Shirley Huntley Is Arrested, Queens Ashamed

OMG

An old pol was arrested proving that no matter what your age, if you do the crime you will pay the time. Age is not an excuse for respect of the law.

New York Times: A state senator from Queens helped create a false paper trail to conceal the fact that a nonprofit agency she had founded was a sham charity that was misusing taxpayer money, prosecutors in the state attorney general’s office said Monday.       

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The senator, Shirley L. Huntley, was accused of conspiring to help a niece and an aide steal money that the nonprofit agency was supposed to use to help poor parents navigate the New York City school system.

Ms. Huntley, 74, handcuffed behind her back, was led out of a building at the Nassau County court complex in Mineola on Monday, joining a parade of Albany lawmakers who have been accused of abusing their office for personal gain. She and her co-defendants pleaded not guilty on Monday.

Vito Lopez Shows No Respect

Rumors are abuzz in Brooklyn Democratic circles about whether and when Assemblyman Vito Lopez will leave his chairmanship of the Kings County Democratic Party in light of Friday’s sexual harassment scandal.

And, Frank Seddio, a district leader, attorney and former assemblyman from southeastern Brooklyn, has been making calls seeking to shore up support in the likely event that Mr. Lopez steps down in the next day or so, according to sources familiar with the situation. Mr. Seddio, the head of the influential Thomas Jefferson Club, is one of the leading contenders to replace Mr. Lopez.
If true, this would confirm what other reporters have been hearing as well.

Mr. Lopez released a statement yesterday evening, digging in and declaring his innocence, but only going so far as to state his intentions to remain in the State Assembly, not the county’s political organization. Mr. Lopez, unopposed in this year’s Democratic primary, would not face difficulty winning reelection and serving another term in Albany, assuming no additional developments emerge.

With the fallout from the sexual harassment allegations, however, it seems unlikely Mr. Lopez has enough support among his former allies to hold onto his chairmanship. A majority of district leaders can remove Mr. Lopez from power.

Other possibilities for replacing Mr. Lopez include district leaders Lew Fidler, Annette Robinson, Joe Bova, and Walter Mosley. Mr. Fidler, who also serves as a City Councilman, would have to leave that post in order to lead the county’s Democratic organization. Mr. Seddio, currently campaigning or Mr. Fidler’s seat, would have to abandon that plan if he wanted to serve for the extended future.

Council Redistricting Corruption Silence

Quinnberg?

TRUE NEWS:Many of his fellow reformer felt that Citizens Union puppet general Dick Dadey sold out last year when he supported Albany's compromise to put off independent redistrict for 10 years. But nothing can compare to Dadey and the rest of the goo goos, editorial boards and reformers silence on the corruption going on with the city council redistricting operation. For starters the appointed council redistricting commission is controlled by two people supporting Quinn for mayor in 2013. The council speaker herself and her puppet master the mayor. Although the redistricting commission work has just begun there are already reports that county bosses Crowley and Lopez, ethic and minority leaders are already dealing with Quinn operatives to cut districts favorable to them or those they support in exchange for their endorsement for Quinn's 2013 mayoral bid.

Are the Meng's Anti-Semitic?

Dan Halloran's camp calls out the Meng family for anti-semitic comments and says they are trying to divide and conqueor the community through vile, putrid, politicing.

 

Can't any Queens Politicians just admit when they are wrong instead of digging themselves deeper in the hole with more lies and deception?

 

Sometimes honesty is the best policy, but on the flipside maybe that's what Meng's sister was thinking when she said it.

 

An apology is neccesary especially when Grace Meng tried to throw cold water on this fire which is raging out of control

 

You can decide for yourself, or you can write to the Assemblywoman and tell her how upset you are.

 

The Grace Meng Strategy: Divide and Conquer

Assemblywoman Meng’s father was elected to the Assembly in 2002. His campaign was managed by Grace Meng.

Meng's strategy? Divide and conquer.

Caroline Meng, Grace's sister and a worker for the campaign, divided the Jewish and Asian communities with incendiary, anti-Semitic remarks.

Caroline "blamed (John) Liu and other members of the Flushing community for supporting Grodenchik, who is Jewish.

“It’s really sad how Asians can’t stick together,” Caroline Meng wrote at the time. “This is why we do not have any Asians holding prominent public office. The Jews stick together and that’s why they control everything.”

Queens Democrats weren't shy in denouncing the Meng campaign's anti-Semitism. Said Grodenchik strategist Evan Stavisky: “By refusing to denounce his campaign workers who made racist statements in the last campaign, Jimmy Meng has proven himself to be unfit to hold public office.”

How did Assemblywoman Meng “handle” these vile remarks?

Grace Meng attempted to defuse the situation by noting that her father’s attorney is Jewish and that the campaign had many Jewish supporters.

In response, Stavisky said, “Whether she developed these twisted, hateful thoughts as result of the campaign or as a result of her upbringing is something that remains to be addressed.”

As a local blog wrote, "Grace’s response sounded oddly familiar to that old refrain of 'Some of my best friends are Jewish or Black or Asian' or any other minority group we want to name. "

No one could remember Caroline -- or Grace -- ever issuing an apology to the Jewish or Asian community.

We’ve seen the Grace Meng strategy before.

Divide and conquer. Pit communities against each other. Play the race card.

New Yorkers deserve better.

Member Items Include Fancy Cigars and A Prison Sentence

Incumbents typically use state subsidized literature as campaign material. This is an all too common practice.

Did former state Sen. Efrain Gonzalez charges of mail fraud somehow relfective of this unethical practice?

Whether it's an overpriced bagel, a private cigar company, or lining the pockets of a lobbyist, corruption is the order of the day in local politics.

The former senator, Efraín González Jr., once one of the longest-serving Democrats in the State Senate, was indicted in 2006 on charges that he had routed state grants known as “member items” to nonprofit groups in the Bronx, including one that he founded, and then used some of the money for personal expenses. Mr. González was defeated for re-election last fall by Pedro Espada Jr.

Mr. González’s indictment was part of a flurry of public corruption cases in Albany linked to the member-item system, which allows lawmakers to dole out tens of millions of dollars a year to favored community groups, until recently with little oversight.

One former state assemblyman, Brian M. McLaughlin, also a Democrat, pleaded guilty last year to charges that he skimmed money from a Queens community group to which he had directed grants over the years. He is awaiting sentencing. In January, Joseph L. Bruno, the former Republican leader in the State Senate, was indicted on charges that he took millions of dollars from companies seeking business from the state, part of a long-running federal investigation originally rooted in state grants he steered to a technology firm in his district. Mr. Bruno is fighting the charges.

On Friday, Mr. González pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud and two counts of conspiracy connected to the personal expenses, which also included financing a private cigar company, membership fees in a vacation club in the Dominican Republic and college tuition for his daughter.

Five other charges against him in the indictment — including money laundering, fraud and the abuse of his office — were dropped by prosecutors, meaning that he is likely to face a significantly shorter sentence than he may otherwise have.

$177 Bagel Apparently Made With Glazed Ham

How corrupt are incumbent politicians? They think they can get away with practically anything! Here's a little tidbit that you shouldn't forget at the polls... Seabrook's Bagel!

NEW YORK (AP) — The evidence at the ongoing corruption trial of New York City Councilman Larry Seabrook includes a mundane $5.55 receipt from McDonald’s for a burger and a medium Sprite. A receipt from Dunkin’ Donuts shows a charge for an unremarkable $2.50.
But the one from a deli near City Hall for a Snapple and a bagel sandwich is harder to digest.
The total: $177.64.

Federal prosecutors say Seabrook submitted the receipt for reimbursement — and that it wasn’t an innocent misprint. Instead, they call it convincing proof of how he doctored expenses and used other tricks to line his pockets and line up jobs for his girlfriend, sister and others close to him.
The 60-year-old councilman “operated his own corrupt, City Council-funded friends and family plan,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in announcing the charges last year.
Seabrook has company: In the past two years, a steady parade of local and state lawmakers and their staffers has been accused in federal courthouses in Manhattan and Brooklyn of abusing their authority for personal gain.

One investigation focused on accusations that a hospital executive sought to bribe three legislators for statehouse favors in Albany. The executive and one of the lawmakers were convicted this year; another assemblyman was acquitted and third is awaiting trial.

Other cases, including Seabrook’s, involve allegations that taxpayer money and private donations meant for nonprofit groups offering programs for needy constituents morphed into slush funds for politicians’ personal expenses.

Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgendered Cocktail Reception for Toby Stavisky

Catholics, the religious Jewish community, and the Russian Community are in strong opposition to gay marriage, and now Toby Stavisky is being honored for her service not only to gay marriage but also in support of the lesbian, gay, and transgendered community. 

How much will she get at Club Evolution? Will they get $20 for a friend or $500 for an advocate? Is this the payback for her vote on gay marriage? Oh and by the way, joining Councilmember Dromm and Senator Stavisky is City Council Speaker Christie Quinn – the leader of one of the most corrupt City Councils in the history of municipal Government....

Invitation below:

LGBT Cocktail Reception for Hon. Toby Ann Stavisky NYS Senator, 16th District

Hosted by NYC Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Council Member Daniel Dromm and the Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens

 

Join us for a reception in support of NYS Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky, an early and strong supporter of Marriage Equality, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), increased funding for homeless and runaway LGBT youth, and many other issues near and dear to the LGBT community.

WHEN:

Thursday, August 23, 2012

6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

WHERE:

Club Evolution

76-19 Roosevelt Avenue

Jackson Heights, NY 11372

Suggested Donations:

$25 Friend

$50 Supporter

$100 Host

$250 Sponsor

$500 Advocate

Please make checks payable to: "FRIENDS OF TOBY ANN STAVISKY"

You may also donate online prior to the event: https://secure.piryx.com/donate/EKoRZ6NC/stavisky/

RSVP to mallon.michael.j@gmail.com

More Poop Uncovered in Ulrich Campaign

From the Queens Tribune & Queens Crap: In the case of altering 84th Street, a proposal struck down by Community Board 9 in March and later abandoned by the DOT, records now show that flipping the direction of the street drew close interest beyond the DOT. Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), now a state Senate candidate who originally did not oppose the plan but eventually came to reject it after neighborhood opposition exploded, was lobbied by Melinda Katz, now a contender for borough president, representing a realty firm that listed, among their clients, a Boston Market and CVS Pharmacy on 84th Street and Atlantic Avenue that could have profited from the street reversal. A street change would have made it possible for traffic from all directions to enter the stores’ parking lot, but it would have also cut down the number of available routes to Woodhaven. CB 9 also struck down a proposed directional change for 89th Avenue in Woodhaven. 

The law firm Katz works for, Greenberg Traurig, also donated $500 to Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley’s (D-Middle Village) campaign account in the midst of the 84th Street controversy, less than a month after kicking in $250 to Ulrich. On Dec. 7, 2011, three donations arrived in Ulrich’s account: the aforementioned $250 from Greenberg Traurig, $250 from John Ritter and $250 from Lawrence Smith. Smith and Ritter are the executive vice presidents of Sholom and Zuckerbrot Realty, a realty firm that counts, among its clients, CVS and Boston Market. CB 9 was supposed to vote on the change Dec. 13, 2011, six days after the donations were given. Katz and Sholom and Zuckerbrot did not respond to requests for comment. 

According to [Ed] Wendell and several other sources, Wendell, Katz, Ulrich and Woodhaven BID Executive Director Maria Thomson met in Feb. 2011 to discuss the possibility of changing the direction of 84th Street. Ulrich maintained that residents of Ozone Park wanted the street, once a two-way, to run south-bound. According to Ulrich, the Ozone Park-

Bundlers Galore Linked to Councilman Eric Ulrich

Thank you for the checks please come again.

Queens Tribune: A failed proposal to change the direction of 84th Street in Ozone Park revealed striking intrigue for what many would consider a minute detail.

  The successful battle to halt the change of a vital artery between Liberty and Atlantic Avenues from a one-way northbound to a one-way southbound street illustrated both how galvanizing an issue street alterations has been for the borough in 2012 and also the forces at play beyond a simple proposal from the Dept. of Transportation.

  In the case of altering 84th Street, a proposal struck down by Community Board 9 in March and later abandoned by the DOT, records now show that flipping the direction of the street drew close interest beyond the DOT. Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), now a state Senate candidate who originally did not oppose the plan but eventually came to reject it after neighborhood opposition exploded, was lobbied by Melinda Katz, now a contender for borough president, representing a realty firm that listed, among their clients, a Boston Market and CVS Pharmacy on 84th Street and Atlantic Avenue that could have profited from the street reversal. A street change would have made it possible for traffic from all directions to enter the stores’ parking lot, but it would have also cut down the number of available routes to Woodhaven. CB 9 also struck down a proposed directional change for 89th Avenue in Woodhaven. 

  In emails, both businesses denied they were actively lobbying for the street change this year, though a representative from Boston Market expressed displeasure about the fact that 84th Street, once a two-way street, was changed to a one-way in 2009. The DOT believed the street was too narrow to run in both directions, creating dangerous driving conditions. 

  “Our company did not receive notice of the potential change and was unaware of the planned change in traffic flow until after the change was implemented,” said the representative in an email to Woodhaven Residents Block Association President Ed Wendell, referring to the 2009 alteration. “In addition, our business was damaged by the change. Following that change, we sent correspondence to our landlord and to the Dept. of Transportation … advising of the negative impact to business and to ask for reconsideration of that decision.” 

  A Woodhaven resident spotted an innocuous notice about the street change in a church bulletin, setting off waves of protest that delayed the vote until March. Wendell said he was initially told by a CB 9 member that the change was a “done deal” and some community members believed the street change was being sped through without proper consultation from the community. After two delayed votes, Ulrich organized a forum to discuss the street change at St. Elizabeth’s Church in Ozone Park. The raucous forum precipitated CB 9’s March vote to reject the street change, and DOT backed down soon afterwards. 

  “We live in Woodhaven and go to Ozone Park frequently; we use the same libraries and parks,” Wendell said. “We’re constantly going back and forth. To cut off main entrance between the neighborhoods would’ve been terrible.”

  The law firm Katz works for, Greenberg Traurig, also donated $500 to Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley’s (D-Middle Village) campaign account in the midst of the 84th Street controversy, less than a month after kicking in $250 to Ulrich. On Dec. 7, 2011, three donations arrived in Ulrich’s account: the aforementioned $250 from Greenberg Traurig, $250 from John Ritter and $250 from Lawrence Smith. Smith and Ritter are the executive vice presidents of Sholom and Zuckerbrot Realty, a realty firm that counts, among its clients, CVS and Boston Market. CB 9 was supposed to vote on the change Dec. 13, 2011, six days after the donations were given. Katz and Sholom and Zuckerbrot did not respond to requests for comment. 

  According to Wendell and several other sources, Wendell, Katz, Ulrich and Woodhaven BID Executive Director Maria Thomson met in Feb. 2011 to discuss the possibility of changing the direction of 84th Street. Ulrich maintained that residents of Ozone Park wanted the street, once a two-way, to run south-bound. According to Ulrich, the Ozone Park-based Our Neighbors Civic Association requested the change. 

  “I served with Melinda Katz in the City Council, I consider her a friend,” said Ulrich when asked about the three donations that arrived on Dec. 7. “Maybe she bundled checks for me, I don’t know. It’s a fair a question. People could not buy my support for changing 84th Street.”

Toby Stavisky Campaigning On The Tax Payer’s Dime

The rules don’t seem to apply to Parkside's chief hack, Toby Stavisky.

 

There she is, state Senator Toby Stavisky at a public event in the height of a hotly contested election handing out taxpayer subsidized literature.

 

Stavisky’s literature crossed the line of honest, rule abiding government and into the realm of a cheap election stunt.

 

The interesting thing is, campaigning at National Night Out Against Crime was strictly prohibited, but that didn’t stop Toby from peddling her candidacy for Senate. ‘Vote for me’ was the undertone, and a source heard her bragging about her upcoming election to a prospective voter…

 

Was it a crime in progress? Was it thinly disguised electioneering? The answer is obvious. The cops should have stopped her. Not a single person spoke up - not even a peep.

 

The Flushing community has long been ignored when Stavisky didn’t need the Asian vote, but now that she does, she’s using every trick in the book to pull the wool over the eyes of a neighborhood that has not seen or heard from her in a decade of lame duck tenure.

 

This is just another example of dirty incumbent campaigning, Stavisky style politics, bending the rules that don’t seem to apply to them.

 

Change is needed.

 

Dems bounce Liz Crowley as AD leader

Queens Chronicle: Even her cousin’s being Queens County Democratic chairman does not appear to have spared Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) from party discipline.
Crowley will be unable to run to retain her position as a district leader in the 38th Assembly District after party officials succeeded in challenging enough signatures on her nominating petitions.

Her cousin, Joe Crowley (D-Queens and the Bronx), also is the congressman representing the 7th District.

The move is the second major political setback Crowley has been dealt by party leadership since she lost her primary challenge to party-supported Grace Meng in the race for the 6th Congressional District.

Within a week of coming a distant third behind Meng in the June 26 primary, Crowley saw Council Speaker Christine Quinn hack her district’s discretionary funding by more than $286,000 for fiscal year 2013, dropping her to second-to-last among all council members.

Campaign Bundler Questions....

From True News: At a press conference yesterday at Queen Borough Hall, Assemblywoman Grace Meng responded to attacks from her Republican congressional opponent, Queens Councilman Dan Halloran, about Meng's decision not to disclose her campaign bundlers. "First of all, that's something we released a statement on already," Meng said, when asked about the charges by reporters, "and the response is pretty much the same for any candidate who understands campaign finance rules at the city, state, and federal level. There is no such thing as bundlers. It is something that is made up for political purposes." Halloran's campaign is trying to make an issue of the fact that Meng's father, Jimmy, was recently arrested by the FBI for allegedly accepting bribes – and may have raised money for Meng's campaign.

But Meng, at the press conference with Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer to highlight her plan to create American jobs, said other issues should be of paramount importance. "We're doing what any other congressional candidate has done across the country, in fact, we've actually been using stricter procedures than most candidates across the nation," Meng added of her fundraising efforts. Halloran's spokesman Steven Stites continued to attack in response to Meng's comments: “Assemblywoman Meng is playing a game of ‘can you' top this?’ First she won't disclose her bundlers. Now she says bundlers don't exist. Next, she'll say her money got delivered by a stork.” (City and State) * Grace Meng responded to Dan Halloran’s demand that she release her bundlers by denying she has any, causing Halloran’s spokesman to retort, “First she won’t disclose her bundlers. Now she says bundlers don’t exist. Next, she’ll say her money got delivered by a stork.”
Meng also pushed her plan to jumpstart businesses in New York.

Lobbyists Consultants Are Bundlers?

From True News: How About the Million That the Real Estate Giants Gives Lobbyist Political Consultants Like George Artz, Parkside and Mike Nussbaum? Does Any of That Lobbying $$$ Get Funneled To Candidate They Support? Sure They are Bundlers and should be regulated. Lobbyist consultants pass pay to play money between themselves and there are no records. They even pay off bloggers $

Malcolm eat & greet with GOP

New York Post: A possible fusion ticket will be on the menu when state Sen. Malcolm Smith dines with the city’s five county Republican bosses on Monday to discuss his potential mayoral bid, sources said.

Smith’s meeting comes a week after The Post reported that Smith, a Queens Democrat, met with New York state Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox about running for City Hall as a GOP “fusion” candidate.

After hearing the news, some of the city’s GOP leaders ridiculed the idea. They cited Smith’s baggage — his brief and rocky tenure as Senate majority leader and ties to a shady Queens not-for-profit and an Aqueduct racino bidding scandal. Still, they agreed to break bread with Smith at Ricardo’s steakhouse in East Harlem.

Halloran Pushes Back, Asks ‘What Does Grace Meng Have to Hide?’

From the Politicker: GOP Councilman Dan Halloran certainly has no interest in forgetting about the arrest of former Assemblyman Jimmy Meng — the father of his Democratic opponent his current congressional race. After initially issuing a questionable claim of exactly how much money Mr. Meng raised for his daughter Grace at an unrelated political event, Mr. Halloran is now calling for Ms. Meng to disclose all of her campaign’s bundlers.

“What does Grace Meng Have to Hide?” a press release from his campaign asked this morning, with his spokesman Steven Stites adding, “If Grace Meng isn’t ready to disclose her finances, how can she be ready to represent us in Congress? Her campaign coffers are flush with special interest money. The people deserve to know who helped her raise that money. New Yorkers can’t help but wonder what Grace Meng has to hide.

Stavisky Blames Ron Kim and Jerry Iannece For Possible Fraud On Her Petitions

Zombie Toby bit Jerry Iannece, and he doesn't
even know it.

Stavisky's Risky Activities: Signs of Coming Zombie Apocalypse.

While Toby Stavisky has been closely associated with perpetrating fraud on her designating petitions she rightfully pointed out that the blame should be shared amongst some of the other candidates that are running for public office, in particular Ron Kim and Jerry Iannece.

Upon review of the Messer camp’s investigation, it was clear that the fraud was rampant and affected both the Kim and Ianecce’s petitions.

Maybe upon learning this, Iannecce or Kim will have the moral courage to contact the Justice Department and the D.A’s office to find out who stole people’s identity, who committed the fraud and demand criminal charges be instituted to protect the integrity of our electoral system. 

This should be a priority, not protecting a person’s candidacy. 

Yen Chou Rises Above All Other Candidates

In the race for the 40^th A.D vacated by Assembly Woman Grace Meng, the choice is becoming ever so clear as to who is the independent democrat that could effectively represent this diverse district.

Yen Chou has emerged as the frontrunner and probably the best suited to bring the community together.

On the flipside, Ron Kim is a tool for special interests and a lobbyist for the Parkside Group who is only running for public office to pad the pockets of Evan Stavisky, son of Senator Toby Stavisky and Harry Giannoulis, Parksides political hatchet man.

Integrity, honest, hard work, and commitment to community should be rewarded, not political lobbyists and special interests who push for their client instead of what’s right.

Ron Kim has NO real roots in this assembly district. He has not volunteered his time, he has not worked with any elected officials, he has not served the community. Therefore, we as a community should reject his candidacy.

I did not vote for Yen when she ran for City Council, but to her credit she stayed active, she stayed involved and she promoted positive change for her hometown. For these reasons I’m going to admire and respect her. 

Stavisky camp responds to allegations of fraud by blaming her colleagues and supporters

I blame all of you.

Daily News Highlights Stavisky Flip-flopping.

Are you kidding? Have you read the news? We need someone with integrity and character, not someone when caught red-handed blames others rather than blame themselves for their actions or inaction.

Not one person like Toby Stavisky - or her spokesperson - called on the District Attorney or the Justice Department to arrest, or have the people who perpetrated identity theft and fraud (on her behalf to benefit herself) called for prosecution.

An elected public representative should be held to a higher standard.

After 30 plus years of a Stavisky in elected public office - and a son who is touted as a top notch as a political operator - shouldn’t someone have noticed the fraud?

Shouldn’t someone upon notification by the media taken some complicity and asked for those who perpetrated identity theft for political purposes been brought to justice?

Maybe the Staviskys cant do this because they are protecting Uma Sengupta - their political inroad to the Indian community and a former partner with disgraced former Assembly Member Brian McLaughlin?

The public deserves more than what the Staviskys give. Their legacy is a legacy of corruption, fraud, mismanagement, and waste. It’s time the electorate votes for change. 

Weiner denies comeback

From the New York Post: Disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner’s wife is trying to get him to pull a Bill Clinton . . . by giving a tell-all interview, that is.

Sources close to Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Hillary Rodham Clinton, tell The Post she has been pushing her husband to do a single interview — as Bubba did amid the Monica Lewinsky scandal — that would be the final word on the sexting mess that ended Weiner’s career in Congress last year.

She believes it would clear the air once and for all and allow him to move forward, the sources said.

“She wants to figure out how to get all this behind them so they can get back on track, but he’s still in denial,” said a source close to Abedin.

The Flushing Politics Remembers Donald Manes

Corruption began long ago, a flashback to set the stage of the corrupt machine in Queens:

From The NY Times: Moments before Donald R. Manes plunged a knife into his heart Thursday night, his wife, Marlene, had urgently telephoned his psychiatrist about admitting the former Borough President voluntarily to a mental hospital, Mr. Manes's lawyer and police officials said yesterday.

They said Mr. Manes had joined in the telephone conversation on an extension in the kitchen of the couple's home in Queens, and stabbed himself during a pause that came when his psychiatrist went to answer his doorbell. An Increasing Despondency

Mr. Manes's lawyer, Michael F. Armstrong, said Mr. Manes's suicide came amid an increasing despondency that paralleled the growing focus upon him in the investigations into municipal corruption - a despondency heightened by the decision of Mr. Manes's longtime friend, Geoffrey G. Lindenauer, to plead guilty last Monday and agree to testify against him in return for possibly lighter penalties.

''He had been not looking well for the last few days,'' said Mr. Armstrong, who spent five hours in his office at 26 Broadway with Mr. Manes Thursday afternoon, reviewing details of the investigations into his activities.

Convicted Felon To Handle Your BOE Case

From City and State: As a convicted felon, John Haggerty cannot vote, but he still can try to get people thrown off the ballot.

Haggerty’s well-publicized legal troubles aren’t preventing him from arguing cases today at the New York City Board of Elections.  Here’s Haggerty a few minutes ago before the 10-member board arguing with Vincent Tabone, the executive vice-chairman of the Queens Republican Party. Haggerty has long sought to overthrow the leadership of the party, which is run by Tabone and Queens GOP chairman Phil Ragusa.

According to Tabone, Haggerty, renowned for his prowess at ballot challenges, filed a slew against the Queens GOP’s candidates – even those that are running unopposed. The challenges were largely not successful, and ballot challenges for Queens races are now finished.

Maybe After Malcolm Smith Does So Time He Can Make A Political Comeback Like Gordon

From www.Truenewsfromchangenyc.blogspot.com: 


Crooked politicians of New York City, rejoice! Ex-Brooklyn Assemblywoman Diane Gordon, who in 2008 was convicted on eight counts of receiving bribes and official misconduct, has shown that a return to politics after prison is possible. Gordon, after two years in lock-up, is now running for district leader against Assemblywoman Inez Barron. But Gordon had her petitions challenged on the grounds that a felony conviction precluded Gordon from being on the ballot, and there were some legal questions about whether she would be eligible for a comeback. At a hearing yesterday, though, New York City Board of Elections general counsel Steve Richman issued an opinion stating that Gordon would be allowed on the ballot – because her parole had ended in late May. Let the speculation aboutCarl Kruger’s return to politics begin! 

Random Johns Support Toby Stavisky

Alright, if you've been in Flushing lately you'll see a ton of Toby Stavisky's campaign literature gracing the storefronts and graffiti clad buildings that host prostitution services for random Johns. There's something rotten in Flushing politics, and we believe this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Endorsing the happy ending.

In the wake of intense scrutiny of newspaper back page advertisements, a reader has sent us a disturbing picture indicative of  Toby Stavisky’s hypocrisy.

Here we have Toby and Ron Kim placing their official campaign signs in front of a well known brothel in downtown Flushing.

I am sick to my stomach. More often then not these brothels enslave vulnerable young women into a life of prostitution, and it just so happens that Toby Stavisky introduced legislation to stop violence against women.

“The role of government is to defend the most vulnerable among us — those who cannot defend themselves,” said Stavisky. But we guess that doesn’t matter during campaign season – she still wants the visibility and the votes from random Johns.

There’s your hypocrisy. Toby wants to help women, but a tacit endorsement of Flushing’s underground sex trade is blatantly visible.

Sick.