Thursday, January 22, 2015

New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver Arrested On Corruption Charges by U.S. Attorney


Here is the entire list of charges by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara against New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Allegedly Used Official Position to Obtain $4 Million in Bribes and Kickbacks Concealed as Income From Outside Law Practice

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Richard Frankel, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Criminal Division of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today that New York State Assembly Speaker SHELDON SILVER was arrested this morning on charges that he used his official position to receive nearly $4 million in bribes and kickbacks from people and businesses in exchange for his official acts, and that SILVER masked these payments from public view by disguising the payments as income from what he claimed was a law practice primarily focused on personal injury matters. SILVER was placed under arrest at the FBI in lower Manhattan, this morning, and is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank Maas in Manhattan federal court later today. Judge Maas also issued seizure warrants to prevent SILVER from accessing approximately $3.8 million in proceeds alleged to be traceable to the charged corruption offenses until the case is resolved.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Over his decades in office, Speaker Silver has amassed titanic political power. But, as alleged, during that same time, Silver also amassed a tremendous personal fortune – through the abuse of that political power. All told, we allege that Silver corruptly collected some $4 million in bribes and kickbacks disguised as ‘referral fees.’ Those disguised bribes and kickbacks account for approximately two-thirds of all of Silver’s outside income since 2002.
“As today’s charges make clear, the show-me-the-money culture of Albany has been perpetuated and promoted at the very top of the political food chain. And as the charges also show, the greedy art of secret self-reward was practiced with particular cleverness and cynicism by the Speaker himself. Among other things, we allege that Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the New York State Assembly, was on retainer to a mammoth real estate developer at the very same time that the chamber he dominates was considering and passing legislation vitally affecting the bottom line of that developer; at the very same time that he was hearing out lobbyists paid by that developer and at the very same time that he was deliberately keeping secret from the public any information about this lucrative side-deal, in violation of the law.
“Politicians are supposed to be on the people’s payroll, not on secret retainer to wealthy special interests they do favors for. These charges go to the very core of what ails Albany – a lack of transparency, lack of accountability, and lack of principle joined with an overabundance of greed, cronyism, and self-dealing.”
FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Richard Frankel said: “As alleged, Silver took advantage of the political pulpit to benefit from unlawful profits. When all was said and done, he amassed nearly $4 million in illegitimate proceeds and arranged for approximately $500,000 in state funds to be used for projects that benefited his personal plans. We hold our elected representatives to the highest standards and expect them to act in the best interest of their constituents. In good faith, we trust they will do so while defending the fundamental tenets of the legal system. But as we are reminded today, those who make the laws don’t have the right to break the laws.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
For more than two decades, SHELDON SILVER has served as Speaker of the Assembly, a position that gives him significant power over the operation of New York State government. SILVER used this substantial power – including, in particular, his power over the real estate industry and his control over certain health care funding – to unlawfully enrich himself by soliciting and obtaining client referrals worth millions of dollars from people and entities in exchange for SILVER’s official acts, and attempting to disguise this money as legitimate outside income earned from his work as a private lawyer. In particular, SILVER claimed on financial disclosure forms required to be filed with New York State and in public statements that the millions of dollars he received in outside income while also serving as Speaker of the Assembly came from a Manhattan-based law firm, Weitz & Luxenberg P.C., where SILVER claimed to work “representing individual clients” in “personal injury actions.” These claims were materially false and misleading – and made to cover up unlawful payments SILVER received solely due to his power and influence as an elected legislator and the Speaker of the Assembly.
The scheme provided SILVER with two different streams of unlawful income: (i) approximately $700,000 in kickbacks SILVER received by steering two real estate developers with business before the state legislature to a law firm run by a co-conspirator, and (ii) more than $3 million in asbestos client referral fees SILVER received by, among other official acts, awarding $500,000 in state grants to a university research center of a physician who referred patients made ill by asbestos to SILVER at Weitz & Luxenberg.

Unlawful Income From the Real Estate Law Firm

SILVER entered into a corrupt relationship with a co-conspirator (“CC-1”) who had been SILVER’s counsel in the Assembly and operated a real estate law firm (the “Real Estate Law Firm”) that specialized in making applications to the City of New York to reduce taxes assessed on properties.
Beginning in at least 2000, SILVER approached two prominent developers of properties in Manhattan, one personally and one in part through a lobbyist, and asked the developers to hire the Real Estate Law Firm. The developers – both of whom lobbied SILVER on real estate issues because their profits depended significantly on state legislation favorable to their business– agreed to use the Real Estate Law Firm as SILVER had requested. Over the years, these developers paid millions of dollars in legal fees to the Real Estate Law Firm. SILVER received a cut from the legal fees amounting to nearly $700,000. SILVER had no public affiliation with the Real Estate Law Firm and performed no legal work at all to earn those fees, which were simply payments for SILVER having arranged the business through his official power and influence.
While continuing to receive the fees and in furtherance of the scheme, SILVER took official action beneficial to the developers. For example, while SILVER was publicly associated with advocating for tenants, a proposal made by the one of the developers who sent work to the Real Estate Law Firm was in substantial part enacted in real estate legislation in 2011 with SILVER’s support.

Unlawful Income From Asbestos Client Referrals

SILVER also entered into a corrupt arrangement with a leading physician who specialized in the treatment of asbestos-related diseases (“Doctor-1”) through which SILVER issued state grants and otherwise used his official position to provide favors to Doctor-1 so that Doctor-1 would refer and continue to refer his patients to SILVER at Weitz & Luxenberg, a firm with which SILVER was affiliated as counsel. Specifically, SILVER arranged for the State of New York to fund two state grants – each for $250,000, and paid out of a secret and unitemized pool of funds controlled entirely by SILVER – for a research center Doctor-1 had established. SILVER used his official position to provide Doctor-1 with other benefits as well, including helping to direct $25,000 in state funds to a not-for-profit organization for which one of Doctor-1’s family members served on the board, and asking the CEO of a second not-for-profit to hire a second family member of Doctor-1.
From 2002 to the present, SILVER received more than $3 million from legal fees Weitz & Luxenberg received from patients Doctor-1 had referred to SILVER at the firm while SILVER was taking official actions to benefit Doctor-1. SILVER did no legal work whatsoever on these asbestos cases, his sole role having been to use his official position and access to state funds to induce Doctor-1 to provide him with these lucrative referrals.

Silver’s Efforts to Cover Up the Scheme

SILVER took various efforts to disguise his unlawful outside income and prevent the detection of the scheme. SILVER listed on his official public disclosure forms that his outside income consisted of “limited practice of law in the principal subject area of personal injury claims on behalf of individual clients,” which was false and misleading. Beginning in 2010, SILVER’s disclosures changed to state that the source of his legal income was a “Law Practice” that “includ[ed]” being of counsel to Weitz & Luxenberg. SILVER never disclosed his relationship with the Real Estate Law Firm or any work beyond what he claimed was a “personal injury” practice.
SILVER also repeatedly made false statements about his outside income in his public statements, including the following:
  • SILVER claimed he performed legal work consisting of spending several hours each week evaluating legal matters brought to him by potential clients and then referring cases that appeared to have merit to lawyers at Weitz & Luxenberg. In fact, SILVER did no such work on the asbestos cases and obtained those referrals to Weitz & Luxenberg based on his corrupt arrangement with Doctor-1.
  • SILVER claimed his law practice involved the representation of “plain, ordinary simple people.” In fact, SILVER represented some of the largest real estate developers in the State of New York, whose interests are in many ways dependent on state legislation.
  • SILVER claimed through his spokesperson that SILVER found clients by virtue of his having been a “lawyer for more than 40 years,” in a manner that was “not unlike any other attorney in this state, anywhere.” In fact, SILVER found his lucrative asbestos and real estate developer clients solely by virtue of his official position.
  • SILVER recently stated through his spokesperson that “[n]one of his clients have any business before the state.” In fact, SILVER’s outside income included millions of dollars of fees obtained through real estate developers with significant business before the state and a prominent physician to whose benefit SILVER provided state funding and other benefits related to SILVER’s official position.
Finally, SILVER thwarted the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption so that it would not learn of his illegal outside income, first by filing legal motions on behalf of the Assembly and taking other action to block the Moreland Commission’s investigation into legislative outside income and then by negotiating with the Governor of New York to prematurely terminate the Moreland Commission.
*                      *                      *
SILVER, 70, of New York, New York, is charged with two counts of honest services fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, one count of extortion under color of official right, and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right. Each of these five counts carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
U.S. Attorney Bharara praised the work of the Criminal Investigators of the United States Attorney’s Office and the FBI, who jointly conducted this investigation. Mr. Bharara also noted that the investigation is continuing.
This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Howard S. Master, Carrie H. Cohen, Andrew D. Goldstein, and James McDonald are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.


State Tax Forms Now Available at District Office


Assemblyman Dinowitz announces that state tax forms are now available in his district office

  Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz announced that New York State tax forms are now available to be picked up at his district office. Constituents are invited to stop by Assemblyman Dinowitz’s office on 3107 Kingsbridge Avenue between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, to receive a form, free of charge.

Assemblyman Dinowitz said, “Each year, constituents ask me when up-to-date state tax forms will be available again in my office. While New York residents are encouraged to file their taxes online, some may not have access to a computer or may otherwise prefer to mail their forms. I welcome those constituents to stop by my office to pick up a form and get an early start on their taxes!”

Current versions of the most frequently requested state tax forms will be available upon request. Constituents should know which forms they need prior to their arrival.


NYC COUNCIL TRANSPORTATION CHAIRMAN RODRIGUEZ OPPOSES NEW MTA FARE HIKES


This morning the MTA Board is taking up a proposal that will raise the base fare for individual riders. In my capacity as both a City Councilman and Chair of the Transportation Committee, I join the chorus of thousands of working and middle class New Yorkers, transit advocates, and elected officials in denouncing these plans.

 
In order to maintain our status as a world class destination, we must have a well-functioning, well connected, transit system. However, the MTA has lacked the vision necessary to bring our city and states infrastructure to good repair let alone to expand its network to better reach all New Yorkers. Rather, they still operate under a $15 billion shortfall with no true dedication to exploring alternative means of funding.

 
Despite these shortfalls, ridership has been ever increasing. On September 23rd, 6.1 million people rode the subway's 659 miles of track, many on lines using decade's old technology. New York, an international leader in finance, real estate and countless other industries is better than this.

 
The MTA must become forward thinking and begin to discuss alternative and creative revenue sources like requiring all TLC licensed vehicles pay towards the MTA improvement fund, a fair tolling plan for bridges and tunnels and / or furthering Public-Private Partnerships. It can no longer be the first instinct of the MTA to increase the burden they put on working class New Yorkers. The priority should be improving the system for all New Yorkers through new methods, not closing the fiscal gap on the backs of the working class.

Editors Note: It kind of makes one feel how the city council is operating - 'In the dark'. 


The 3 New Amigos - What's the Difference?


What You Should Know 
By Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz
32nd Senatorial District 



You should know that during the 2015 State of the State Address and the presentation of the Executive Budget for New York State, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his intentions to visit Mexico accompanied with Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.  The Governor made this pronouncement with great fanfare and excitement, using a giant screen to show the three of them wearing Mexican hats with the caption: The 3 Amigos.

It is important for you to know that when I saw that image of Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, I reacted; making gestures that drew the Governor's attention. Governor Andrew Cuomo responded by saying: These 3 Amigos are different than previous ones.

I thought to myself, "Mr. Governor, different than what?"

You should know, my dear reader, that the history of the 3 Amigos goes back to 2009 when I joined with former Senators Karl Kruger and Pedro Espada to form an alliance in the State Senate to demand change so the State Senate could vote on bills that would help all communities.  During that year, Karl Kruger, Pedro Espada and I all bought Mexican hats and called ourselves the 3 Amigos.  Everyone in New York politics knows the history of the 3 Amigos and everyone knows how we all ended up.

Senator Pedro Espada was arrested, judged and found guilty of corruption, and is now serving a sentence in a federal penitentiary and is not expected to come out for another four years.  There is a similar situation for Karl Kruger. He, too, was arrested, judged and found guilty of corruption, and is serving a sentence in a federal penitentiary.

I am the only one of the 3 Amigos who is, politically speaking, alive.

Now, our beloved Governor has created another version of the 3 Amigos, saying they are different than the previous ones. It was clear to many that the Governor was trying to publicly take a punch at me.

What you should know is that the Governor forgot to say is how he, himself, is under investigation by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. Governor Andrew Cuomo has already spent over $130,000 on a prominent white collar criminal defense attorney to represent him and the scandal that surrounds the Governor's anti-corruption commission.  It remains to be seen how this will end.

On the other hand, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has been arrested today, January 22, 2015, on federal corruption charges, by the same U.S. Attorney who is investigating Governor Andrew Cuomo. While the nature of the charges have not been released as of the time I write this, the investigation began in March, 2014 - right after Governor Andrew Cuomo shut down his Moreland Commission. The tabloids say it has to do with undocumented payments he received from a law firm, and rumors say it has to do with fraud.

You should know that where I come from in Puerto Rico, there is an old saying: With these thunders, who could sleep?

And so, my dear reader, there is something ironic about Governor Andrew Cuomo's obvious attempt to publicly try to take a punch at me about New York's original 3 Amigos - Pedro Espada, Karl Kruger and myself - and say that the new version of the 3 Amigos will be different than the 3 Amigos of the past.

I am obliged to publicly share my response to him:  "Excuse me, Mr. Governor. Different in what way?  If, along with the thunders I am hearing, we continue to read the newspapers and listen to what everyone is talking about, there is a great possibility that Mr. Silver will be keeping company with Karl Kruger and Pedro Espada and eating the same food and dressing in the same colored clothing."

Ladies and gentlemen, as far as these 3 New Amigos goes: What’s the difference? 

This is State Senator Rev Rubén Díaz and this is what you should know.

Editor Note: I couldn't agree with Senator Diaz more. It is not known who will replace Speaker Silver, but I have been told it will not be anyone from the Bronx.


Wednesday, January 21, 2015

STATEMENT FROM BP DIAZ RE: Gov. Cuomo's 'State of the State'


“Gov. Cuomo continues to outline a strong agenda for the entire state, especially for The Bronx. Our governor continues to put forward policy proposals that have real impact on the lives of people in my borough.

“His continued support of our proposal to expand Metro North services to the East Bronx is incredibly welcome, and shows his commitment to creating new transit options and new opportunities for investment in our borough. While I appreciate the governor’s suggestion that one of these new stations bear my name, his considerable support of this proposal is all the recognition I need. I am grateful that Governor Cuomo has already outlined significant funding for this proposal in his budget, and I will continue to work with the governor, the MTA and the State Legislature to bring this transformative transit proposal to life.

“The governor’s expansion of employment programs in our borough, specifically for young adults of color, is also a major victory for The Bronx. In August, I joined Governor Cuomo, the State Department of Labor and the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation to launch the ‘Bronx Works’ strike force, which is putting unemployed Bronxites in direct contact with the employers who need them. New projects are taking root every day in The Bronx, and this $10 million proposal will ensure that more Bronx residents, especially young adults of color, will be prepared for the jobs we are creating.

“Governor Cuomo’s plan to raise the minimum wage statewide, and to increase the minimum wage to a higher rate in New York City, shows that the governor continues to understand the realities of living in the five boroughs. The cost of living is considerably higher in The Bronx than upstate, and this increase would allow more New Yorkers to make ends meet.

“Governor Cuomo understands what is important to this borough: economic development and job creation, making sure Bronxites are getting the jobs we create, and making sure those jobs pay a decent wage. I will continue to work with my good friend, our governor, and his administration to enact strong policy proposals and affect positive change for the people of The Bronx,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.


State of the Borough Address


The Honorable Ruben Diaz Jr.

President, Borough of the Bronx


 State of the Borough Address

Thursday, February 19, 2015

10 a.m.

The Mall at Bay Plaza

200 Baychester Avenue

THIRD floor Pavilion

The Bronx

SEATING IS STRICTLY LIMITED


Council Member King to Host Funding Workshop on Monday, Jan. 26th


 New York City Council Member Andy King will hold a workshop on Monday, Jan. 26, for community-based organizations that would like to apply for discretionary funding from his office.

The applications for Council Discretionary Member Item funding, which is awarded each year by council members to non-profits and other eligible groups in their districts, must be completed online. But the workshop will help to make sure those applying for funding to fully understand the process.

Those organizations applying for funding from Council Member King are strongly urged to attend the  workshop on Monday, 6-9 p.m., at the Williamsbridge NAACP ECE Center, 680 East 219th St., Bronx.

Applications must be completed online in one session and applicants cannot save the information as they work or navigate away from the page while they are working. But the application does not time out, and applicants can go back to correct mistakes.

Applications are currently available on the city council website – http://council.nyc.gov (click pull down button `Budget’).

The FY 2016 timetable is as follows:
•           Currently – FY 2016 applications available on the city council website (applications may only be submitted online);
•              Feb. 20 - FY 2016 discretionary expense funding applications must be completed no later than 5 p.m.;
•              Feb. 26 - FY 2016 capital funding applications to the borough president and city council for the same project must be completed no later than 5:00 p.m.;
•             March 26 - The deadline for FY 2016 capital applications to the city council only must be completed no later than 5:00 p.m.

For more information on the applications or budget process, please contact Brian Melford, Special Assistant to Council Member Andy King at (718) 684-5509.


Tenant Forum on Heating, or Lack Of


Is your apartment COLD?

Are your calls to your landlord going unanswered?

Do you want to DO something about it?

Let your voice be heard at the

Simply Better Homes

Tenant Forum


Tuesday, January 27, 2015 7:00 PM

Sister Annunciata Senior Center

243 E. 204th Street | Bronx, NY 10458

(at Valentine Avenue)

Sponsored by:

West Bronx Housing

In collaboration with:

Council Member Andrew Cohen,

 Council Member Fernando Cabrera, 

& Bronx Community Board 7