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NY: Spitzer Smear Tactic Back?
Last Updated on Wednesday, 4 February 2009 10:52 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 4 February 2009 10:52
The New York Times seems to think there’s at least an echo…
This is what happened during the tenure of Gov. Eliot Spitzer, whose aides disseminated information about state-financed travel in 2007 by Joseph L. Bruno, then the Senate majority leader. This led to condemnation of Mr. Spitzer, the resignations of some of those aides, and charges that some of the aides had violated the Public Officers Law, which sets standards for state officials’ conduct.
It is also the story of what happened nearly two weeks ago after Caroline Kennedy withdrew her name from consideration for Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Senate seat.
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Wall Street Journal: GOP Candidates Challenging Spitzerism at the Polls
Last Updated on Friday, 1 August 2008 11:00 Written by rslcpol Friday, 1 August 2008 09:09
A closer look at the West Virgina AG race, along with some others. This piece makes credible mention of two GOP AG candidates who could not be further from the Spitzerist mold as AG – Indiana’s Greg Zoeller and West Virginia’s Dan Greear.
From the Wall Street Journal:
It’s also an insight into a new wave of reformist candidates across the country. As state attorneys general have become more brazen with their power, and as outside groups have started shining a light on their backroom practices, voters have become uneasy. It’s this sense of disquiet that candidates like Mr. Greear are tapping into as they promise to refocus lawsuits, rein in the tort bar and restore a sense of justice to prosecutorial office.
In Indiana, Greg Zoeller, the chief deputy for the current attorney general, is running for the top slot and touting the fact his office has never been close to trial lawyers. His opponent, Democrat Linda Pence, is a trial attorney. In Missouri, GOP state Sen. Michael Gibbons is fighting for an open seat and promising transparency in office. In North Carolina, in a strange twist, a pro-business Democrat is defending his seat against a trial-lawyer Republican. Ethics is also figuring in attorney general races in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
To Mr. Greear’s advantage, his opponent is a case study of abuse in office. Mr. McGraw, in more than 14 years as West Virginia’s attorney general, has been a pioneer in the practice of filing questionable lawsuits against big companies, secretly doling out the legal work to outside trial lawyer friends who reap millions in fees. Those lawyers then turn around and donate heavily to Mr. McGraw’s re-election.
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NY: Ex-Spitzer Aide Accuses Probers Of Unfair Tactics
Last Updated on Friday, 18 July 2008 11:18 Written by rslcpol Friday, 18 July 2008 11:01
Loyalty to someone of questionable ethics only gets you so far it seems. From CrainsNewYorkBusiness:
Mr. Dopp claims he is taking blame even though he was under orders from Mr. Spitzer, who resigned in March amid a prostitution investigation. Mr. Dopp is accused of misusing state police to release records that would hurt then-Republican Senate leader Joseph Bruno. He could face a $10,000 fine if the commission finds evidence of misconduct, which Mr. Dopp could contest in a hearing.
Commission spokesman Walter Ayres says the commission supports Mr. Teitelbaum.
“We can’t comment on anything having to do with an investigation by law,” Mr. Ayres said. “The commissioners, Republicans and Democrats, those appointed by Eliot Spitzer as well as those nominated by others, have expressed full confidence in the chair, the other commissioners, and all staff members in that we are conducting a fair and impartial investigation.”
Mr. Dopp said he believes the investigation is likely tainted by Mr. Teitelbaum’s action and wants the probe delayed until the executive director’s actions are investigated.
“It’s disappointing that the commissioners weren’t willing to even consider what I had to say, but that’s the way it has been since the beginning,” Mr. Dopp said Thursday.
Mr. Dopp accused Mr. Teitelbaum of contacting top Spitzer confidants including senior adviser Lloyd Constantine, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing in investigations conducted by the commission, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the Albany County district attorney.
Mr. Dopp offered no proof of what Messrs. Teitelbaum and Constantine discussed, if they were in contact during the investigation at all. Mr. Constantine resigned his position this spring after assisting in the transition to the administration of Gov. David Paterson.
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NY: Former AG Elliot Spitzer Loses Again
Last Updated on Wednesday, 2 July 2008 11:41 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 2 July 2008 11:32
How appropriate – another undoing of Eliot Spitzer caused by his own personal interpretation of the law. The beats keep coming for Love Client Number 9. From the New York Post:
Dick Grasso is officially $190 million richer today, and says he holds “no malice” against former nemesis Eliot Spitzer for trying to strip him of the cash.
Grasso’s generous words came yesterday after he scored a technical knockout in the final round of his four-year legal fight to keep his disputed paycheck as New York Stock Exchange chief.
“For all intents and purposes, the Grasso case is over,” a spokesman for state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said.
Killing the case cost a mere $70 million in legal fees, which are being paid by insurance.
Last week, the state Court of Appeals threw out the four toughest claims against Grasso. Yesterday’s ruling tossed out the final two counts.
The court also slammed the door for good on the tangled case, baring Cuomo from picking up the fight originally waged by Spitzer when he was AG. Spitzer sued Grasso in 2004, accusing him of illegally taking a bloated paycheck and retirement cache from the NYSE, which at the time was a not-for-profit corporation technically governed by the AG’s office.
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NY: Senator Says Spitzer Cronies Followed Him
Last Updated on Wednesday, 16 April 2008 02:19 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 16 April 2008 10:05
Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean somebody’s not out to get you…
Sen. Dale Volker believes he was followed by someone in law enforcement last summer at the time Senate Republicans were beginning to investigate a scheme by the former Spitzer administration to use the State Police to try to smear GOP Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.Volker, a Depew Republican, made his comments during a confirmation hearing for Harry Corbitt, who has been nominated by Gov. David Paterson to become superintendent of the embattled State Police.The veteran lawmaker, who also retold a story of being wiretapped decades ago by Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, later told reporters that people who were connected to Eliot Spitzer during his days as attorney general may have been involved in following him last summer in Albany.
“Maybe I don’t want to believe it was somebody from the State Police, but somebody was watching me,” Volker told reporters after the Corbitt hearing.
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NY: Spitzer Corruption Cop Leaves
Last Updated on Friday, 4 April 2008 01:52 Written by rslcpol Friday, 4 April 2008 10:06
Yes, the IG in this case really did a bang up job of investigating the misdeeds of her Governor. Truly, a substantial record of accomplishment was missed we’re afraid.
The state inspector general, whose office investigates government corruption but was criticized by Republicans for not aggressively pursing last summer’s Troopergate scandal, is joining the growing ranks of Spitzer administration appointees leaving Albany now that David A. Paterson is governor.
Kristine Hamann, a former criminal prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, offered her resignation to Paterson on Thursday, effective April 10.
“She’s honored to have served and she does feel she’s achieved a substantial record of accomplishment,” and agency spokeswoman said.
Hamann was unavailable for comment.
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NY: Resignation Shields Spitzer From Criminal Prosecution
Last Updated on Monday, 31 March 2008 07:07 Written by rslcpol Monday, 31 March 2008 10:20
This former Democrat AGs self destruction is just about complete…
Soares said that Dopp was given immunity for his testimony, even though Dopp could have faced misdemeanor charges, such as offering a false instrument and making an apparently sworn false statement.Meanwhile, Spitzer is no longer in office and could not face criminal prosecution because he’s no longer a “public servant,” Soares said.
As a result, Soares never brought the case to a grand jury, and instead released a report on his own findings — a rare move for a prosecutor.
“It is my hope that the findings released in this report satisfy the questions surrounding the timeline, facts and sequence of events that have become known as ‘Troopergate,'” Soares said in a statement.
The disclosures in the report lend new insight into the Spitzer-Bruno battle that dominated most of Spitzer’s short-lived 14 months in office.
Posted under Attorney General News, Dems Behaving Badly | 1 Comment
NY: Sen. Bruno Happy Truth Came Out About Spitzer
Last Updated on Tuesday, 25 March 2008 02:24 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 25 March 2008 12:31
We think the only person NOT happy about the truth coming out on this is Mr. Spitzer. And maybe Governor Paterson. Ding, ding, ding, ding.
ALBANY – Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno claimed vindication yesterday – and blasted the Albany County DA – with new revelations of then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s deep involvement in the Dirty Tricks Scandal.”I feel great that the truth comes out, and I have a great comfort level, and I thank The Post for providing the leadership,” said Bruno (R-Rensselaer).
He spoke after the disclosure that former Spitzer Communications Director Darren Dopp admitted under oath to the district attorney that the disgraced ex-governor had urged on the plot to use the State Police to damage Bruno – despite Spitzer’s public claims to the contrary.
Posted under Dems Behaving Badly, State Legislature News | 1 Comment
NY: Former Gov. Spitzer’s Replacement Admits Affair
Last Updated on Tuesday, 18 March 2008 09:40 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 18 March 2008 09:40
With his predecessor’s term doomed by a sex scandal, brand-new Gov. David Paterson tried to come clean about his own skeletons just hours after assuming office by acknowledging a years-old affair.
Paterson was sworn in almost exactly a week after allegations first surfaced that former Gov. Eliot Spitzer was “Client 9” of a high-priced call girl service. Responding to rumors circulating in Albany, Paterson and his wife, Michelle, told the Daily News of New York City that both had affairs during a rough patch in their marriage several years ago.
“This was a marriage that appeared to be going sour at one point,” Paterson told the Daily News. “But I went to counseling and we decided we wanted to make it work. Michelle is well aware of what went on.”
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The Associated Press: Deconstructing Spitzer’s Spiraling End
Last Updated on Monday, 17 March 2008 09:09 Written by rslcpol Monday, 17 March 2008 09:08
NEW YORK (AP) — Eliot Spitzer finally had to tell someone his secret. It was last Sunday morning, and he had just spent five hours driving through a fierce storm to his family and his Fifth Avenue apartment.
Until then, the law-and-order New York governor had not dropped a hint of the bombshell that was about to force him from office, not a strained word during public appearances Friday in Manhattan or glad-handing the media at a Saturday dinner in Washington.
But shortly after entering his luxurious high-rise building a little after noon, Spitzer faced his wife of two decades, Silda, and he had to tell her:
The “Mr. Clean” ex-prosecutor known for fighting corruption and taking the moral high ground was going to be outed as a client of a $5,500-an-hour prostitution ring.
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