Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Cuomo suddenly thinks Lopez is shady

From the NY Post:

Assemblyman Vito Lopez bullied and cajoled eight little old ladies during an arm-twisting session aimed at getting them to back his candidate in a Brooklyn judicial race, a shocking audiotape obtained by The Post reveals.

"I'm not a fool or stupid, all right?" the Democrat railed at the elderly community leaders. "I can't always give and get smacked, give and get smacked . . . I am the political leader."

The May 2005 conversation, captured on a hidden recorder, not only exposes the 69-year-old Lopez's heavy-handed tactics in dealing with his core elderly supporters but also offers a rare glimpse into the backrooms of bare-knuckle Brooklyn politics where Lopez reigns.

"I've been around a long time," Lopez tells the women. "And the only thing that's worth credibility -- the only thing I have that's worth something -- is the politics. That's how I get the money."

Lopez called the hourlong meeting at his district office to get the women to support civil court judicial hopeful Richard Velasquez -- once a lawyer for the senior-center nonprofit empire Lopez founded -- in his race against lawyer Marty Needelman. The election was seen as a leadership test for Lopez, who was on the verge of becoming the Democratic Party boss for all of Brooklyn.

He explosively references this power play -- and the competition between Hispanics and Hasidim in the area over housing -- at one point blurting, "If no one respects my leadership, how do I fight the Hasidim?"


From the NY Post:

Assemblyman Vito Lopez claims he has nothing to do with the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, a sprawling social-service cash cow that has received at least $304 million in taxpayer funds over five years and is under investigation for fraud.

But Lopez's ties to the organization he founded as a young social worker in the 1970s still run deep:

* His girlfriend, Angela Battaglia, is the organization's No. 2 official, making $329,910 a year. His campaign treasurer, Christiana Fisher, is its executive director and has a $659,591 salary for working only 17½ hours per week.

* Lopez was personally paid $57,600 as a consultant in a single year by Ridgewood Bushwick.

* Lopez's Bushwick Democratic Club operates out of a grimy building on Wyckoff Avenue owned by one of Ridgewood Bushwick's three dozen subsidiaries, which claims on tax forms to operate the building to provide "respite services" for senior citizens.

* The thousands of constituents of Ridgewood Bushwick and its 2,000 employees form the core of Lopez's political machine in north Brooklyn.

* Former Ridgewood Bushwick employees, including Richard Velasquez and Pam Fisher, have become Brooklyn judges with Lopez's support.

* As an assemblyman, Lopez has steered at least $335,000 in member items to Ridgewood Bushwick since 2009.


From the Daily News:

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Sunday he is keeping a close eye on a secret city fraud investigation into Brooklyn Democratic boss Vito Lopez's nonprofit empire.

"We're now reviewing the investigation material," Cuomo, the Democratic nominee for governor, said at a campaign rally.

As first revealed by the Daily News last week, the investigation found evidence that Lopez's Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council made $340,000 in fraudulent claims to the city.

In addition, the report found it had incompetent management packed with Lopez cronies - including his longtime girlfriend - who were paid high six-figure salaries.


From the Daily News:

Democratic Party boss Vito Lopez has near total control over who serves on the bench in Brooklyn, handpicking judges with no oversight, an insider said Sunday.

"It's not Democratic in any way," said Matt Cowherd, president of the New Kings Democrats, a minority reform bloc opposed to Lopez's rule. "It's not even really a vote."

The process is murky and begins with the selection of approximately 180 judicial delegates elected by voters in the Democratic primary.

The delegates will gather tomorrow night for a closed-door meeting in which they will be given a slate of Supreme Court candidates to approve, all of whom have been selected by Lopez, Cowherd said.

Their choices will end up on the ballot in November. Since Brooklyn is overwhelmingly Democratic, these candidates are typically elected - and in many cases, they run unopposed.

The practice allows a party leader to consolidate political power by offering rewards to district leaders who support him.


From NBC:

In the history of New York City, going back to the Tweed Ring and further, the Espada and Lopez stories seem to fit right in. Power corrupts -- and the pattern of such misconduct endures generation after generation.

Only the faces change, not the desire to make a buck at the expense of the citizens of New York.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

It likes like Andrew Cuomo just discovered America. Cuomo has been kissing Vito's behind for years. You have to .
Coumo should recuse himself of any investigation & there should be a Special Prosecutor to look into Vito's issues.
There's also another issue here, in that Councilman Recchia, Chair of the Finance Committee in the NYC Council & his role ,if any ,with being Vito's lapdog in the Council & the way member item monies are distributed to the other City Council members & who getting our taxpayer monies.
The whole system stinks.

Anonymous said...

Give Palladino a shot . Could not get any worse. Time to clean house in Albany and the City. The people have the power not the politicians. Schume, Wiener,Adabo,Miller, and Hevesi vote them all out.

Anonymous said...

I love how all the chickens are coming home to roost. Don't vote for Cuomo. He's aligned with all the shady politicians. Take a chance and vote for Paladino. Things can't get any worse that they are. They can only improve. So tired of the same old people. I'm willing to make a change and give an outsider a chance. He's definitelyh colorful. If anything, Paladino will make you laugh. Let's see how long Cuomo can hide behind his daddy.

Anonymous said...

To Anon #3:

Who did you vote for in the 2000 and 2004 Presidential Elections?

Queens Crapper said...

Why would that matter when we are talking about the governor's race?

Anonymous said...

The line about Cuomo hiding behind his daddy. Who was the Republican's Presidential candidate in 2000 and 2004?

Anonymous said...

You think GWB, governor of a large state, hid behind his one-termer daddy and that somehow this has to do w/Andy Cuomo hiding behind his?

Anonymous said...

what are the facts concerning allegations that Andrew Cuomo,as former Bubba Clinton'sH.U.D. Secretary , was the instigator of the sub-prime loans to minorities who had no income,no assets,no jobs?

what did he do to pressure FREDDIE MAC AND FANNIE MAE to insure these financially stupid loans to persons who could not repay them?

God help us if he assumes the n.y.s. throne!!!!!

Anonymous said...

What did George W. Bush do before he was elected Governor of Texas that wasn't handed to him by his family?

neversleep said...

So the discussion here leads to the concept that we should vote for Cuomo because Bush got elected?

Uh, no thanks.

Anonymous said...

Just the opposite -- I'm not a huge fan of any candidate. All I'm saying is that the issue of parentage shouldn't be the issue. Vote for the best person because he is the best person. If you like Paladino or Lazio, rather than Cuomo, that's fine.

We've had a lot of children of elected officials running for office here and elsewhere over the years. Why start to disqualify people now because of that?

Anonymous said...

Just the opposite -- I'm not a huge fan of any candidate. All I'm saying is that the issue of parentage shouldn't be the issue. Vote for the best person because he is the best person. If you like Paladino or Lazio, rather than Cuomo, that's fine.

We've had a lot of children of elected officials running for office here and elsewhere over the years. Why start to disqualify people now because of that?