From the NY Post:The FBI is investigating the Queens Republican Party, its consultants and at least three people it recommended to the city Board of Elections, according to sources recently quizzed by federal agents.
The probe appears to be focused on how board employees may have used their official positions to further their careers as political consultants, as well as their party’s ambitions in local primary elections.
Board employees are recommended by both political parties in each of the five boroughs and are hired by board commissioners.
The names of at least three employees recommended by the Queens GOP — including Stephen Graves, whom the board suspended in April after being caught on tape soliciting cash from a company seeking a contract — came up in questions posed by the FBI, the sources said.
One source said Queens GOP Chairman Philip Ragusa and Executive Vice Chairman Vincent Tabone pushed a board official out of her job for not taking a rival, Myrna Littlewort, off the ballot during a state committee leadership race.
The official, Katherine James, the board’s former deputy chief clerk, said, “They wanted Myrna off the ballot, and there was no way I could do that fair and square.”
The federal probe stems from reports in The Post detailing politicians’ complaints that Queens GOP consultants tried milking them for cash, according to two sources interviewed by the feds.
49 comments:
i re-read the ny post column a few times and it does not clarify specifically if any charges,indictments,arrests are imminent.
is there a crime somewhere in the article ?
where does a committeeman cast a vote ? is one on the taxpayer's teat ? if so , what is the amount?
anyway Q.C.will get 50 comments ,all for conviction....
Ha- that's the problem with anonymous tip, you never know who is behind it.
Ragusa and Tabone....
now there's a pair of throwback hacks for you!
Any thinking that's post 1950s
is radical to them.
Get with the 21st century boys.
And it's about time for
the Board of Elections (BOE) to be fully investigated also.
They're as crooked as the Department of Buildings (DOB)!
We need COMPLETE election reform
in America.
Our republic is in great danger under the present system.
A candidate can buy an election
if he or she has enough money to do it!
Democracy and meritocracy...
not wealth and oligarchy!
Anon No. 4:
Innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, Gramps.
They're bad men
Much More on the FBI investigation is in Today's True News http://truenewsfromchangenyc.blogspot.com/
So when will the FBI investigate the Queens DEM Party?
So when will the FBI investigate the Queens DEM Party?
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Ya took dem words outta my mouth! Evan is feeling left out.
And people wonder why quality candidates cannot be attracted to run as Republicans in Queens.
Here is your answer: The permanent Republican party (consultants, printers, etc.) just wants to pick the pockets of candidates and their supporters. It's not about winning.
Anon Nos. 7 and 8:
I don't know. Ask John Liu. It seems like he and his friends are getting a lot of attention.
Time for the FBI to be brought in to investigate Huang, Liu, DOB, DOI and the D.A.
Ya think!
I don't know. Ask John Liu. It seems like he and his friends are getting a lot of attention.
----------------------------------------------------
What about Ackerman?
What about Staviskys (and the North Flushing Senior Center)?
What about Shulman and her band of crooks?
The FEDS sure have their hands full. Whether Republican or Democrat, the corruption and tweeding cross party lines...at OUR expense!
1) I hear Castimatides is getting rid of Tabone. Back to selling tacos with Chiquita Banana by the BQE.
2) I guess Tabone seems to have stop talking now about this elected official being gay and that one having an affair etc.
3) Once agin let me point out, he screwed with the wrong people.
4) I wonder if they have the NY Post in prison. just asking Vinnie.
5) and in closing, man, is that guy gonna get an hourly beating and fu...ed in the a.s in the joint. Wow. They are gonna be opullign on that pompoudor hair pretty bad, very soon.
The chickens are coming home to roost Vince.
Go Feds! They'll have to hire a lot more agents to keep up with Queens. What a tangled web.
Bigger thieves waiting in the wings. Sing Vince sing, bring them all down!
I read this and giggled and thought to myself, "Can't the republicans of Queens ever get it right?"
They had an open assembly seat when McLaughlin resigned and the republicans ran a DEMOCRAT for the office.
They had Padavan and kept him in office until he was older than Rip Van Winkle and lost the seat.
They had Maltese and he never groomed a replacement
They had Abel and let the council seat slip away.
They allowed Ognibebne to pick Gallagher as his replacement. We all know how that turned out.
And then this past year Haggerty gets convicted.
And now they hope Halloran will win the congressional seat.
And some genius thought Turner will be able to beat Schumer's idiot Gillibrand.
Queens is a county of 2+ million people and we allow the mentally addled Virginny Joe Crowley run it. And he has given us a horror show from his cousin ditzy Lizzy to Monserrate.
Bottom line is Phil the Walrus has to go.
Phil is stagnant and Tabone is only in it for himself. But, the devil we know is better than the one lurking in the shadows causing all this " anonymous investigations to happen" . Careful what you wish for and watch out!
Watch vin spill the beans and bring the whole thing down with him.
from the ny post : "according to sources recently quizzed by F.B.I. " ?
probe "appears".
board members "may "have used their official positions.
"party's ambitions".
"three names came up in questions posed by F.B.I."
one source said.
reports in POST detailing "political complaints".
according to two sources.
should so-called reporter Mike Gartland go to the new WORLD H.S. OF JOURNALISM in Dist. 25,Flushing ?
would shenkler and ackerman hire him?
the photo of Michael Gartland on the NY Post search is that of a African-American woman,who has a M.S. ,from Columbia School of Journalism ?
"...Phil has to go..."
And you're running? Yes? No? Who are you? Bart? John? Dennis? Eric? Vin? Seriously.... Step up or shut up.
What is the big surprise here?
The gop is in longterm, terminal decline both in the City and Statewide, so they might as well line a few pockets peddling influence while they still have some to sell.
Whose pockets are being lined? Watch Vin sing a song of corruption and back room deals. Now that you know what they are trying to do to you Vin it high time you name names and tell what you know! Come on you can do it and you know we got your back. Call them out on their activities be the saviour of the GOP,
Where is queens politics when you need them? No scoop yet? Slacking!
"Bottom line is Phil the Walrus has to go."
Koo koo kachoo!!!
Anon No 21: Does that disqualify Gartland in some way from covering this story?
Now that's the bottom line
The genesis of this whole fiasco deals with the fact that the Queens GOP executive committee (read: Vincent Tabone and Philip Ragusa in tandem) orchestrated the removal of Katherine James from her Deputy Clerk position so that they could promote Marie Lynch, who has very close ties to Vincent Tabone. They wanted James to do something which was patently illegal : to remove a state committeewoman candidate - Myrna Littlewort, an asian Republican, erstwhile ally of Tabone, and now, an outlier to the party, from the state committee ballot.
Littlewort posed a danger to Ragusa's tenure if she had won. She knows many folks and could rally a boatload of proxy votes in support of a rival candidate against Ragusa. Nonetheless, James refused to comply with their instruction and was fired ostensbily for it . I think she was fired for other reasons too- age, and the fact that could get someone else younger and compliant(and preferably without scruples)to do the dirty work.
So, there you have it.
I think heads will roll over this and I believe Ragusa will step down as chairman at some point in order to escape indictment. Tabone will weasel his way out this one, with his reputation damaged, no less I think. Who knows? He may get ousted from the leadership but i predict he will return by winning a state committeeman spot.
As for that "retirement" party for Katherine James, the stupid employees for BOE on the Republican side thought they could utilize mailing lists and phones at the BOE without impunity. Of course, when you're doing all this in plain sight of your counterpart Dems who also work in the same office , you could bet the farm they leaked that info to the press.
But, really? Over a state committee spot on the ballot? ...Really?
Dumb, da, da, dumb.
I'm not the Walrus
We all can see as you can see
you are me and we are all together.
See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly.
They’re lying.
Sitting with a Vince jerk, waiting for the man to come.
Rikers Island tee-shirt, stupid voting Tuesday.
Man, you been a naughty boy, you let your greed grow long.
I am the crookman, they are the crookmen.
Phil is the walrus, koo koo g'joob.
New York City Policeman sitting
Pretty little policemen in a row.
See how they fly like Hornak in a buy, see how they run.
They’re lying, They’re crying.
They’re lying, We’re not crying
Yellow matter goat custard, dripping from Halloran's eye.
Vince the Castimatides asswipe, pornographic Gallagher,
Boy, you been a naughty Dentist you let the voters down.
I am the crookman, they are the crookmen.
Phil is the walrus, koo koo g'joob.
Sitting in China garden waiting for the sum.
If the sum don't come, you get a ban
From standing in the Queens rain
I am the crookman, they are the crookmen.
Phil is the walrus, koo koo g'joob.
Expert texting choking swingers,
Don't you think Virginia Joe laughs at you?
See how they smile like pigs in a sty,
See how they lied.
We’re not crying.
Phil pilfered, climbing up the Rikers Tower.
Elementary Golub singing hairless Dennis.
Man, you should have seen them kicking Peter Koo.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.
I am the crookman, they are the crookmen.
Phil is the walrus, koo koo g'joob.
That was brilliant!
Thank you.
And you're running? Yes? No? Who are you? Bart? John? Dennis? Eric? Vin? Seriously.... Step up or shut up.
Try addressing the facts stated.
Or are you a Morshed Alam, Dennis Gallagher and Haggerty supporter?
Thanks for that great Beatles parody!
You're a true poet!
Now that you've got our creative
juices flowing, can I add to it?
"Shitting in a New York garden waiting for the next son of a bitch to run".
In order to maintain a healthy republic, we need real political competition.
Both the Republican and Democratic parties have to offer well qualified candidates for the voters to choose from.
Unfortunately, in Queens,
we have a de-facto Democratic dictatorship running the borough.
Would you walk into your local market and tolerate only one brand of coffee to pick from the shelves?
That's bad business,
just like a one political party strangle hold is bad for America.
Enough said!
BTW,
I'm neither a registered
Democrat or Republican.
I cast my votes based solely on each candidate's merit, and I try to keep well informed.
I'm a Republican in New York State. I know that we are down two-to-one in enrollment. I know my team will not always "run the table," and am prepared for more than my share of electoral disappointment.
What burns me is people in leadership positions of the party so often doing things that damage the brand (to use the marketing term). We start from an ideological disadvantage, that means we have to be extra careful about not engaging in anything that is questionable or that we wouldn't openly speak of on the front page of the News or the Times. OK, I know "politics ain't bean bag," but don't do things that make impossible for your candidates to even get a hearing. The only thing that will give Republicans a chance is developing a bench of smart, pragmatic, young and middle-aged candidates with some experience of the world in the private sector.
Even if Republicans don't win at first downstate, at least you can get to a situation where you'll be listened to. This prepares the ground for subsequent elections. Well, perhaps easier said than done.
Ed Unneland
The problem is that everytime the republicans get into office they disapoint the electorate big time. They're one and only interest is special interest developer money and to hell with the regular guy. At least democrats like Avella go against the stream and oppose in public and by introducing legislation, the coruption taking place.
Looking at this story and reading it several times I can only say that it is a farce
There is a new wind in town run by corrupt individuals who are being driven by their hatred in trying to take out the useless queens GOP
The wind stinks of a diareah induced fart
I can't help but smell these individuals behind it
While I know some involved are good and decent people being misled
I also know that there is a serious problem brewing if these people are not stopped
Dragging Ragusa and Tabone thru the mud when there is no real investigation is a dirty evil thing to do
What's next
Quoting:
Littlewort posed a danger to Ragusa's tenure if she had won. She knows many folks and could rally a boatload of proxy votes in support of a rival candidate against Ragusa. Nonetheless, James refused to comply with their instruction and was fired ostensbily for it . I think she was fired for other reasons too- age, and the fact that could get someone else younger and compliant(and preferably without scruples)to do the dirty work.
End Quote
So wait, what?? James refused, Littlewort was on the ballot and Ragusa still won? So Littlewort was NOT in fact able to rally support and proxies to oust Ragusa. So this is pure nonsense.
Thanks. Your logic defies logic.
"So wait, what?? James refused, Littlewort was on the ballot and Ragusa still won? So Littlewort was NOT in fact able to rally support and proxies to oust Ragusa. So this is pure nonsense.
Thanks. Your logic defies logic."
I think my logic is ok. What part did you not understand, friend?
Read carefully what I wrote earlier on this thread:
IF (A BIG IF) Myrna Littlewort had been elected State committewoman in 2011, she would have instructed her ED captains to vote (by proxy) for the insurgent candidate against Phil Ragusa and his team in the September county election of that same year. The fact that she lost, did not change what allegedly happened behind the scenes. Ragusa did not have a crystal ball to foresee that Myrna was going to lose the election; he wanted to prevent a state committee primary election that could result in an insurgent committewoman winning and opposing his tenure. So, he orders Katherine James to remove Myrna from the ballot, which in good conscience, she could not have done without escaping prosecutorial scrutiny.
I merely point out that if the allegations in the NY Post are true, he and Vincent Tabone came out looking badly and unethical for trying to do something that could catch the eye of investigators.
I stand corrected :
Myrna Littlwort did WIN the state committee position of 35AD in 2011. This does not change the fact that the Queens GOP tried to prevent an election from taking place.
Be wary of closet republicans
How much money do the behind the scenes people stand to make with the removal of these two schmucks
Show me a shady Republican,
like Dennis Gallagher) who's a disappointment...
and I'll show you a crooked Democrat,
like Claire Shulman who's also a disappointment.
Most politicians
are constituent molesters.
Once they're elected,
they break their campaign promises and set out to screw you.
Yawn...
enough with the Avella flag waving, please.
Nobody singled out Tony
(or his political party) for criticism in this posting.
Ahhhhhh who mentioned Avella?
So is this how the spin begins? Mention an incumbent from another party that you dislike and try to make it seem as if his supporters are waked when in reality he or she never or barely came up?
Walrus whiskers and Tabone the gavone!
No wonder
the Republican party is sinking.
someone who has a social club on 58th Street where the Queens Republican Party meets should be in the mix. Michael Gallagher.
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