Who will be appointed to AG role?

This article mentions Letitia James and Michael Gianaris as possible Schneiderman replacements. Please take either one! We're not using them.

World's quickest takedown?

Click here for the explosive story.

Breaking News: 4 women are said to have accused New York’s attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, of assault. He had long cast himself as a champion of women. https://t.co/AvFzL5EVfH

— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 7, 2018

Bid riggers busted

From the Daily News:

Two men were charged with a bid-rigging scheme to fix construction prices at a luxe Brooklyn development, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Thursday.

Christopher Chierchio and Anthony Molohnic were arrested and charged with colluding to avoid competition on bids for plumbing, sprinkler, and heating and air conditioning at the new luxury condo building on Baltic Street.

Chierchio — a reputed Genovese mafia soldier — was also charged with tax fraud for evading $94,094 in personal income taxes since April 2016, and could face up to 19 years in prison, according to the attorney general’s office.

AG comes up with bogus reason for mall support

From the Queens Chronicle:

After the Chronicle mentioned that Schneiderman has received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from members of the Queens Development Group — a joint venture between Sterling Equities and the Related Companies — a Schneiderman spokesman, Doug Cohen, cited innocuous government interests as the real reason the Office of the Attorney General is involved.

“As the lawyer for the State, OAG is acting at the request of State [Department of Environmental Conservation] and the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, which identified State interests related to future environmental clean-ups, and the proper uses of parkland,” he said.

Where is Wills?

From the Queens Chronicle:

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman apparently has had it with the steady stream of delays coming from Councilman Ruben Wills (D-Jamaica) as the councilman moves closer to trial on corruption charges.

Wills was scheduled to appear before Queens Supreme Court Justice Ira Margulis on March 1. The councilman is accused of stealing about $33,000 from a nonprofit group that he ran.

Wills has repeatedly denied the charge, as well as one accusing him of redirecting $11,000 in campaign funds for personal use.

He did not appear, with multiple published reports saying his attorney, Steve Zissou, notified Margulis that he had forgotten to inform Wills of the date. Wills is said to be recovering from surgery in February for an unspecified ailment.

Margulis drafted but did not issue a bench warrant for Wills’ arrest. This past Monday, Wills’ attorney did show in court, and Wills’ next appearance was set for March 13.

But Schneiderman’s office said there were indications this week that Wills now is seeking to hire a new attorney.

AG Schneiderman lobbied on mall in park; submits court brief in favor

Dear Editor (Queens Chronicle):

(An open letter to state Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman)

For many years I and many other residents of Queens have fought to protect the integrity of Flushing Meadows Corona Park as an urban park. We successfully defeated an attempt to construct around Meadow Lake in the park a Grand Prix racetrack. We were not successful in opposing the usurpation of parkland for the USTA stadiums and their expansions. We made it clear we would oppose any attempt to place in the park a soccer or hockey stadium.

There is currently pending before the New York State Court of Appeals, our highest state court, litigation that seeks to prevent the construction of a 1.4 million-square-foot shopping mall on the parking lot adjacent to the Citi Field stadium, on the grounds the lot is on land that is part of FMCP and there can be no alienation of parkland without New York State legislative approval and the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure before the community boards whose areas touch upon the park. The developers claim that with regard to use of the Citi Field parking lot they have no obligation to seek legislative approval nor any requirement to engage in the ULURP process. While we lost our case in the lower court, our attorney, John Low-Beer, was successful before the Appellate Division First Department in having the lower court reversed and construction of the mall prohibited. The developers then appealed to the Court of Appeals.

We recently became apprised of the fact that you as attorney general of New York State have injected yourself into the litigation and are submitting an amicus curiae brief in support of the developers and their projected mega mall. We find your 11th-hour entry into this litigation indeed strange, given that at no time while the issue was being debated before the public was there any participation by you or your office. As the attorney general we expect you to be the defender of the public trust doctrine as it relates to parkland. We are certain you are familiar that in the past the AG office has invoked the public trust doctrine in the cases of Friends of Van Cortlandt Park v. City of New York and Capruso v. Village of Kings Point. We fail to understand how you differentiate a mega mall on parkland from the cited cases.

We do not know if your initiative was prompted by yourself or as the result of lobbying from the developers or at the behest of Gov. Cuomo, who in the past has sought to settle the pending litigation and permit a mall. In this connection, we think it relevant and important to take note of the fact that, according to the Board of Elections’ website, Sterling Equities, Sterling Mets LP, Related Companies, Stephen M. Ross, Kara Ross, Jeff T. Blau and Lisa Blau — all related in various ways with the developers of the mall project — have contributed to election campaigns of both you and Cuomo a total of $187,300 since 2010. That is a large amount, which raises serious questions regarding the obligation of both you and the governor to protect the interests of your constituents and not that of billionaire real estate moguls.

Benjamin M. Haber
Flushing

Malcolm Smith probe may not yet be over

From Lohud:

The FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office used an Orthodox Jewish radio program in an elaborate sting operation that helped the government convict Malcolm Smith and other New York politicians in a corruption scandal, a four-month investigation by The Journal News/lohud revealed.

It is unclear whether there are other targets, including New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who appeared on the show as a state senator prior to the 2010 election with Moses Stern, later revealed to be an FBI cooperator. Stern appeared twice on the show prior to election day using aliases, posing as both a political analyst and a resident from Brooklyn. He urged listeners to vote for Schneiderman.

Prosecutors disclosed little about the New York Jewish Communications Channel to defense lawyers for two people convicted in the sting operation. The show was hosted by longtime Orthodox radio personality Zev Brenner, who owns Talkline Communications Network, and registered with the state by Joseph Markowitz, whose name was linked to thousands in campaign donations to Schneiderman, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, and an illegal donation to Halloran. After the Smith arrests, Schneiderman pledged to donate the contributions from Markowitz and Markowitz's wife to charity.

The court case that no one is talking about

From the Queens Chronicle:

The position of embattled City Councilman Ruben Wills (D-Jamaica) became even more tenuous last week when his co-defendant in a corruption case brought by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman pleaded guilty to lesser charges, and accused the councilman of hatching an elaborate scheme to steal campaign funds for personal use.

Jelani Mills said under oath that he assisted Wills in an alleged plot to take $11,500 in campaign funds between June 2009 and April 2010. The agreement with Schneiderman’s office was signed one day after Mills allegedly skipped out on a court date.

It also let Mills avoid a prison sentence by allowing him to plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of second-degree falsifying business records, with four more serious charges from his original indictment dropped.

Mills was originally charged with one count of third-degree larceny and three counts of first-degree falsifying business records when they were arrested.

The agreement stipulates that Mills will be sentenced to one year of probation and 10 days of community service. He could have faced up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine for the one remaining charge.

Schneiderman’s office declined to comment on the agreement, and no sentencing date was yet available.

The state also alleges that some of the campaign money was directed to NY 4 Life, a nonprofit concern that Wills allegedly controlled.

AG slaps car dealerships

From NY1:

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is suing some car dealerships in Queens for allegedly illegally inflating car prices.

Wednesday, Schneiderman's office announced the lawsuit, which claims that several Koeppel dealerships throughout Queens, owned by the Koeppel family, illegally sold "after-sale" services, such as identity theft protection and credit repair, to more than 1,400 customers.

As a result, customers were overcharged without their knowledge, according to the state attorney general's office.

The suit claims that between Jan. 2013 and Nov. 2014, the dealerships collected more than a million dollars through the practices, costing some costumers up to $2,000.

Deed fraud is big business

From the NY Times:

A review by The New York Times of several dozen cases, and interviews with lawyers, prosecutors and others knowledgeable about fraudulent deed transfers, suggests they are accelerating even as officials struggle to address them. The city’s Department of Finance said it was investigating 120 cases, many of them hard to crack because of the role played by LLCs, officials said. Underscoring the rising alarm over the problem, the state attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, and the Brooklyn borough president, Eric L. Adams, held a forum last month to warn property owners about it.

Deed thieves often scan legal notices for mortgages in arrears, typically targeting properties like Ms. Campbell’s that are in poor repair or abandoned. Vulnerable homeowners — including older and disabled adults — are sometimes tricked into signing over their properties, while believing they are getting financial relief.

In other cases, signatures are simply forged on deeds. The thieves, meanwhile, hide behind inscrutable mazes of limited liability companies, rented post office boxes and fake addresses.

Protesters slam Schneiderman for phoniness

From the Daily News:

Anti-gentrification protesters tried to drown out state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman Wednesday in Brooklyn as he announced plans for an affordable housing development.

Demonstrators shouted “Affordable for who?” and “Stop gentrification!” as Schneiderman revealed plans for 3,740 new affordable rental units in New York State, including 2,500 in New York City.

He also said Citibank and the Bank of America will provide over $75 million in low-interest loans to developers of affordable housing.

The press conference occurred outside the Sunset Park Library on Fourth Ave., which is slated to for expansion with new affordable rental units on top.

But protesters charged the development was approved without consulting the local community and said it will take away their library for two years for construction.

1) Why is the attorney general announcing an affordable housing initiative? That's not what his role is.

2) Wow, 117 units for Queens? That will sure go a long way!

Shulman back to her old tricks again

Crain’s New York Business has an eye-opening article, reproduced below, questioning the propriety of Claire Shulman’s local development corporation (LDC) instigating the re-zoning of 60 acres of Flushing waterfront property, and the LDC hiring the NYC Department of City Planning as a subcontractor.

However, nowhere does Crain’s mention that this isn’t the first time that Shulman’s LDC has attempted to influence a re-zoning – and its prior attempt was deemed unlawful by the NYS Attorney General.

Crains 6-29-15

You wouldn’t know it from the Crain’s article, but Shulman’s LDC has already illegally attempted to influence the re-zoning of Willets Point property. Re-zoning is legislation, and all local development corporations are prohibited by law from attempting to influence legislation. After a 3-year investigation, NYS Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced in 2012 that Shulman’s LDC had “flouted the law” in the Willets Point re-zoning, and Shulman’s LDC signed a stipulation that it would never do it again. The NY Times reported that Shulman’s LDC admitted its illegal activity, as did the NY Daily News:

NYDN 7-3-12

Crain’s does not report that history, or mention AG Schneiderman's prior finding of illegality by the LDC – instead giving the mistaken impression that the LDC’s rezoning of Flushing waterfront property is an isolated case. But it isn’t. It’s the LDC’s second re-zoning attempt – after the first has already been deemed illegal.

If, as AG Schneiderman has already determined, it was unlawful for Shulman’s LDC to attempt to influence the re-zoning of Willets Point, then it must be no less unlawful for Shulman’s LDC to now attempt to influence the re-zoning of the Flushing waterfront.

All of which begs the question: If AG Schneiderman was satisfied in 2012 with a wrist-slap for Shulman’s LDC, what will he do now if he finds a repeat offense? As the saying goes: “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”

Slumlord busted for tenant harassment

From the Daily News:

A Brooklyn landlord has become the first person arrested under a new city-state campaign to go after property owners who threaten and harass rent-stabilized tenants, Mayor de Blasio and state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Wednesday.

Daniel Melamed, 39, was indicted on charges of unlawful eviction, child endangerment and filing false documents in harassment of rent-protected tenants at the Crown Heights building he owns.

The mayor and Schneiderman formed a task force to go after landlords who illegally force out rent-stabilized tenants so they can jack up the rent.

The charges involve a Melamed building on Union St. where he began illegal construction and demolition last year.

The indictment alleges he knocked down interior walls and destroyed common spaces, and illegally shut off heat to rent-stabilized tenants as temperatures plummeted in December.

He also exposed tenants -- including a 6-year-old -- to toxic lead paint dust. In some apartments the dust tested at 80 times above acceptable levels, the indictment alleges.

City Council plans to go after AirBnB

From CBS:

Landlords who illegally rent out their apartments as hotel rooms through services such as Airbnb would face tougher fines under a new City Council proposal.

The fine for a first-time offense would skyrocket from $1,000 to $10,000 and the maximum penalty would be $50,000, said City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal, D-Manhattan, who is co-sponsoring the legislation. Violators could also be fined an additional $2,000 per day for each day the original fine is not paid, WCBS 880’s Rich Lamb reported.
Rosenthal said the current $1,000 first-time fine does little to deter property owners.

“They treat it as the cost of doing business,” she said.

“We’re going to move to a system where there’s no financial incentive to behave as an illegal hotel operator. And that’s the goal of increasing the fines,” Rosenthal added.

In October, state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said nearly three-quarters of the New York City listings offered by Airbnb violate city or state laws. Some opponents have argued the service shrinks the city’s stock of affordable housing.

Schneiderman unveils anti-corruption plan

From the Daily News:

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman proposed an ethics reform agenda Monday to address what he called “a golden age of graft” among legislators.

Schneiderman called for barring lawmakers from making outside income, saying measures to force greater disclosure don’t go far enough.

Instead, Schneiderman would raise the current $79,500 base pay for lawmakers to between the $112,500 paid to New York City Council members and the $174,000 those in Congress receive.

He’d also do away with the flat $172 daily travel expense state lawmakers are paid. Instead, lawmakers would be reimbursed for expenses they actually incurred.

Hoping to stop “non-stop re-election fund-raising and campaigning,” Schneiderman pushed to change the state Constitution to make legislative terms four years, instead of the current two.

He’s also calling for campaign finance reform that would include the public financing of campaigns, “dramatically reduced” contribution limits and closing of loopholes that allow some donors to give basically unlimited amounts.

Crackdown on the greedy

From the Daily News:

City and state officials are set to launch a coordinated crackdown on greedy landlords accused of trying to harass tenants from their rent-stabilized apartments.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Mayor de Blasio will announce on Thursday an aggressive new effort to go after property owners who use illegal tactics to force out tenants paying lower rent.

The campaign comes in response to “a significant uptick in complaints regarding tenant harassment” — especially in gentrifying neighborhoods, officials said.

Schneiderman has opened 10 investigations into allegations of landlord harassment in the last year — triple what his office had done in any prior year, officials said. In the last 18 months alone, the AG has fielded more than 200 complaints of “systematic harassment” by landlords, mostly in Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx.

Wills indicted again

From Capital New York:

New York City councilman Ruben Wills has been indicted on five counts of filing false documents with the New York City Conflict of Interest Board, state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a release Tuesday.

Wills allegedly filed five different statements with the board between 2011 and 2013 that each failed to disclose “certain financial dealings,” Schneiderman’s office said in a statement.

If convicted, Wills would face between 16 months and four years in prison, the statement said.

Wills served as an aide to former state senator Shirley Huntley, who was arrested on corruption charges by Schneiderman in 2012, before joining the City Council in 2011.

This is the second set of charges Schneiderman’s office has brought against the councilman in less than a year.

Ambulette service ripped off Medicaid

From the Daily News:

A QUEENS-BASED transportation company will pay the state back $300,000 in a settlement related to Medicaid overcharges, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Monday.

Apple Transportation of New York, Inc. “frequently” billed Medicaid for ambulette services to transport mental health patients instead of for livery services, which has a lower reimbursement rate, Schneiderman’s office said.

The pricier ambulette services provide personal assistance to the patient, whereas livery service does not.

The improper billings took place between 2004 and 2008, officials said.

Schneiderman fines dirty developer

From the Queens Courier:

The developer of a Rego Park building was forced to pay a combined $100,000 in restitution and back wages after ignoring legal obligations for receiving tax benefits, according to Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

The state settled with Tuhsur Development, LLC after the firm violated mandates of the 421-a program, which offers tax incentives from the city when constructing buildings.

In exchange for benefits under 421-a, landlords and developers must add properties to the rent regulation system, and building workers must receive prevailing wages.

However, Tuhsur neglected to pay prevailing wages to workers at 63-36 99th St. in Rego Park. The firm was forced to pay nearly $10,000 in back wages to three building service workers and $90,000 in restitution to the city.

AirBnB laughing all the way to the bank

From the AM-NY:

Airbnb, the popular online platform for renting out couches and spare rooms, is earning tens of millions of dollars off illegal listings in New York City, the state attorney general said Thursday.

In a new report based on an examination of 35,354 short-term rentals on the site between January 2010 and June 2, 2014, attorney general’s office found that 72 percent of the listings flouted local laws, all the while helping Airbnb to earn nearly $40 million.

“Commercial users,” which controlled more than 10 different apartments, were also making a bonanza off Airbnb listings, earning some $59.4 million in revenue, the report said. The attorney general’s office also said “numerous units appear to serve as illegal hostels.”

“This report raises serious concerns about the proliferation of illegal hotels and the impact of Airbnb and sites like it on the city of New York,” Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement.

The report also found that Airbnb listings are concentrated in “gentrified neighborhoods” like Greenwich Village, SoHo and Chelsea, while less than three percent are found in Queens, the Bronx and Staten island.

A spokesman for Airbnb said in an email that the report’s conclusions relied on “incomplete and outdated information.”