The resolution, that New Kings Democrats President and current candidate for City Council Brandon West proposed, involved changes to the operation of the County’s finance committee and additional transparency by, among other things, convening an open meeting of the finance committee and publish the County’s finances on its website.
“Most of the points brought out are truly common sense and pretty much a lot of them we already do,” said Seddio, who pointed to the county’s finance reports already being posted on the Board of Elections (BOE) website due to semi-annual disclosure requirements of registered political organizations. The BOE database disclosures were likely one of the ways the Daily News was able to compile their article.
Ernest Skinner, a long-time Brooklyn community activist, proposed holding more fundraiser events with low-cost tickets, due to the costs of $500 per ticket being too high for some. Seddio agreed and offered to host a fundraiser with tickets at $100. “I spoke to Josh [Skaller], I spoke to Brandon West about it. We’re going to try to host it somewhere around either Park Slope or Northern Brooklyn,” said Seddio. “And hopefully we’ll do it for $100 a head. […] Just think about it, if 500 people show up at $100 a head, that’s $50,000 and will go a long way in helping with our expenses.”
https://www.kingscountypolitics.com/seddio-nkd-come-to-agreement-at-county-committee-meeting/?utm_source=Kings+County+Politics&utm_campaign=b89df015c4-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_09_11_11_43&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_466a6c86df-b89df015c4-324302829
“We used to raise a lot more money from groups we no longer want to participate with, especially the real estate industry, quite frankly,” said Frank Seddio, chairperson of the Kings County Democratic Committee, at the meeting. “In 2013, we raised $800,000 in a year. In 2018, we only raised $400,000 — so you can pretty much see that our revenues have been cut in half.”
Seddio was elected chairperson of the committee in September 2012. The group’s financial disclosure reports from July that year, filed with the state Board of Elections, showed their closing balance of $553,559.72. As of July 2019, the party’s cash on hand had decreased to a measly $32,833.95 according to public filings.The club is currently operating at a loss of more than $138,000, with legal expenses ($81,473.87) and payroll ($140,016.96) cutting into its diminished bank account.
In a unanimous vote, more than 300 members of the Kings County Democratic Committee passed a resolution aimed at creating financial transparency.
Brandon West of the New Kings Democrats opened up the floor at the Ford Amphitheater in Coney Island with a call to pass a proposal that will, among other things, force the party to produce quarterly written reports of the club’s income and expenses to be made available publicly online and to convene the club’s Finance Committee within the next 90 days
The News also analyzed the party’s finances and found ballooning expenses nonexistent before Seddio’s leadership, including more than $300,000 owed to George Arzt Communications for public relations and more than $100,000 to Diana Carone, the wife of Seddio’s law partner and the party’s chief lawyer, Frank Carone.
His financial problems have corresponded with what some view as the deteriorating finances of the county political organization he manages. Since 2013, the year after Seddio took over the reins of the party, its cash reserves dwindled from $505,000 in 2013 to $32,800 by July 2019, state Board of Elections records show.+oo9
Those include more than $300,000 to George Arzt Communications for public relations and more than $100,000 to Diana Carone, the wife of Frank Carone, the party’s chief lawyer and Seddio’s former law partner.
Jessica Thurston, spokeswoman for the New Kings Democrats
“We’re also concerned that this financial malaise runs parallel with the party’s own fiscal irresponsibility, and he is, by default, the person responsible for the party’s solvency,” she said. “The party must be financially stable if it is to be a strong voice for the many Brooklynites struggling to make ends meet.”
Jessica Thurston, spokeswoman for the New Kings Democrats political club, demanded Seddio convene a meeting of the party’s finance committee to hash out the party’s finances.
Asher
Novek, president of the progressive Central Brooklyn Independent
Democrats, said the county party has been “lax” as far as disclosing the
state of its financial health goes.
“I’d say even a bit unprepared,” he said. CBID
Assemblyman
Walter Mosley (D-Brooklyn) said he wants a “full and independent audit”
of the Brooklyn Democratic Party’s finances after learning party
chairman Frank Seddio is embroiled in a dispute over $2.2 million a
restaurant owner claims he owes even as the party’s cash reserves were
crashing.
“An
honest and properly functioning political party is how we ensure that
our elected officials are those who hear the concerns of Brooklyn
residents,” Mosley said. “I’m deeply disturbed by recent reportings on
the party finances, which must be above reproach. We must ensure that
our party’s funds are spent responsibly.”
Seddio
was sued in 2015 for more than $2 million in debts connected to several
Golden Corral franchises he invested in, court records and Seddio’s
state financial disclosure forms show.
Brooklyn
Assemblyman Robert Carroll said the county party needs to zero in on
Diane Carone’s role, and questioned if the party should be paying so
much money for public relations, asking “or should we spend more money
registering people to vote?”
“The
party should make an explanation of what services were provided by
Frank Carone’s wife,” he said. “I don’t know her. I don’t think I’ve
ever met her.”
Brooklyn Democratic party boss under fire for misleading letters as proxy battle heats up
“One of my constituents texted me a picture of the letter and seemed quite miffed. I was as well. That letter did not come from me, whoever wrote that letter never asked or even suggested that they were going to send that out,” Carroll told The News. “Of course we would have never sent this out, because we all at least know how to spell our names.”Seddio, NKD Come to Agreement at County Committee Meeting
KINGS COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COUNTY COMMITTEE C19809 (Household
3,053,638.94
KINGS COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COUNTY COMMITTEE 139,300.00 C03337
FRIENDS OF FRANK SEDDIO 407,577.00
ABRAMS FENSTERMAN, LLP 10,000
111 MARCUS AVE
LAKE SUCCESS, NY 11404
| DECKER & DECKER 3 KERMIT AVE. STATEN ISLAND, NY 10305 |
1,000.00 | 09-MAR-16 | FRIENDS OF FRANK SEDDIO | 2016 July Periodic | A | State Committee | N/A |
|
EDELMAN & EDELMAN , PC 61 BROADWAY NY, NY 10006 |
1,000.00 | 23-FEB-16 | FRIENDS OF FRANK SEDDIO | 2016 July Periodic | B | State Committee | N/A |
|
EDELMAN &EDELMAN PC 61 BROADWAY NY, NY 10006 |
1,000.00 | 27-APR-15 | FRIENDS OF FRANK SEDDIO | 2015 July Periodic | B | State Committee | N/A |
| ELEFTERAKIS & ELEFTERAKIS, PC 111 JOHN ST NY, NY 10038 |
1,000.00 | 09-MAR-16 | FRIENDS OF FRANK SEDDIO | 2016 July Periodic | B | State Committee | N/A |
| ELEFTERAKIS & ELEFTERAKIS, PC 111 JOHN ST NY, NY 10038 |
1,000.00 | 09-MAR-16 | FRIENDS OF FRANK SEDDIO | 2016 July Periodic | B | State Committee | N/A |
| LONUZZI, JOHN
421 DEGRAW ST. BROOKLYN, NY 11217 |
2,400.00 | 08-OCT-14 | FRIENDS OF FRANK SEDDIO | 2015 January Periodic | A | State Committee | N/A |
| NAPOLETANO, DOMENICK
351 COURT STREET BROOKLYN, NY 11231 |
2,500.00 | 25-OCT-13 | FRIENDS OF FRANK SEDDIO | 2014 January Periodic | A | State Committee | N/A |
| YOSWEIN, JONI
A 75 LIVINGSTON STREET BROOKLYN, NY 11201 |
1,500.00 | 25-JUL-14 | FRIENDS OF FRANK SEDDIO | 2014 32 Pre Primary | A | State Committee | N/A |
| YOSWEIN, JONI
A 75 LIVINGSTON ST. BROOKLYN, NY 11201 |
500.00 | 09-MAR-16 | FRIENDS OF FRANK SEDDIO | 2016 July Periodic | A | State Committee | N/A |
Brooklyn politicos call on county Democratic party to open its books August 19th
Assemblyman Walter Mosley who thinks he has been waiting a long time to become county leader
demanded a more detailed accounting of how the Brooklyn Democratic Party spends its money just a day after the Daily News revealed the party’s leader is entangled in his own financial woes. Mosley’s comments also came as several sources say he is maneuvering to become the next county chair – something that Seddio doesn’t see happening. Kings
Seddio Blasts Mosley, Calls County Dem Finances An Open Book August 20, 2019
Seddio’s comments follow a Daily News report alleging that Seddio has depleted the County Democratic Party Resources since taking over as county chair nearly seven years ago from disgraced former County Chair Vito Lopez. Seddio said the party files a New York State financial report every six months with the state board of elections, and it is open for anybody to see.$2.2 million a restaurant owner claims he owes Golden Corral franchises Kentucky-based Golden Resources LLC a Kentucky judge ordered Seddio pay that amount, court records show.
Another defendant named in the initial lawsuit is Bartholomew Enterprise, Inc., a company that appears to be controlled by Djenane and Dexter Bartholomew. Djenane and Dexter Bartholomew filed for bankruptcy in 2015, according to federal court records, which show they owed Seddio $332,000 at the time.
Brooklyn Dem boss Seddio owes big bucks in deal with ‘America’s #1 Buffet and Grill’ Aug 18
“An honest and properly functioning political party is how we ensure that our elected officials are those who hear the concerns of Brooklyn residents,” Mosley said
Since 2013, the year after Seddio took over the reins of the party, its cash reserves dwindled from $505,000 in 2013 to $32,800 by July 2019, state Board of Elections records show.
According to the Daily News story, and state filings, since Seddio took the reins of the party in 2013, the party account has been depleted from $505,000 in 2013 to $32,800 in its most recent filing.
The money paid out includes $300,000 to George Arzt Communications for public relations and more than $100,000 to Diana Carone, the wife Frank Carone, the party’s chief lawyer and Seddio’s former law partner. Seddio said Diana Carone has long been the chair of fundraising, for which she has been paid $1,000 a month intermittently when heading fundraising events, which totals $100,000 over nearly seven years. Seddio also noted that the party is actively involved in boroughwide events in which it spends lump sums of money such as the West Indian Day Parade and the LBGTQ parade. The party also holds annual county committee meetings that cost $18,000, he said.
Arzt, the party’s spokesman, countered that “there is no correlation between Frank Seddio’s personal finances and those of the party.” “Any inference to the contrary is simply unfair,” he said. “Furthermore, the party has been completely transparent about the individuals responsible for their well-being and has made it abundantly clear that they utilize consultants.” The firm is currently being paid $1,000 a month, Seddio said. (Kings County) . . . George Artz worked wonders for Hynes.
“Neither of these county organizations spent five cents supporting county in any of our endeavors,” said Seddio, adding that the county has had to tighten their belt the past few years because the organization didn’t raise as much money as they had hoped.
I went over the numbers today and it looks like Frank gave Artz 80% of the money. Frank says its because Vito got bad press a decade ago. Makes sense.
But if a prosecutor ever gets around to looking at Artz bank accounts I think they’ll find a series of cash withdrawals. Large cash withdrawals. John
NKD
But the similarities between his and the party’s fiscal difficulties are raising eyebrows
Jessica Thurston, spokeswoman for the New Kings Democrats political club, demanded Seddio convene a meeting of the party’s finance committee to hash out the party’s finances. “We’re also concerned that this financial malaise runs parallel with the party’s own fiscal irresponsibility, and he is, by default, the person responsible for the party’s solvency,” she said. “The party must be financially stable if it is to be a strong voice for the many Brooklynites struggling to make ends meet.”
Seddio also came out swinging at the two political clubs in the Daily News story that was also critical at the way Seddio is handling the county’s finances – the New Kings Democrats (NKD) and the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats.
CBID
Asher
Novek, president of the progressive Central Brooklyn Independent
Democrats, said the county party has been “lax” as far as disclosing the
state of its financial health goes.
Brooklyn Assemblyman Robert Carroll said the county party needs to zero in on Diane Carone’s role, and questioned if the party should be paying so much money for public relations, asking “or should we spend more money registering people to vote?”
Brooklyn Assemblyman Robert Carroll said the county party needs to zero in on Diane Carone’s role, and questioned if the party should be paying so much money for public relations, asking “or should we spend more money registering people to vote?”
Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon said she’s not worried about Seddio’s personal financial situation, and Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte said he’d done a good job at uniting the party since the departure of the disgraced late Assemblyman Vito Lopez, who resigned amid sexual harassment allegations.
Brooklyn Dem boss Seddio owes big bucks in deal with ‘America’s #1 Buffet and Grill’
But Monday’s detailed takedown by Michael Gartland, exposing how lawyers on the judicial screening committee of the Brooklyn Democratic machine are cashing in on court appointments made by the very judges they okay for the ballot, reinforces every argument against an elected judiciary.
While Manhattan Democrats employ an independent screening panel, Brooklyn boss Frank Seddio, a former Surrogate judge that this page chased off the bench, names a third of the members in Brooklyn.
Without his rigged panel, no party blessing. No ballot line.
And
as The News lays out, several of the panel members, including
Seddio-tapped pals, have been receiving largess from the same Brooklyn
judges that they okayed.
Judges
Second, he’s sliding judges into open ballot slots, making further mockery of the small-d democratic process.
The
shenanigans began last week when he moved three Civil Court judges who
had just won primaries to state Supreme Court. Now, insiders will pick
their replacements.
One
seat is slated for Jill Epstein, who lost a Civil Court primary in
2016, having been censured by the courts in New Jersey and New York for
violating money-handling rules. Another will go to Anne Swern, who was
trounced in the district attorney’s primary last year. The third seat
will be filled by Seddio’s fellow district leaders; contenders are
Elaine Schack-Rodriguez (daughter of district leader Dilia Schack),
Rupert Barry, who lost Civil Court races in 2017 and 2014, and David
Pepper, who also lost last year.
Brooklyn lawyers deciding Democratic ballot line for judicial seats get guardian, referee jobs from judges they review, records show June 10th
Brooklyn lawyers who decide who can get the crucial Democratic ballot
line to run for prized judicial seats are getting jobs as legal
guardians and referees from the very judges they’re charged with
reviewing — and their law firms are appearing before those same judges
in active cases.
Judicial screening panel members Helene Blank, Mark Longo, Betty Lugo, Melissa Bonaldes and Steven Finkelstein all took work in the last year from judges they’ve reviewed or could review in the future, an analysis of state court records shows.
Since 2018, Finkelstein has received 20 court-appointed referee assignments from Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Mark Partnow and six from Judge Lawrence Knipel, court records show. From 2008 to the present, Finkelstein has raked in at least $271,000 from those and similar appointments, records show. He joined the panel in 2016.Veteran lawyer Martin Edelman has served as the judicial panel’s chairman since 2004. He noted that several bar associations appoint its members and about one-third of the panel’s members are selected by Democratic Party district leaders.
The panel’s judicial screenings take place the same year judges run for election or re-election. Partnow was re-elected to serve in Brooklyn Supreme Court in 2016, the same year Finkelstein joined the panel. Judge Noach Dear was elected in 2015, and Knipel was re-elected in 2012.
In
the last two years, the three judges have directed 28 referee
appointments to Lugo, 44 to Longo and 30 to Blank, records show. Blank
and Longo have both served on the panel since around 2005, about 14
years, according to Edelman.
Lugo,
who’s running for Queens district attorney, served on it in 2015 and
2017. She said she’s not serving on the panel this year, despite the
fact that she’s listed on its roster. She said she’s “almost positive”
she didn’t review Dear or Partnow as a member of the panel.
Longo, an ethics lawyer and former president of the Brooklyn Bar Association, acknowledged he could see how observers might perceive the potential for a conflict, but said, “In this situation, it’s not the case.”
For Finkelstein, referee appointments haven’t been the only source of court-directed largesse. He’s also received work in Brooklyn Surrogate’s Court as counsel to the Kings County Public Administrator, a post dedicated to dividing the assets of Brooklynites who’ve died without a will. Since getting the job in 2005, Finkelstein has earned more than $6.9 million, court records show.
He said he left the Brooklyn post in 2008 or 2009, but still handles cases in that role when there’s a conflict of interest with a current counsel. The screening panel he sits on also reviews surrogate’s court judges.
Jacobson
In
Brooklyn, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for him in court. In
2013, then-city Comptroller John Liu found the Brooklyn public
administrator approved “inappropriate” and “excessive” counsel fees —
although he did not call out Finkelstein by name in his report. In 2017,
former acting-Brooklyn Surrogate’s Court Judge Laura Jacobson slashed
Finkelstein’s requests for fees, finding they were “inflated,” court
records show.
In
a rare move, Jacobson was later deemed “unqualified” to serve as a
judge by the Brooklyn Democratic Party’s screening panel and retired
rather than mount a re-election bid. She argued in a federal lawsuit
against Finkelstein and the screening panel that the rating was
“retaliation” for cutting Finkelstein’s fees and that it had a
“chilling” effect on other Brooklyn Supreme Court judges.
Her lawsuit was dismissed, and she’s now seeking an appeal.
Judges’ interactions and connections with the Brooklyn Democratic party don’t end with the judicial screening panel and appointments — they continue into the courtroom. Judges Partnow and Knipel are both married to women who work as Democratic district leaders, with Partnow’s partner, Sue Ann Partnow, serving together with the party’s borough leader Frank Seddio as district leaders for the 59th Assembly District. Knipel’s spouse, Lori Citron Knipel, works as a district leader in the 44th AD.
Judges’ interactions and connections with the Brooklyn Democratic party don’t end with the judicial screening panel and appointments — they continue into the courtroom. Judges Partnow and Knipel are both married to women who work as Democratic district leaders, with Partnow’s partner, Sue Ann Partnow, serving together with the party’s borough leader Frank Seddio as district leaders for the 59th Assembly District. Knipel’s spouse, Lori Citron Knipel, works as a district leader in the 44th AD.
Members
of the screening panel, all of whom are lawyers, also belong to law
firms that have dozens of cases before the judges they screen. Edelman
is co-founder of the law firm Edelman & Edelman, which has at least
17 cases now pending in Brooklyn Supreme Court, records show. The law
firm Abrams Fensterman, which employs screening panel member Ethan
Gerber and the Brooklyn Democratic Party’s chief lawyer Frank Carone,
has at least four dozen cases now pending in Brooklyn Supreme Court.
Abrams
Fensterman, which also once employed Seddio and has been a generous
donor to political causes and judicial candidates, is regarded by many
in the legal and political communities as the go-to firm in Brooklyn if
you’re looking for an upper hand.
Often,
said one Brooklyn courtroom veteran, the firm is brought on in addition
to one or more law firms in an “of counsel” capacity.
“If
[judges] are on the fence, Abrams Fensterman is certainly going to sway
you to where you want to be,” said the lawyer, who spoke on condition
of anonymity out of fear of professional retribution. “They put so much
money into every single judges’ war chest. They know where their bread
is buttered.”
Since
2000, the firm itself has made at least $469,000 in contributions to
political or judicial campaigns, state records show. That includes
$23,000 to the Kings County Democratic Committee, $1,000 for Sue Ann
Partnow’s Pals for Partnow account and nearly $10,000 to Friends of
Frank Seddio.
