Friday, February 5, 2010

Weren't rules made to be broken?

From the NY Times:

On Monday afternoon, a City Hall political operative by the name of Maura Keaney was given a $143,000 job at the city’s Department of Education.

The Keaney appointment is a bracing moment, even for people accustomed to taking their politics without cream and sugar, and who have already seen Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg stashing his former campaign workers on the city payroll.

Hours before her job with the school system was announced, the Conflicts of Interest Board revealed that it had fined Ms. Keaney $2,500 for ethical wrongdoing in campaign activities in 2007.

The mayor could not have cared less: in Mr. Bloomberg’s telling, Ms. Keaney made an innocent mistake and brought it to the attention of the regulators. So move along folks, nothing to see here.

“When you screw up, you fess up to it and pay your penalty and get on with it,” Mr. Bloomberg said on Tuesday.

The mayor is taking good care of Ms. Keaney, and she has done quite well by him. But no one is breaking into a cold sweat telling the truth.

Ms. Keaney used to work for the City Council, and helped change the law so the mayor could have a third term. Then Mr. Bloomberg brought her onto his campaign team last year and paid her $4,250 a week, with a bonus of $150,000.

Her problems with the Conflicts of Interest Board arose from her work at the City Council, when she was the deputy chief of staff to the speaker, Christine C. Quinn. While she was in that job — helping to shape legislation important to labor unions — she was also raising campaign money from the unions for Ms. Quinn. It’s a common practice in politics. It happens to be against the law in New York City for people in a position to influence policy.

7 comments:

PizzaBagel said...

How much you wanna bet Mayor Mike gladly paid the $2,500 fine for Ms. Keaney? It's chump change to him, and he views it as the cost of doing business in this fair city -- not that the well-compensated Keaney couldn't afford it, mind you.

Anonymous said...

i am going to guess that she has democrat/liberal credentials.

and the beat goes on.........

Anonymous said...

wow

nice to be close to bloomberg huh

as he wants to close fire houses
and cut services

but he can find money to pay this twit 143k a year

this city is a joke

Anonymous said...

Like Seminanro getting prison and it falls into the memory hole never to reappear.

Why isn't this in the TV news? Why isn't this on the front page of the newspapers?

F*ck reports on your pet and swine flue. F*ck reports on the latest ghetto hit and run. F*ck reports on botox and beauty. F*ck reports on the Yankee outfield.

Damn it! Give us the real news you assh*les.

Anonymous said...

I bet Ms. Keaney went down on her Boss Quinn. anyhow, the Feds are useless

Anonymous said...

what a whore

Anonymous said...

Then Mr. Bloomberg brought her onto his campaign team last year and paid her $4,250 a week, with a bonus of $150,000.


HOW DO I WORK FOR THIS GUY.

I'll sweep shit off of his shoe for a wage like. Better yet ill be his personal slave for double that.