Here is my column "100 PERCENT" titled "Questioning Citizens Union" that appeared in this weeks Bronx News, Parkchester News, and Coop-City News.
100
PERCENT
By
Robert Press
Questioning
Citizens Union
Before
I get into the headline Bronx Week is in full swing, and will be
ending this Sunday with the 42nd
Annual Bronx Week Parade along Mosholu Parkway. Also on Mosholu
Parkway will be the Bronx Week Food & Arts Festival, and the
Bronx Grand Finale Concert. This event begins at 12 noon and runs to
6 PM. Don't miss a second of the events that happen right after each
other.
Last
week I forgot to bid a farewell to one of the people in Albany that I
knew was corruptible, that being Former Democratic Conference Leader
Senator John Sampson. It looks like Sampson will be checking into
Chez Federal Housing Program soon after he is convicted. It is to bad
that this is happening during the Cuomo era where the current
governor has said that he is going to crack down on corruption in
Albany by appointing an ethics committee. So what has JCOPE done
besides having people resign from it, and not be allowed to talk
about the corruption that still exists in Albany.
Former
Assemblyman Peter Rivera's law partner & campaign treasurer David
Griffiths has been sentenced to five months in the Chez Federal
Housing Program after being convicted of mail fraud, obstruction of
justice, and making false statements to the government. Griffiths was
the head of the Neighborhood Enhancement for Training Services (NETS)
of which it was reported that Assemblyman Peter Rivera appropriated
$1.8 million dollars to, in addition to $250,000.00 from his law firm
to NETS. Peter Rivera is now the commissioner of the New York State
Department of Labor as appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo.
As
for our headline, Citizens Union has compiled a 122 page report
titled “Hidden From View the Undisclosed Campaign Activity of
Political Clubs in New York. The report states that after the
conviction of former Councilman Larry Seabrook the matter of
political clubs was looked into. The report does not list any
wrongdoings by any of the political clubs listed, hinting only that
with the recent arrests and convictions the reporting process needs
to be changed which is little or none at all as mentioned. There is
emphasis on the top 20 clubs with unusual data listed that makes
little sense until one looks at the acknowledgments.
There are several comments about the Ben Franklin Club and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz stating that he was the club's president three times on page 8, and repeated on page 23. On page 27 Citizens union goes after the Ben Franklin Club again saying that the club has received contributions from PACs such as Senator Jeff Klein, Senator Adriano Espaillat, Assemblyman and County Leader Carl Heastie, and even Governor Cuomo that were not reported. There is even a reference and footnote to my blog about a fundraiser I had listed on the blog for the Ben Franklin Club.
As
for the acknowledgment page there is one name that sounded very
familiar to me that being the name Tony Cassino. Was this contributor
and CU board member the same Anthony Perez Cassino that ran for city
council against Councilman G. Oliver Koppell who was endorsed by the
Ben Franklin Club? Was this the same Anthony Perez Cassino who has a
blog that tries to berate Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and those
associated with him every chance Mr. Cassino can? Also just how did a
Cassino friendly Riverdale newspaper have this information about a CU
report that came out the same day of the deadline of the newspaper,
with details of the CU report?
I
called Citizens Union to speak to the Executive Director Dick Draddy
to get answers to my questions. Mr. Draddy tried to downplay Mr.
Cassino's part in the CU report, but admitted that Mr. Cassino did
contribute to the CU report. I asked Mr. Draddy if he knew about the
history between Mr. Cassino and the Ben Franklin Club, Assemblyman
Dinowitz, and that Mr. Cassino ran unsuccessfully in 2009 against a
candidate that was endorsed by both the club and assemblyman. Draddy
was unfamiliar with the facts I mentioned, and could not explain how
the Riverdale newspaper friendly to Mr. Cassino was able to do what
it did given the very short time span to do so. I also asked why Mr.
Cassino's political club that Mr. Cassino had co-founded was not
listed, and was told that the report went back only to 2009, and that
his club must have filed all the papers required. I also asked why
the name Tony Cassino and not the name Anthony Perez Cassino that was
used to run for office was listed in the CU report. I want to thank
Mr. Draddy for his answers and the quick way he responded and
answered my questions. I think he answered them as he thinks
political clubs do.
I
asked Assemblyman Dinowitz about the Citizens Union report. Dinowitz
said that Citizens Union did not disclose any facts about contributor
and board member Anthony Perez Cassino's conflict of interest in
contributing to the report. Dinowitz added that the Ben Franklin Club
(to which he belongs) has done nothing wrong, has filed any and all
forms that are required by the Board of Elections, and that he was
president of the club about 20 years ago.
Citizens
Union on two pages of the report lists six different paragraphs of
criteria (with several sub headings) of changes to the current
required filings, which starts by saying that “the State Board of
Elections should notify all political clubs of their obligation to
register as a political committee and file required campaign finance
reports”.
Lastly the
Bangladeshi Community for State Senator Reverend Ruben Diaz Sr. will
be holding a fu8nd raiser for Senator Diaz on Saturday May 18th
from 1:30 – 3:30 PM at the Oasis Mediterranean restaurant located
at 1907 White Plains Road (off Rhinelander Avenue).
Don't
forget to check my blog at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.
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