More honest graft linked to comptroller's office

From the NY Post:

Bronx state Sen. Jeff Klein couldn’t lose.

The Democrat enjoyed a profitable “of counsel” position with a personal-injury firm that specializes in suing city agencies — while his own firm collected millions from the Comptroller’s Office to evaluate some of those very same lawsuits.

Since 2006, the firm of Klein Calderoni & Santucci has received three contracts worth $2.25 million from the Comptroller’s Office to conduct so-called “50-h” hearings — preliminary reviews of suits that help the city decide if it should settle or fight.

Klein said his partner Fred Santucci Jr. does all the 50-h hearings and he is not involved. But Klein, as a partner, likely benefitted from the city contracts.

Until a few months ago, Klein was also “of counsel” with the law office of William Gallina, a small firm located in the same Bronx building as his Senate district office.

Since 2007, Gallina and his associates filed at least 114 lawsuits against various city agencies, according to court records.

Asked about the apparently cozy arrangement, Gallina said only, “At the direction of the city of New York, we have had clients examined by Fred Santucci at 50-h hearings.”

Gallina’s firm has enjoyed big paydays from suing the city.

From the NY Post:

City Comptroller John Liu’s office is taking a second look at the millions of dollars’ worth of legal work it doled out to state Sen. Jeff Klein’s firm to help the city fight lawsuits.

The move follows a report in yesterday’s Post that Klein, a Bronx Democrat, also had a financial interest in another law firm that specialized in suing the city.

“The Comptroller’s Office is currently conducting a review of the contracts,” said Michael Loughran, a spokesman for Liu.