I notice that while you are making the statement that Mr. Bernardo should "prove" his independence, Mr. Hein has remained mum on the issue, yet not been criticized by you for his error of omission. Will Blaber News call on Michael Hein to condemn this open act of corruption? If challeneged, will Michael Hein do so, when he is joined at the hip to the Democratic Party Machine?
At the same time, why aren't we hearing condemnation from Kevin Cahill and the Mid-Hudson Democrat candidates for Assembly and Senate?
This was a blatant offer of "pay for play." Worse, it was open blackmail of lobbyists. Through their silence, are Democrat politicians endorsing this as an operating policy in the NYS Legislature should their Party take full control?
It seems rather odd to single out one candidate for condemning the Mafia-like tactics of a Democrat Party leader, asking him to prove his independence, when Democrat politicians are playing "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" over the issue.
Blaber, you really think that you are a real journalist who can demand that people do things? HA!
Why doesn't Hein call for an investigation?
Why don't you (Blaber) call for an investigation of the Senate Minority Leader?
Bernardo called for Cuomo to launch an investigation. Smith is a State Senator and Cuomo is the State Attorney General.
Bernardo is on the right side of this matter. Your demand is a joke. Hein is the one who has questionable things and people associated with him.
How about a post on Hein not returning the money to the fat cat lobbyist? We are all waiting for that?
This post will never see the light of day your your UN-FAIR and UN-BALANCED blog.
cc: Ulster Politics
Blaber - let me get this straight. A Republican DA passes an investigation of a Democratic Senator on to the Public Integrity Unit and you have a problem with that?
If Holley Carnright did take on the investigation, you could be crying partisan politics.
Fair and Balanced.... only in your head.
to 7:32.
How about this blog...
Lets see first a democratic president, then a democratic governor, then the state senate, today a democrat in the assembly . Could we the county finally get our chance to be next in the pecking order.
August 20, 2008 10:09 PM
And now Beke chimes in with the Assembly.
I have not heard from ANY of the republican senators who represent Ulster. How come? Maybe they are playing this game now while they are in the Majority? Maybe they live in glass houses?
Somebody please enlighten these people. The Senate and the Assembly are 2 distinct houses and do not police each other. Hell, they barley talk to each other! If things come up in either house, they are addressed there.
Talk about fair and balanced......
well why doesn't Kevin Cahill condemn it?
it's not a joking matter.
does Mr. Cahill think it's OK to call "fire" in a movie theater and say it's a joke.
it's no different.
you can't joke with lobbyists about "getting in early" and if you don't, it's going to cost you more.
Bernardo is only one who has spoke out and Blaber is upset because Bernardo called on Cuomo to investigate, not Carnright?
Why doesn't Blaber's man Hein speak out?
to 10:56
Why hasn't Larkin, Bonacic,(who are in the Senate) Lopez, Crouch? What about town supervisors, legislators or Aldermen in Kingston? What about Donaldson?
Has anyone asked any of them?
Why single one elected representative out?
You are basing everything on what you read in one piece of shit newspaper or worse yet, on these blogs! Even if any of them sent out press releases about it, it isn't like they publish everything the are delivered. Just ask your boys Bernardo or Quigley. They know.
7:32 is the one who singled out the Assembly for what looked like no reason at all. So blame 7:32, they are the one who brought "the assembly" into this.
Why doesn't Robin Yess condemn this? She's running for the Assembly.
She likes to tell everyone what to do and put her two cents in with everything else, why isn't she speaking out on this?
to 1:15 - at least your comments get posted here on these "worse yet, blogs" at UP
if UP had the same editorial policy as Blaber, your post would never see the light of day
1:15 -
In my original comments, I named "Kevin Cahill and the Mid-Hudson Democrat candidates for Assembly and Senate" for two reasons:
(1) My comment was responding to a post on Blaber News which singled out someone (Len Bernardo) who actually DID condemn the extortionist remarks made to lobbyists and who DID call for an investigation. Mr. Blaber called on Mr. Bernardo to "prove" his independence. At the same time, Mr. Blaber failed to lambaste any of the local Democrats who kept their mouths shut. The remark was not, first and foremost, a criticism of Assemblyman Cahill and his colleagues (although such criticism is certainly valid). It is a way of pointing out Mr. Blaber's hypocrisy.
(2) I do not think it is asking too much to expect each Party to police its leaders. If a politician violates ethics rules and the members of the opposing Party go after him for it, we are inevitably subjected to outraged posturing, telling us that they are doing so for political reasons. Consequently, if we are to have any semblance of ethics in politics, elected officials must be forced to go after their own Party members rather than circling the wagons.
So, yes, naming Assemblyman Cahill, who is the longest serving Democrat in either House of the Legislature in this area, and asking him to condemn this blatant protection racket by the leader of the Senate Democrats is a perfectly legitimate request.
Steve K, why do you think that Elliott Auerbach hasn't said anything about Malcolm Smith and Jeff Klein?
Imre Beke is so full of shit he leaves a trail.
Imre Beke is 100% correct. The truth hurts sometimes.
If Beke is so great and knows so much, why doesn't he run for something?
He is so one sided, so far to the right, that he could never get elected to anything that is why.
Just another big mouth conservative who thinks he knows it all.
Imre has run for and been elected to the Rondout Valley School Board.
Imre is to be commended for trying to straighten out the most disfuntional area of our government.... the schools.
Most politicians (except that idiot Blaber) want nothing to do with the school boards because the school situation in every town is a DISASTER.
Most people feel that it is such a mess, why bother?
Imre cares and tries to make a difference. It takes a strong person to sign their name to their posts when they are being critical of things. Imre uses his name, and most other people around here don't. How much courage would it take for you to sign your name? Why don't you want people to know who you are?
Think about that before you write some little bullsh** nasty comment back about Imre. Say something nice, or sign your name. Be a man like Imre.
10:42 -
Thank you for standing up for me, sincerely, but it's really not necessary. People like that make their nasty comments because they have no way of defending their favorite politicians once someone has shined light on their failings.
That is why Establishment politicians are scared to death of guys like Len Bernardo and Jim Quigley.
So, let these commenters continue with the nastiness. It just shows that they have nothing intelligent to say.
It does, however, feel nice to have someone stand up for me. Once again, thank you.
I hereby draft Beke to run for something. School Boards are fine, but the are usually controlled by special interests who get the vote out. I would bet you used some special interest to get elected.
Put your money where your mouth is and run for an office with a wider base of voters. You can hire Bubel and Turner as your campaign managers.
Let's see if you are in the mainstream or too far to the right for the majority of people. You can find out if you really do know it all.
You sit on the sidelines and throw rocks at the people who are actually trying to get something done. Maybe not the way you would do it,but they are working, not just talking. Let's see what you can do. You run your mouth enough, Do you have the balls to put your name on the line.
Like most talkers, I would say no, you do not have the courage to do anything more than criticize what others are doing while adding nothing positive at all.
I think Joe Bubel should run for Legislator. I would vote for him.
Bubel and Beke for Legislature! Where do they live? We may have something here.
If Imre ran for any political office it would be a guaranteed win for the Democrats. He couldn't win anything unless the number of candidates equaled the number of seats.
I think they should run. They always have such GREAT ideas!
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