[Photo]Padavan said Gennaro ran a "despicable campaign" and that his consultants were that "sleazy outfit, the Parkside Group" which, according to Padavan, "are famous for that type of campaign."
Padavan's said his opponent distorted and misrepresented his voting record. He said he supported increasing access to health care and tougher gun control measures, but that Gennaro's campaign said the complete opposite.
Leading in Recount, Padavan Makes His Attacks
Padavan said he decided to focus his campaign's message on "our record." He also said in hindsight, he would not have changed his message.
"There are lots of things I could have done, but I chose not to," he said. "We ran a very, very clean campaign. Everything we put out was positive."
But he told me the attacks they could have made.
There was the issue of Gennaro "having been found guilty by the New York City Board of Elections, and he paid a fine,"said Padavan. "There was his involvement in that scandal in the City Council [with] those phony organizations, and the fact that he received the bulk of his funding from developers, which have been the enemies of my constituency and want to change the character of the neighborhood."
posted by Queens Crapper at 12:05 AM on Nov 8, 2008
Anonymous said...
looks like Parkside's reputation is changing. They used to be the most hated lobbying firm the the city. Now, looks like they're also the least effective.
Remember, folks, you can help stamp out the Parkside Group. Vote against ANY AND ALL CANDIDATES who do business with them. The Liz Crowley story is a great example. Ran with Parkside - lost. Ran without Parkside - won. Congrats, Liz.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Anonymous said...
The Parasite Group strikes again!
How does it feel, Jim, that they took your money, made you look like an asshole, and just like Liz Crowley in the special election - left you a few votes shy. People know them now, they know their tactics, and they're 'just saying no' to scum like Evan Stavisky.
Remember that next time.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Anonymous said...
Evan is complete moron, and NO candidate should let him speak to the media on their behalf. His moronic 'dead in the water' comment is proof of that.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Evan Stavisky said...
Hi, welcome to White Castle, can I take your order?
Saturday, November 08, 2008
The Ghosts of St. Saviours said...
Completed Tasks:
-Gallagher
-Maspeth Development LLC
-Maltese
-Como
To Do:
-Parkside Group
-Michael Bloomberg
-Community Assault Unit
-The Queens Ledge
Saturday, November 08, 2008
italian girl said...
I received tons of flyers from Gennaro - very negative. What a turnoff. I voted democrat all the way down until I got to Padavan - Gennaro.
Gennaro = Slimeball
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Anonymous said...
Our mail boxes were filled with Gennaro propaganda, It angered me that he took credit for all the downsizing that took place in his district,it was the civics andhard working residenst that did the work, He was usually a thorn in our back! Look at the Jamaica debacle. he voted to screw the community.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Anonymous said...
Jim Gennaro and the Parkside Group should be ashamed of themselves, aside from their negative campaigning, they opted to completely cover the Jamaica Estates Gatehouse, the World War II Memorial as well as the 179St.subway station walls with Gennaro for senate posters. This is public property! Just because you earmarked funds for the renovation, you don't own it!
Saturday, November 08, 2008
[Photo]Padavan said Gennaro ran a "despicable campaign" and that his consultants were that "sleazy outfit, the Parkside Group" which, according to Padavan, "are famous for that type of campaign."
Padavan's said his opponent distorted and misrepresented his voting record. He said he supported increasing access to health care and tougher gun control measures, but that Gennaro's campaign said the complete opposite.
Leading in Recount, Padavan Makes His Attacks
Padavan said he decided to focus his campaign's message on "our record." He also said in hindsight, he would not have changed his message.
"There are lots of things I could have done, but I chose not to," he said. "We ran a very, very clean campaign. Everything we put out was positive."
But he told me the attacks they could have made.
There was the issue of Gennaro "having been found guilty by the New York City Board of Elections, and he paid a fine,"said Padavan. "There was his involvement in that scandal in the City Council [with] those phony organizations, and the fact that he received the bulk of his funding from developers, which have been the enemies of my constituency and want to change the character of the neighborhood."
posted by Queens Crapper at 12:05 AM on Nov 8, 2008
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Queens Crap November 8, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
After Loss Crowley Parts with Parkside and Wins
Same Faces, Different Tactics in Elizabeth Crowley vs. Anthony Como by John Lauinger - NY Daily News - October 8, 2008
Read original...
When Democrat Elizabeth Crowley campaigned in the June special election for former City Councilman Dennis Gallagher's seat, she avoided speaking directly to the press.
Her message was crafted by the Parkside Group, a high-powered political consulting firm, and its media-savvy consultants did all the talking.
But as she gears up for a November rematch with Anthony Como, who won that election, Crowley has been waging a conspicuously homespun and unchaperoned campaign.
Crowley told the Queens News she parted ways with the Parkside Group in order to save money and run a "grass-roots" effort.
"I lost by 38 votes and I said, 'What can I do differently?'" Crowley said, noting her new approach is to spend her money on "direct voter contact."
"It's the way that elections should be won - knocking on doors, meeting voters at train stops, going to community organizations," she said.
Crowley said of the Parkside Group: "Their mail and their campaign stuff is a lot more expensive than if I go to the printer myself and have something made."
But Como (R-Middle Village) took issue with Crowley's "new" mail. "She's at meetings handing out her old palm cards," he said.
The Crowley campaign gave The News a card at a candidates forum last week in Ridgewood. It reads: "Vote Crowley. Special Election. Tuesday, June 3rd."
"June 3rd" had been crossed off.
The 30th Council District - which includes Middle Village, Glendale and Ridgewood, with parts of Richmond Hill, Woodhaven and Forest Hills - has been in Republican hands since 1991.
A Democratic insider said Queens party bosses thought the best chance of claiming the seat was in the nonpartisan special election, in which Como and former GOP Councilman Tom Ognibene split GOP votes.
But it didn't happen. Now Queens Democrats - led by Crowley's cousin, Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Queens) - have more important races to consider than Round 2 of Crowley vs. Como, the insider said.
But Michael Reich, the executive secretary of the Queens Democratic Party, said Crowley has done well in fund-raising and has not been abandoned.
Read original...
When Democrat Elizabeth Crowley campaigned in the June special election for former City Councilman Dennis Gallagher's seat, she avoided speaking directly to the press.
Her message was crafted by the Parkside Group, a high-powered political consulting firm, and its media-savvy consultants did all the talking.
But as she gears up for a November rematch with Anthony Como, who won that election, Crowley has been waging a conspicuously homespun and unchaperoned campaign.
Crowley told the Queens News she parted ways with the Parkside Group in order to save money and run a "grass-roots" effort.
"I lost by 38 votes and I said, 'What can I do differently?'" Crowley said, noting her new approach is to spend her money on "direct voter contact."
"It's the way that elections should be won - knocking on doors, meeting voters at train stops, going to community organizations," she said.
Crowley said of the Parkside Group: "Their mail and their campaign stuff is a lot more expensive than if I go to the printer myself and have something made."
But Como (R-Middle Village) took issue with Crowley's "new" mail. "She's at meetings handing out her old palm cards," he said.
The Crowley campaign gave The News a card at a candidates forum last week in Ridgewood. It reads: "Vote Crowley. Special Election. Tuesday, June 3rd."
"June 3rd" had been crossed off.
The 30th Council District - which includes Middle Village, Glendale and Ridgewood, with parts of Richmond Hill, Woodhaven and Forest Hills - has been in Republican hands since 1991.
A Democratic insider said Queens party bosses thought the best chance of claiming the seat was in the nonpartisan special election, in which Como and former GOP Councilman Tom Ognibene split GOP votes.
But it didn't happen. Now Queens Democrats - led by Crowley's cousin, Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Queens) - have more important races to consider than Round 2 of Crowley vs. Como, the insider said.
But Michael Reich, the executive secretary of the Queens Democratic Party, said Crowley has done well in fund-raising and has not been abandoned.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Something Happening Here?
Dizzy Lizzy dumps Parkside
When Democrat Elizabeth Crowley campaigned in the June special election for former City Councilman Dennis Gallagher's seat, she avoided speaking directly to the press.
Her message was crafted by the Parkside Group, a high-powered political consulting firm, and its media-savvy consultants did all the talking.
Same faces, different tactics in Elizabeth Crowley vs. Anthony Como
But as she gears up for a November rematch with Anthony Como, who won that election, Crowley has been waging a conspicuously homespun and unchaperoned campaign.
Crowley told the Queens News she parted ways with the Parkside Group in order to save money and run a "grass-roots" effort.
"I lost by 38 votes and I said, 'What can I do differently?'" Crowley said, noting her new approach is to spend her money on "direct voter contact."
"It's the way that elections should be won - knocking on doors, meeting voters at train stops, going to community organizations," she said.
Crowley said of the Parkside Group: "Their mail and their campaign stuff is a lot more expensive than if I go to the printer myself and have something made."
Maybe Parkside was actually working for the other side...
Posted by Queens Crapper at 12:20 AM 19 comments Links to this post - from Queens Crap, October 7, 2008
When Democrat Elizabeth Crowley campaigned in the June special election for former City Councilman Dennis Gallagher's seat, she avoided speaking directly to the press.
Her message was crafted by the Parkside Group, a high-powered political consulting firm, and its media-savvy consultants did all the talking.
Same faces, different tactics in Elizabeth Crowley vs. Anthony Como
But as she gears up for a November rematch with Anthony Como, who won that election, Crowley has been waging a conspicuously homespun and unchaperoned campaign.
Crowley told the Queens News she parted ways with the Parkside Group in order to save money and run a "grass-roots" effort.
"I lost by 38 votes and I said, 'What can I do differently?'" Crowley said, noting her new approach is to spend her money on "direct voter contact."
"It's the way that elections should be won - knocking on doors, meeting voters at train stops, going to community organizations," she said.
Crowley said of the Parkside Group: "Their mail and their campaign stuff is a lot more expensive than if I go to the printer myself and have something made."
Maybe Parkside was actually working for the other side...
Posted by Queens Crapper at 12:20 AM 19 comments Links to this post - from Queens Crap, October 7, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
A New "Tin Box"
Parkside Partner Consultant Helps Gifford Miller Become Council Speaker in 2002
"Gifford represents a completely new paradigm," said Harry Gianoulis, a consultant who helped coordinate Mr. Miller's campaign for Speaker. "It's consistent with the way that all of these new guys think that he took a multi-track approach and tried to talk to everyone, instead of saying 'I've got Queens and the Bronx' and ignoring everything outside that target audience. He started early with his campaigning, and he didn't make enemies. The old model doesn't work anymore, where you sit on your ass and wait for a county leader to pick you." -NY Obsever 2001
Good Governement Group the Citizen Union Reports Lobbying Firms were created to do work in Miller Council
More political consultants in New York have taken on the second role of lobbyists over the last five years, prompting good-government advocates to press the city's ethics board to revive attempts to regulate the practice. An analysis by Citizens Union, a nonprofit policy group, shows that half of the top 10 consultant-lobbyists last year earned no money from lobbying in 2001, but gradually adopted the practice, sometimes lobbying the same public officials they helped elect. Altogether, those 10 firms earned $32 million from lobbying and consulting from 2002 to 2005, according to the analysis, which the group intends to present today to the Conflicts of Interest Board. - New York Times, Febuary 3, 2006
Parkside Group Is Formed
In Queens, the Parkside Group leads the newcomers in attracting candidates. Evan Stavisky, Bill Driscoll and Harry Giannoulis bring their years of political experience together to represent a dozen-plus odd Council candidates — maybe some of them aren’t too odd. They have a batch of other candidates throughout the city. Queens Tribune, July 12, 2001
Lobbying Group Parkside Takes In 7.5 Million from 2001 to 2006
"As the city examines the power that lobbyists exert on municipal government, new figures show the top influence-peddlers are hauling in big bucks.
According to a list compiled by the Citizens Union and obtained by The Post, the Parkside Group is the city's top-billing lobbying or consulting group, having earned $7.5 million in fees since 2001." - New York Post, Feburary 3, 2006
Parkside Partner Helps Speaker Miller Choose New Chief of Staff
Miller Gets Help From Lobbyist In Finding a New Chief of Staff
"The position is traditionally that of gatekeeper and top adviser to one of the city's most powerful officials. . . The lobbyist, Harry E. Giannoulis, a partner in the Parkside Group, a lobbying and political consulting firm, said yesterday that while he did not believe he had played a pivotal role in helping Mr. Miller choose his chief of staff, he had given the speaker advice on what to look for in a candidate and had advised some potential applicants to seek the job. He also participated in meetings at which candidates were discussed, according to Mr. Miller's staff. Mr. Giannoulis wears two hats, one as a consultant helping candidates get elected, another as a lobbyist, who then helps his clients gain access to the people he helps elect. It is a standard strategist-lobbyist model that is common in the city and in the federal government. In this case, Mr. Giannoulis acknowledges wearing both hats at the same time -- saying he is collecting a $2,000-a-month retainer from Mr. Miller's campaign committee for political work while also representing clients like the Telebeam Telecommunications Corporation of Long Island City, which owns pay phones throughout the city." -New York Times, May 18, 2004
"Mr. Giannoulis said he had lobbied the speaker directly for his clients. It is his dual roles -- helping the speaker find a chief of staff and also lobbying the speaker on behalf of companies -- that have some government watchdog groups concerned, particularly given the power a chief of staff holds in terms of access to the speaker and in helping perform Council business." -NY Sun, May 19 2004
Lobbyist Consultant role at City Hall Inappropriate
"Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, a nonprofit civic group that has no budget request before the city, said the competition for money among nonprofits had "created this frenzy" to hire lobbyists out of a belief that doing so would increase their chances of securing appropriations. He also expressed concern about what he called "a growing problem" of council members being lobbied by firms that serve as political consultants to many of them. "It's a closed circle of influence that is totally inappropriate," Mr. Dadey said. "It clearly gives a lobbyist who does campaign work unfair advantage, because it gives them a level of access to the elected official that they otherwise would not have." - New York Times, June 22, 2005
Miller Fund-Raiser's Ties to Lobbyist Raise Eyebrows With Watchdogs
"City Council Speaker Gifford Miller's fund-raising effort operated for 15 months in an office in the same lobbying firm that reportedly has advised him on selecting a new chief of staff. The executive director of Miller for New York, Lisa Esler, rented an office from the Parkside Group since February 2003 before relocating to another floor in the same Nassau Street building three weeks ago. Ms. Esler and aides to Mr. Miller said the space was rented by her consulting firm, The Esler Group, and not the campaign, although Miller for New York is paying for the new office, the aides and Ms. Esler said." - New York Sun, May 19, 2004
Hidden Money Increase Power Insider Lobbyist
The Council was rocked this week by news that for years staffers hid at least $17 million in the city budget by allocating the money to phony charities. Controlled by the speaker, the cash would then be doled out to legitimate groups with political pull or midyear emergencies. In 2001, there were five fake names shielding $1 million. It grew to dozens of names and about $4.5 million by last year, before Quinn said she found out about it. One of the original bogus groups - Murphy's Place - was named in honor of a former councilman who called an Irish staffer "Murphy" because he could not remember his real name, an ex-Council staffer said. She said she told senior finance staffers to quit it in the spring of 2007 - a contention backed up Friday by her chief of staff, Charles Meara. McShane did not explain why Quinn waited more than a year to order an end to the practice. investigators are believed to be looking into any shady ties between Council members and the nonprofits they fund with the body's multimillion-dollar pork budget. – Daily News, April 5, 2008
What was going on in the Council Financial Office?
“Ms. Quinn is expected to replace Ms. Angelo with Michael P. Keogh, who worked most recently for the mayor's Office of State Legislative Affairs. Ms. Quinn was elected last month with the support of the Democratic organizations in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, and has already started hiring party loyalists in return for their support, several council members and lobbyists said.”
NY Times, Feburary 22, 2006
Since the story about her aides channeling money into fake organizations broke, Christine Quinn has stressed that said aides were under direct orders for her not to do so. (She also says she knew about the practice of putting money aside, but not about the phantom organizations). In her initial press conference on the subject, Quinn said only that two members of her finance department no longer work for the council. She declined to name them, but it has now been reported that one of those staffers is Staci Emanuel, who reporters haven't had much luck tracking down. The other is Michael Keogh. When Keogh left the City Council, he landed a job at Bolton St. Johns. The powerful lobbying firm (it's ranked #2 in the city by revenue) - Azi Paybarah, The Politicker
"Her finance director, Michael Keogh, has since joined Bolton-St. Johns, a lobbying firm where Emily Giske, a top official in the state Democratic Party and close ally of the speaker, also works. Quinn’s communications chief Jamie McShane said the speaker played no role in Keogh landing that job, and Keogh has told reporters he is cooperating with investigators. The most critical questions that must be answered relate to how the distributions of the discretionary money were made. Technically, it was a process Quinn controlled, but McShane, citing the ongoing investigations, was unable to provide the specifics on how funding decisions were made. If Quinn herself made the decisions, she ought to explain where she thought the money was coming from."
In an appearance last night on the Perez Notes radio show, Council finance committee chair (and comptroller candidate) David Weprin said the Council slush fund incident, was a minor blip. These “fictitious groups,” Weprin said, never came before his committee or the Council as a whole – it was merely the work of a “couple of staff people.” - Daily News Blog, July 31, 2008
Although the council speaker can have ultimate veto power, Fidler said other people scrutinize the member items. "Some of it gets decided by the member," Fidler explained. "Some of it gets decided by the borough delegation. Some of it gets decided by the speaker and some of it gets decided by the budget negotiating team." Who is the team?
"Gifford represents a completely new paradigm," said Harry Gianoulis, a consultant who helped coordinate Mr. Miller's campaign for Speaker. "It's consistent with the way that all of these new guys think that he took a multi-track approach and tried to talk to everyone, instead of saying 'I've got Queens and the Bronx' and ignoring everything outside that target audience. He started early with his campaigning, and he didn't make enemies. The old model doesn't work anymore, where you sit on your ass and wait for a county leader to pick you." -NY Obsever 2001
Good Governement Group the Citizen Union Reports Lobbying Firms were created to do work in Miller Council
More political consultants in New York have taken on the second role of lobbyists over the last five years, prompting good-government advocates to press the city's ethics board to revive attempts to regulate the practice. An analysis by Citizens Union, a nonprofit policy group, shows that half of the top 10 consultant-lobbyists last year earned no money from lobbying in 2001, but gradually adopted the practice, sometimes lobbying the same public officials they helped elect. Altogether, those 10 firms earned $32 million from lobbying and consulting from 2002 to 2005, according to the analysis, which the group intends to present today to the Conflicts of Interest Board. - New York Times, Febuary 3, 2006
Parkside Group Is Formed
In Queens, the Parkside Group leads the newcomers in attracting candidates. Evan Stavisky, Bill Driscoll and Harry Giannoulis bring their years of political experience together to represent a dozen-plus odd Council candidates — maybe some of them aren’t too odd. They have a batch of other candidates throughout the city. Queens Tribune, July 12, 2001
Lobbying Group Parkside Takes In 7.5 Million from 2001 to 2006
"As the city examines the power that lobbyists exert on municipal government, new figures show the top influence-peddlers are hauling in big bucks.
According to a list compiled by the Citizens Union and obtained by The Post, the Parkside Group is the city's top-billing lobbying or consulting group, having earned $7.5 million in fees since 2001." - New York Post, Feburary 3, 2006
Parkside Partner Helps Speaker Miller Choose New Chief of Staff
Miller Gets Help From Lobbyist In Finding a New Chief of Staff
"The position is traditionally that of gatekeeper and top adviser to one of the city's most powerful officials. . . The lobbyist, Harry E. Giannoulis, a partner in the Parkside Group, a lobbying and political consulting firm, said yesterday that while he did not believe he had played a pivotal role in helping Mr. Miller choose his chief of staff, he had given the speaker advice on what to look for in a candidate and had advised some potential applicants to seek the job. He also participated in meetings at which candidates were discussed, according to Mr. Miller's staff. Mr. Giannoulis wears two hats, one as a consultant helping candidates get elected, another as a lobbyist, who then helps his clients gain access to the people he helps elect. It is a standard strategist-lobbyist model that is common in the city and in the federal government. In this case, Mr. Giannoulis acknowledges wearing both hats at the same time -- saying he is collecting a $2,000-a-month retainer from Mr. Miller's campaign committee for political work while also representing clients like the Telebeam Telecommunications Corporation of Long Island City, which owns pay phones throughout the city." -New York Times, May 18, 2004
"Mr. Giannoulis said he had lobbied the speaker directly for his clients. It is his dual roles -- helping the speaker find a chief of staff and also lobbying the speaker on behalf of companies -- that have some government watchdog groups concerned, particularly given the power a chief of staff holds in terms of access to the speaker and in helping perform Council business." -NY Sun, May 19 2004
Lobbyist Consultant role at City Hall Inappropriate
"Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, a nonprofit civic group that has no budget request before the city, said the competition for money among nonprofits had "created this frenzy" to hire lobbyists out of a belief that doing so would increase their chances of securing appropriations. He also expressed concern about what he called "a growing problem" of council members being lobbied by firms that serve as political consultants to many of them. "It's a closed circle of influence that is totally inappropriate," Mr. Dadey said. "It clearly gives a lobbyist who does campaign work unfair advantage, because it gives them a level of access to the elected official that they otherwise would not have." - New York Times, June 22, 2005
Miller Fund-Raiser's Ties to Lobbyist Raise Eyebrows With Watchdogs
"City Council Speaker Gifford Miller's fund-raising effort operated for 15 months in an office in the same lobbying firm that reportedly has advised him on selecting a new chief of staff. The executive director of Miller for New York, Lisa Esler, rented an office from the Parkside Group since February 2003 before relocating to another floor in the same Nassau Street building three weeks ago. Ms. Esler and aides to Mr. Miller said the space was rented by her consulting firm, The Esler Group, and not the campaign, although Miller for New York is paying for the new office, the aides and Ms. Esler said." - New York Sun, May 19, 2004
Hidden Money Increase Power Insider Lobbyist
The Council was rocked this week by news that for years staffers hid at least $17 million in the city budget by allocating the money to phony charities. Controlled by the speaker, the cash would then be doled out to legitimate groups with political pull or midyear emergencies. In 2001, there were five fake names shielding $1 million. It grew to dozens of names and about $4.5 million by last year, before Quinn said she found out about it. One of the original bogus groups - Murphy's Place - was named in honor of a former councilman who called an Irish staffer "Murphy" because he could not remember his real name, an ex-Council staffer said. She said she told senior finance staffers to quit it in the spring of 2007 - a contention backed up Friday by her chief of staff, Charles Meara. McShane did not explain why Quinn waited more than a year to order an end to the practice. investigators are believed to be looking into any shady ties between Council members and the nonprofits they fund with the body's multimillion-dollar pork budget. – Daily News, April 5, 2008
What was going on in the Council Financial Office?
“Ms. Quinn is expected to replace Ms. Angelo with Michael P. Keogh, who worked most recently for the mayor's Office of State Legislative Affairs. Ms. Quinn was elected last month with the support of the Democratic organizations in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, and has already started hiring party loyalists in return for their support, several council members and lobbyists said.”
NY Times, Feburary 22, 2006
Since the story about her aides channeling money into fake organizations broke, Christine Quinn has stressed that said aides were under direct orders for her not to do so. (She also says she knew about the practice of putting money aside, but not about the phantom organizations). In her initial press conference on the subject, Quinn said only that two members of her finance department no longer work for the council. She declined to name them, but it has now been reported that one of those staffers is Staci Emanuel, who reporters haven't had much luck tracking down. The other is Michael Keogh. When Keogh left the City Council, he landed a job at Bolton St. Johns. The powerful lobbying firm (it's ranked #2 in the city by revenue) - Azi Paybarah, The Politicker
"Her finance director, Michael Keogh, has since joined Bolton-St. Johns, a lobbying firm where Emily Giske, a top official in the state Democratic Party and close ally of the speaker, also works. Quinn’s communications chief Jamie McShane said the speaker played no role in Keogh landing that job, and Keogh has told reporters he is cooperating with investigators. The most critical questions that must be answered relate to how the distributions of the discretionary money were made. Technically, it was a process Quinn controlled, but McShane, citing the ongoing investigations, was unable to provide the specifics on how funding decisions were made. If Quinn herself made the decisions, she ought to explain where she thought the money was coming from."
In an appearance last night on the Perez Notes radio show, Council finance committee chair (and comptroller candidate) David Weprin said the Council slush fund incident, was a minor blip. These “fictitious groups,” Weprin said, never came before his committee or the Council as a whole – it was merely the work of a “couple of staff people.” - Daily News Blog, July 31, 2008
Although the council speaker can have ultimate veto power, Fidler said other people scrutinize the member items. "Some of it gets decided by the member," Fidler explained. "Some of it gets decided by the borough delegation. Some of it gets decided by the speaker and some of it gets decided by the budget negotiating team." Who is the team?
Friday, September 19, 2008
Gifford Miller's Campaign Fined for Violations of 2005
By BENJAMIN SARLIN, Special to the Sun | September 19, 2008The city's Campaign Finance Board is ordering a former City Council speaker, Gifford Miller, to pay $13,835 in fines for violations incurred during his unsuccessful mayoral run in 2005.
The bulk of the penalties, announced yesterday, stem from a fine for violating campaign spending limits. Mr. Miller did so by $10,410, and will now have to pay the same amount in fines. In addition to that penalty, Mr. Miller was issued violations for improper post-election expenditures ($750), for accepting nine over-the-limit contributions ($1,125), for accepting four contributions from unregistered political committees ($500), for accepting two contributions from corporations ($250), and for failing to properly report certain donations and expenditures ($850).
An attorney for the Miller campaign, Laurence Laufer, said yesterday that his client would pay the fines and that the cost of challenging the ruling in court would likely exceed the violations themselves.
"The Miller campaign has always made clear that it would abide by the city's campaign finance rules and we are pleased that after this complete three-year audit that the CFB found it was in virtually complete compliance," Mr. Laufer said in an interview. "The campaign chose not to contest the few minor violations that are alleged here."
Mr. Miller clashed with the Campaign Finance Board during his 2005 mayoral run, claiming that $1.4 million in spending should not have been counted against his overall spending limit. After initially refusing to follow the board's decision, the state Supreme Court refused to block the board's ruling, leading him to cancel a series of ads he had planned to air with the money, according to the New York Times.
Also yesterday, an unsuccessful candidate for City Council in Brooklyn in 2007, Karlene Gordon, was ordered to pay $3,900 in fines for a series of violations, including accepting over-the-limit contributions, making non-campaign and improper post-campaign expenditures, and failing to respond to an audit before a deadline.
The bulk of the penalties, announced yesterday, stem from a fine for violating campaign spending limits. Mr. Miller did so by $10,410, and will now have to pay the same amount in fines. In addition to that penalty, Mr. Miller was issued violations for improper post-election expenditures ($750), for accepting nine over-the-limit contributions ($1,125), for accepting four contributions from unregistered political committees ($500), for accepting two contributions from corporations ($250), and for failing to properly report certain donations and expenditures ($850).
An attorney for the Miller campaign, Laurence Laufer, said yesterday that his client would pay the fines and that the cost of challenging the ruling in court would likely exceed the violations themselves.
"The Miller campaign has always made clear that it would abide by the city's campaign finance rules and we are pleased that after this complete three-year audit that the CFB found it was in virtually complete compliance," Mr. Laufer said in an interview. "The campaign chose not to contest the few minor violations that are alleged here."
Mr. Miller clashed with the Campaign Finance Board during his 2005 mayoral run, claiming that $1.4 million in spending should not have been counted against his overall spending limit. After initially refusing to follow the board's decision, the state Supreme Court refused to block the board's ruling, leading him to cancel a series of ads he had planned to air with the money, according to the New York Times.
Also yesterday, an unsuccessful candidate for City Council in Brooklyn in 2007, Karlene Gordon, was ordered to pay $3,900 in fines for a series of violations, including accepting over-the-limit contributions, making non-campaign and improper post-campaign expenditures, and failing to respond to an audit before a deadline.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Baseball
"The local little league will no longer have to scrape by," said Evan Stavisky, a Democratic consultant. "The nature of politics is that the party in the majority has a better chance to secure things for their district. Democratic districts will benefit, and all but one or two districts in the Senate will be Democratic." - AM New York, July 17, 2008
"n integral part of the 186-page indictment against Mr. McLaughlin, 54, an influential politician and head of the nation’s biggest municipal labor council, is the detailed description of how prosecutors say he took donations for the league and carefully moved the funds between bank accounts to siphon $95,000. Part was used to pay rent on his apartment in Albany and part went for other personal expenses, according to the indictment."- New York Times, October 19, 2006
"n integral part of the 186-page indictment against Mr. McLaughlin, 54, an influential politician and head of the nation’s biggest municipal labor council, is the detailed description of how prosecutors say he took donations for the league and carefully moved the funds between bank accounts to siphon $95,000. Part was used to pay rent on his apartment in Albany and part went for other personal expenses, according to the indictment."- New York Times, October 19, 2006
Friday, June 27, 2008
U.S. Inquiry Into Funding by Council Is to End Soon
A federal investigation into the City Council’s appropriation of funds to fictitious groups should conclude within 90 days, a prosecutor said on Thursday.
But the prosecutor, Rua M. Kelly, an assistant United States attorney who spoke at a hearing in State Supreme Court in Manhattan to determine whether the court would hold a separate public inquiry, did not indicate whether anyone would be charged.
Federal investigators have been conducting a grand jury investigation into the City Council’s appropriation of discretionary funds to community groups.
Ms. Kelly asked Justice Joan B. Lobis of State Supreme Court in Manhattan to delay any public inquiry for 90 days if she does indeed grant it.
Holding a judicial inquiry before the federal investigation is complete would make it virtually impossible for the authorities to prosecute anyone because testimony from the inquiry is not permissible in a criminal proceeding, Ms. Kelly said. That means that federal prosecutors would have to show that their evidence came from somewhere other than the inquiry, Ms. Kelly said.
“We think that 90 days would absolutely suffice to allow our investigation to go forward,” she said.
Justice Lobis, who did not rule on Thursday, is expected to submit a written decision in the next few weeks. The judge did indicate that she would not do anything to compromise the federal investigation.
The inquiry being sought is known as a judicial summary inquiry, and it comes from a rarely used section of the City Charter. The section, 1109, was created in 1873, a product of the Boss Tweed era, when the New York politician William M. Tweed bilked the city of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel is requesting the inquiry on behalf of eight New York taxpayers. The inquiry would not determine guilt or innocence, but would merely lay out the facts surrounding the case for public review.
Mr. Siegel said he was fine with a 90-day stay and, in fact, welcomed Ms. Kelly’s news that the federal investigation was nearing completion.
“New Yorkers anxiously await the result of that criminal investigation,” Mr. Siegel said outside the courtroom.
Mr. Siegel said he thought that at the very least, a crime was committed by presenting fictitious charities in documents.
“Someone intentionally designed this scheme,” he said. “It was no mistake.”
Stephen Kitzinger, a lawyer for the city, said he believed Mr. Siegel’s request for a public inquiry was motivated by his desire to run for public advocate, an office he has sought twice before, in 2001 and 2005.
“It would appear that this is a publicity stunt designed to promote a campaign,” Mr. Kitzinger said in court.
Mr. Siegel denied that contention.
By JOHN ELIGON
Published: June 27, 2008 New York Times
But the prosecutor, Rua M. Kelly, an assistant United States attorney who spoke at a hearing in State Supreme Court in Manhattan to determine whether the court would hold a separate public inquiry, did not indicate whether anyone would be charged.
Federal investigators have been conducting a grand jury investigation into the City Council’s appropriation of discretionary funds to community groups.
Ms. Kelly asked Justice Joan B. Lobis of State Supreme Court in Manhattan to delay any public inquiry for 90 days if she does indeed grant it.
Holding a judicial inquiry before the federal investigation is complete would make it virtually impossible for the authorities to prosecute anyone because testimony from the inquiry is not permissible in a criminal proceeding, Ms. Kelly said. That means that federal prosecutors would have to show that their evidence came from somewhere other than the inquiry, Ms. Kelly said.
“We think that 90 days would absolutely suffice to allow our investigation to go forward,” she said.
Justice Lobis, who did not rule on Thursday, is expected to submit a written decision in the next few weeks. The judge did indicate that she would not do anything to compromise the federal investigation.
The inquiry being sought is known as a judicial summary inquiry, and it comes from a rarely used section of the City Charter. The section, 1109, was created in 1873, a product of the Boss Tweed era, when the New York politician William M. Tweed bilked the city of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel is requesting the inquiry on behalf of eight New York taxpayers. The inquiry would not determine guilt or innocence, but would merely lay out the facts surrounding the case for public review.
Mr. Siegel said he was fine with a 90-day stay and, in fact, welcomed Ms. Kelly’s news that the federal investigation was nearing completion.
“New Yorkers anxiously await the result of that criminal investigation,” Mr. Siegel said outside the courtroom.
Mr. Siegel said he thought that at the very least, a crime was committed by presenting fictitious charities in documents.
“Someone intentionally designed this scheme,” he said. “It was no mistake.”
Stephen Kitzinger, a lawyer for the city, said he believed Mr. Siegel’s request for a public inquiry was motivated by his desire to run for public advocate, an office he has sought twice before, in 2001 and 2005.
“It would appear that this is a publicity stunt designed to promote a campaign,” Mr. Kitzinger said in court.
Mr. Siegel denied that contention.
By JOHN ELIGON
Published: June 27, 2008 New York Times
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Miller Gets Help From Lobbyist In Finding a New Chief of Staff
New York Times, May 18, 2004, By MICHAEL SLACKMAN
Council Speaker Gifford Miller has sought help from a lobbyist whose clients often have business before the City Council to fill a crucial position, the speaker's chief of staff. The role is traditionally that of gatekeeper and top adviser to one of the city's most powerful officials.
The lobbyist, Harry E. Giannoulis, a partner in the Parkside Group, a lobbying and political consulting firm, said yesterday that while he did not believe he had played a pivotal role in helping Mr. Miller choose his chief of staff, he had given the speaker advice on what to look for in a candidate and had advised some potential applicants to seek the job. He also participated in meetings at which candidates were discussed, according to Mr. Miller's staff.
''I have encouraged people who have talked to me about it to apply if I think they are good for, or if I think the fit would be good,'' Mr. Giannoulis said yesterday, adding that he had had dozens of conversations with people who have called asking him: ''What's the deal? Is the job open? What's the speaker looking for?''
Mr. Giannoulis wears two hats, one as a consultant helping candidates get elected, another as a lobbyist, who then helps his clients gain access to the people he helps elect. It is a standard strategist-lobbyist model that is common in the city and in the federal government. In this case, Mr. Giannoulis acknowledges wearing both hats at the same time -- saying he is collecting a $2,000-a-month retainer from Mr. Miller's campaign committee for political work while also representing clients like the Telebeam Telecommunications Corporation of Long Island City, which owns pay phones throughout the city.
Mr. Giannoulis said he had lobbied the speaker directly for his clients. It is his dual roles -- helping the speaker find a chief of staff and also lobbying the speaker on behalf of companies -- that have some government watchdog groups concerned, particularly given the power a chief of staff holds in terms of access to the speaker and in helping perform Council business.
''You can't deny the speaker his right as an employer to cast a wide net to get a highly capable chief of staff,'' said Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, a government watchdog group. ''But having a well-known lobbyist involved in the recruitment and screening of candidates for such an influential position raises serious questions, like how does the future chief of staff deal with a request from the Parkside Group if that lobbyist or firm helped that very same chief of staff get his or her job? It may not create a conflict, but it may certainly give the impression of one.''
Mr. Miller's office said yesterday that Mr. Giannoulis had not played a central role in the search for a chief of staff. Stephen Sigmund, Mr. Miller's director of communications, said the search was being headed by two of the speaker's staff members who are overseeing the collection of résumés, vetting and interviewing. After months of searching for a new chief of staff, there are three finalists left, Mr. Sigmund said, adding that Mr. Miller will ultimately decide who gets the job. Mr. Sigmund said that he expects the job to be filled in a few weeks.
''The premise that he is driving this process or even anything akin to that is just, just not real,'' Mr. Sigmund said of Mr. Giannoulis.
''The only role that Harry has had in a couple of meetings, the subject has come up,'' Mr. Sigmund said. ''He has given some input on what kind of qualifications and qualities in what a good candidate would have.''
Mr. Sigmund also said that Mr. Giannoulis put forward the name of one candidate -- an assertion that Mr. Giannoulis denied, saying instead that he told many people who approached him first that if they were interested in the post, they should apply directly themselves. Mr. Giannoulis said that his role with Mr. Miller was no different from the role many lobbyists-strategists have with clients, and that to avoid any potential conflict, his firm discloses all its clients, as is required by law.
Mr. Giannoulis said his role in selecting the chief of staff was minimal. ''I could not tell you all the people he has interviewed, how many people he has interviewed, and I couldn't tell you who he might be hiring,'' he said.
The Parkside Group has had a long and successful relationship with Mr. Miller. It helped him in his two runs for Council and later aided him in his bid to become speaker. The group is also expected to work with Mr. Miller should he follow through on his plans to run for mayor. The firm recently joined the ranks of the top 10 lobbying firms in New York City, Mr. Giannoulis said.
The relationship between Mr. Miller and his political consulting firm started to raise eyebrows among Democrats at a time when his performance as speaker is coming under increasing scrutiny. Mr. Miller has been facing allegations that he has failed to properly handle a sexual harassment case filed against another council member, and he has struggled to assert his authority as leader of the Democratic majority in the Council. With a crowded field of Democrats hoping to take on Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg next year, some are hoping Mr. Miller's missteps prove fatal to his ambitions.
But Mr. Miller's problems may stem at least in part from not having a permanent chief of staff, political strategists said. A chief of staff often acts as an alter ego to his boss and, depending on the relationship that develops, is often pivotal in setting and carrying out an agenda -- as well as serving as a shield against political fallout. Mr. Miller has been looking for a chief of staff since Forrest Taylor announced his resignation in February.
Council Speaker Gifford Miller has sought help from a lobbyist whose clients often have business before the City Council to fill a crucial position, the speaker's chief of staff. The role is traditionally that of gatekeeper and top adviser to one of the city's most powerful officials.
The lobbyist, Harry E. Giannoulis, a partner in the Parkside Group, a lobbying and political consulting firm, said yesterday that while he did not believe he had played a pivotal role in helping Mr. Miller choose his chief of staff, he had given the speaker advice on what to look for in a candidate and had advised some potential applicants to seek the job. He also participated in meetings at which candidates were discussed, according to Mr. Miller's staff.
''I have encouraged people who have talked to me about it to apply if I think they are good for, or if I think the fit would be good,'' Mr. Giannoulis said yesterday, adding that he had had dozens of conversations with people who have called asking him: ''What's the deal? Is the job open? What's the speaker looking for?''
Mr. Giannoulis wears two hats, one as a consultant helping candidates get elected, another as a lobbyist, who then helps his clients gain access to the people he helps elect. It is a standard strategist-lobbyist model that is common in the city and in the federal government. In this case, Mr. Giannoulis acknowledges wearing both hats at the same time -- saying he is collecting a $2,000-a-month retainer from Mr. Miller's campaign committee for political work while also representing clients like the Telebeam Telecommunications Corporation of Long Island City, which owns pay phones throughout the city.
Mr. Giannoulis said he had lobbied the speaker directly for his clients. It is his dual roles -- helping the speaker find a chief of staff and also lobbying the speaker on behalf of companies -- that have some government watchdog groups concerned, particularly given the power a chief of staff holds in terms of access to the speaker and in helping perform Council business.
''You can't deny the speaker his right as an employer to cast a wide net to get a highly capable chief of staff,'' said Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, a government watchdog group. ''But having a well-known lobbyist involved in the recruitment and screening of candidates for such an influential position raises serious questions, like how does the future chief of staff deal with a request from the Parkside Group if that lobbyist or firm helped that very same chief of staff get his or her job? It may not create a conflict, but it may certainly give the impression of one.''
Mr. Miller's office said yesterday that Mr. Giannoulis had not played a central role in the search for a chief of staff. Stephen Sigmund, Mr. Miller's director of communications, said the search was being headed by two of the speaker's staff members who are overseeing the collection of résumés, vetting and interviewing. After months of searching for a new chief of staff, there are three finalists left, Mr. Sigmund said, adding that Mr. Miller will ultimately decide who gets the job. Mr. Sigmund said that he expects the job to be filled in a few weeks.
''The premise that he is driving this process or even anything akin to that is just, just not real,'' Mr. Sigmund said of Mr. Giannoulis.
''The only role that Harry has had in a couple of meetings, the subject has come up,'' Mr. Sigmund said. ''He has given some input on what kind of qualifications and qualities in what a good candidate would have.''
Mr. Sigmund also said that Mr. Giannoulis put forward the name of one candidate -- an assertion that Mr. Giannoulis denied, saying instead that he told many people who approached him first that if they were interested in the post, they should apply directly themselves. Mr. Giannoulis said that his role with Mr. Miller was no different from the role many lobbyists-strategists have with clients, and that to avoid any potential conflict, his firm discloses all its clients, as is required by law.
Mr. Giannoulis said his role in selecting the chief of staff was minimal. ''I could not tell you all the people he has interviewed, how many people he has interviewed, and I couldn't tell you who he might be hiring,'' he said.
The Parkside Group has had a long and successful relationship with Mr. Miller. It helped him in his two runs for Council and later aided him in his bid to become speaker. The group is also expected to work with Mr. Miller should he follow through on his plans to run for mayor. The firm recently joined the ranks of the top 10 lobbying firms in New York City, Mr. Giannoulis said.
The relationship between Mr. Miller and his political consulting firm started to raise eyebrows among Democrats at a time when his performance as speaker is coming under increasing scrutiny. Mr. Miller has been facing allegations that he has failed to properly handle a sexual harassment case filed against another council member, and he has struggled to assert his authority as leader of the Democratic majority in the Council. With a crowded field of Democrats hoping to take on Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg next year, some are hoping Mr. Miller's missteps prove fatal to his ambitions.
But Mr. Miller's problems may stem at least in part from not having a permanent chief of staff, political strategists said. A chief of staff often acts as an alter ego to his boss and, depending on the relationship that develops, is often pivotal in setting and carrying out an agenda -- as well as serving as a shield against political fallout. Mr. Miller has been looking for a chief of staff since Forrest Taylor announced his resignation in February.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Ex-Speaker Hires Lawyer in Inquiry
By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM and RAY RIVERA, New York Times, May 17, 2008
Gifford Miller, the former City Council speaker, has hired a criminal defense lawyer to represent him in a federal investigation into the Council’s longstanding practice of allocating millions of dollars to phantom nonprofit groups, people involved in the case said on Friday.
Gifford Miller, at a 2005 news conference, has kept a low profile since the investigation into Council spending was disclosed.
The Council, which had hired a criminal lawyer to represent itself in the inquiry by federal prosecutors and the City Department of Investigation, recently hired another one to represent staff members who were being questioned, several of the people said.
The two lawyers, along with a third criminal defense lawyer representing the current speaker, Christine C. Quinn, are being paid with city funds; Mr. Miller’s lawyer, Henry Putzel III, is not.
Mr. Putzel said in a brief statement that the former speaker “had done nothing wrong, and when the facts are fully developed, I am quite sure that everyone will conclude as much.” He said that his client intends “to cooperate fully.”
Other than Ms. Quinn, Council officials said no one else in the 51-member Council had sought to have the city pay for individual legal representation, even though several have had to defend their spending in the face of news reports about allocations to nonprofit groups that hired council members’ friends, relatives and staff members. It was unclear, however, whether any council members had retained lawyers with their own money.
While no member of the Council has been singled out for scrutiny by investigators, the authorities have indicated that the inquiry is broad, aggressive and continuing along two tracks. First, it is examining the practice of squirreling away millions of dollars in the name of phantom organizations; second, it is reviewing how individual council members have directed their discretionary spending to nonprofit groups, and how the groups have spent it.
As a result, Council officials on Friday sent a memo to members outlining the process by which they can seek to have the Council pay for defense lawyers.
Mr. Miller, who served as speaker from January 2002 until December 2005, has kept a low profile since the investigation was disclosed in April.
The Council’s use of fictitious organizations to hold money in reserve dated to at least the 1990s, when Peter F. Vallone Sr. was the speaker. The practice, records show, expanded after Mr. Miller took over the following year and the names of the phantom groups became more legitimate-sounding.
Ms. Quinn, who has worked to increase transparency in the budget process, has said that when she learned of the practice last year she ordered that it be stopped.
Defense lawyers and prosecutors not involved in the case said it was routine — and common sense — for anyone who may be approached during an investigation to hire a lawyer.
“The smart thing to do is to hire a lawyer to figure out what the prosecutors think and want,” Edward A. McDonald, a white-collar defense lawyer who prosecuted public corruption cases as an assistant United States attorney, said in an e-mail message. One person involved in the case said that Evan Barr, the defense lawyer hired to represent Council staff members, had accompanied “a handful” of witnesses who had been interviewed.
Anxiety has been building among council members since the investigation was disclosed and Ms. Quinn revealed that she had been asked to turn over hundreds of pages of documents to the city and federal investigators. Less than two weeks later, federal authorities announced the indictment of two aides to Councilman Kendall Stewart of Brooklyn on charges that they had embezzled $145,000 from a group he funded.
Last month, Steven R. Peikin, the lawyer retained by the Council to represent it, briefed members about the inquiry.
In the memo sent on Friday, the Council’s Office of General Counsel said it and the city’s corporation counsel would decide to provide outside representation for council members on a case-by-case basis.
The decision, the memo said, would depend on several prerequisites, including a requirement that the council member or employee did not engage in intentional wrongdoing and cooperated with the investigation.
The ripples of the investigation are being felt throughout city government. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s office this week detailed a little-known fund that it uses to finance council member items and outlined steps to tighten control over that process.
City agencies also have begun denying access to public documents about city contracts involving council member items, citing the investigation.
Gifford Miller, the former City Council speaker, has hired a criminal defense lawyer to represent him in a federal investigation into the Council’s longstanding practice of allocating millions of dollars to phantom nonprofit groups, people involved in the case said on Friday.
Gifford Miller, at a 2005 news conference, has kept a low profile since the investigation into Council spending was disclosed.
The Council, which had hired a criminal lawyer to represent itself in the inquiry by federal prosecutors and the City Department of Investigation, recently hired another one to represent staff members who were being questioned, several of the people said.
The two lawyers, along with a third criminal defense lawyer representing the current speaker, Christine C. Quinn, are being paid with city funds; Mr. Miller’s lawyer, Henry Putzel III, is not.
Mr. Putzel said in a brief statement that the former speaker “had done nothing wrong, and when the facts are fully developed, I am quite sure that everyone will conclude as much.” He said that his client intends “to cooperate fully.”
Other than Ms. Quinn, Council officials said no one else in the 51-member Council had sought to have the city pay for individual legal representation, even though several have had to defend their spending in the face of news reports about allocations to nonprofit groups that hired council members’ friends, relatives and staff members. It was unclear, however, whether any council members had retained lawyers with their own money.
While no member of the Council has been singled out for scrutiny by investigators, the authorities have indicated that the inquiry is broad, aggressive and continuing along two tracks. First, it is examining the practice of squirreling away millions of dollars in the name of phantom organizations; second, it is reviewing how individual council members have directed their discretionary spending to nonprofit groups, and how the groups have spent it.
As a result, Council officials on Friday sent a memo to members outlining the process by which they can seek to have the Council pay for defense lawyers.
Mr. Miller, who served as speaker from January 2002 until December 2005, has kept a low profile since the investigation was disclosed in April.
The Council’s use of fictitious organizations to hold money in reserve dated to at least the 1990s, when Peter F. Vallone Sr. was the speaker. The practice, records show, expanded after Mr. Miller took over the following year and the names of the phantom groups became more legitimate-sounding.
Ms. Quinn, who has worked to increase transparency in the budget process, has said that when she learned of the practice last year she ordered that it be stopped.
Defense lawyers and prosecutors not involved in the case said it was routine — and common sense — for anyone who may be approached during an investigation to hire a lawyer.
“The smart thing to do is to hire a lawyer to figure out what the prosecutors think and want,” Edward A. McDonald, a white-collar defense lawyer who prosecuted public corruption cases as an assistant United States attorney, said in an e-mail message. One person involved in the case said that Evan Barr, the defense lawyer hired to represent Council staff members, had accompanied “a handful” of witnesses who had been interviewed.
Anxiety has been building among council members since the investigation was disclosed and Ms. Quinn revealed that she had been asked to turn over hundreds of pages of documents to the city and federal investigators. Less than two weeks later, federal authorities announced the indictment of two aides to Councilman Kendall Stewart of Brooklyn on charges that they had embezzled $145,000 from a group he funded.
Last month, Steven R. Peikin, the lawyer retained by the Council to represent it, briefed members about the inquiry.
In the memo sent on Friday, the Council’s Office of General Counsel said it and the city’s corporation counsel would decide to provide outside representation for council members on a case-by-case basis.
The decision, the memo said, would depend on several prerequisites, including a requirement that the council member or employee did not engage in intentional wrongdoing and cooperated with the investigation.
The ripples of the investigation are being felt throughout city government. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s office this week detailed a little-known fund that it uses to finance council member items and outlined steps to tighten control over that process.
City agencies also have begun denying access to public documents about city contracts involving council member items, citing the investigation.
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