No surprise here: Trib endorsed only Multimedia candidates

From the New York World:

Months after the New York World first highlighted the practice, a pair of Queens community newspapers persisted in handing out endorsements to political candidates who are paying clients of the papers’ affiliated political consulting firm, a review of campaign filings reveals.

In 2013, in competitive primary and general electoral races, all candidates who hired the firm, Multi-Media Advertising, and spent more money than rivals on consulting services and ads in the Queens Tribune and PRESS of Southeast Queens received an endorsement in at least one of the two newspapers.

The endorsements did not disclose the business transactions to readers.

In all, the endorsed candidates and their outside supporters spent a total of more than $268,000 on Multi-Media during the 2013 election cycle. The largest sum came from Republican mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis, who paid Multi-Media $135,000 for consulting services, printing and postage for his campaign.

Five days before the primary, the Tribune’s editorial page endorsed Catsimatidis for the Republican mayoral primary: “Catsimatidis is an approachable billionaire,” it raved. “He loves people and he loves this City…he will bring into his administration bright people.” The other candidates on the Republican ballot, Joe Lhota and George McDonald, were not Multi-Media clients.

Catsimatidis was not available for comment.

The Tribune and PRESS of Southeast Queens endorsed candidates in 19 competitive races on the ballot in Queens. In all nine contests in which a Multi-Media client was in the running, the papers’ editorial pages endorsed the candidate who did the most business with Multi-Media and the publications. (If that candidate was defeated in the primary, the Tribune and the PRESS in some cases endorsed for the general election a candidate with smaller or no business ties with the firm.)

Among the Tribune’s endorsements was one for Reshma Saujani in the public advocate primary. Saujani spent $5,400 on ads in the Tribune and PRESS of Southeast Queens. Rival Daniel Squadron had spent $340 to have Multi-Media print his primary ballot petitions, but nothing on advertising with the paper.

When the World reported the connection between the papers and consultancy last year, the newspapers and the political consulting firm were both owned by Tribco LLC. They continue to share the same address in Whitestone, the Tribune’s website, the PRESS’ website, and a recent ad for Multi-Media show.

The Tribune and PRESS’ editor-in-chief, Steven Ferrari, declined to comment when reached over the phone and by email. Their publisher, Michael Nussbaum, who is also Multi-Media’s president, did not respond to an email and a phone call; The New York World visited the office but was told that Nussbaum was not available to meet.

It's all connected

From the New York World:

Most political candidates in Queens whose campaigns have done business with the political consultancy Multi-Media Advertising from 2009 through 2012 also received the endorsement of the company’s affiliated newspaper the Queens Tribune.

A New York World review of campaign finance records and endorsements found that of the 15 candidates who purchased services from Multi-Media in competitive races for amounts exceeding $1,000, 11 also received a public endorsement from the Tribune in that race.

Of the remaining four, two were sitting state senators who ran for re-election in 2010. That year, the paper — as a political statement against “enemies of reform” of the state’s redistricting process — made no endorsements of incumbents in state legislative races, even as its sister company printed literature at the behest of the two campaigns and carried out consulting for them.

The other two who did not receive endorsements found themselves facing off against other Multi-Media clients in the same races. In both cases, the paper’s nod went to the client who ended up spending more money — in one case, seven times as much as his opponent.

In all, since 2009 Multi-Media has collected $460,000 from the 11 candidates who received the Queens Tribune’s endorsement in the same races, and an additional $281,000 from the remaining four clients.

Both the Tribune and Multi-Media are properties of a company called Tribco LLC. In January, the company announced that the paper had been sold to PFH Media Group, an investment firm based in Washington, D.C, only to pull out a month later as the Department of Labor investigated payroll practices at another newspaper acquired by the investor.

Tribune editor Michael Schenkler and former publisher Michael Nussbaum declined to comment for this story, following repeated emails and phone calls.

Meng lies about her relationship with Multimedia

Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:55:30 -0700
From: centerwny@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Sexual exploitation of women in Queens
To: georgetheatheist@hotmail.com

Thank you for contacting me about the use of Grace Meng of the Multi=media company which is connected with the Queens Tribune.

If you have followed our Women's Center activities, you would know that we have had a campaign against the use of community newspapers for exploiting women and featuring ads that encourage prostitution.

I learned of the fact that Grace Meng is using this company through an editorial of the Queens Chronicle. Mark Weidler, the publisher, was the first one to cooperate with the Center's campaign to voluntary agree never to publish these ads!

I do not know if Grace Meng is aware of the connection with her campaign advisors and the Queens Tribune. I have left message for Assembly Meng today to talk to her in her district office. She is probably in Albany and it may take a day or two for me to reach her.

I respect Grace Meng and have heard her champion rights for women and I do not for a minute believe that she is aware of the connection. I do not want to harm her campaign and believe she has the right to be informed of the issues.

I appreciate your letter and your efforts. You can be of enormous help by sending your complaint to her. I can assure you that I will follow up. I am personally acquainted with all of the Democratic candidates for the Congressional seat. They all are very sensitive to the issue of sex trafficking and domestic violence and have concern for women's rights.

The issue needs to get public attention and we have to raise the public awareness of the exploitation of women for the sake of advertising dollars!

Let us see what her response will be. Thanks for your concern on this issue.

Ann Jawin
Center for the Women of New York (CWNY)
Queens Borough Hall
120-55 Queens Boulevard, Room 325
Kew Gardens, NY 11424
Phone 718 793 0672
Fax 718 793 0020
___________________________________________________

Subject: Fwd: Assemblywoman Meng & Sex-trafficking
From: gracemeng@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:08:04 -0400
To: georgetheatheist@hotmail.com

Multi media is not receiving any consulting fees from my campaign. They are printing some of our posters/fliers.

Thank you for inquiring.
Sent from my iPhone


___________________________________________________

What does that mean? Why exactly does Meng feel compelled to use Multimedia for her printing considering their seedy rep and connection to sex trafficking ads?

Let's recall the Queens Chronicle's March 29th editorial:

The Meng campaign just hired Multi-Media, the consulting firm the Tribune claims acts independently of the newspaper, even though it’s headed by the paper’s associate publisher, Michael Nussbaum.

So what does she get for hiring Multi-Media? Political advice, mailers and, just maybe, last week’s Tribune front page, which focused on Meng’s “making history” with her campaign (she’s Asian, you see), and relegated her competitors to inset-style photos.

And let's also revisit the first paragraph from a recent City and State article:

A spokesman for Assemblywoman Grace Meng’s congressional campaign confirmed this morning that its main campaign consultant, Michael Nussbaum, urged a Jewish state committeeman in Queens to run for the same congressional seat as Meng.

Why would someone who's "just a printer" be contacting other candidates and asking them to be vote splitters?

From City and State:

Assemblywoman Grace Meng unveiled her congressional campaign team today, which is notable as much for those involved as it is for those not.

Team Meng includes the following:

Multi-Media, Strategist and Consultant; Michael Nussbaum, executive vice president and associate publisher of the Queens Tribune, is the principle at Multi-Media. The Tribune was founded by Congressman Ackerman back in 1970.

GRACE MENG IS A TERRIBLE LIAR.

I threw in Jawin's "Grace must not know" response for comic relief. I could see how she could miss these ads in the Trib every week:


Why does this "women's group" have a boro hall office address unless they are an arm of the Queens Machine?

Open letter to Ann Jawin

Courtesy of GeorgetheAtheist's blog:

Dear Ms Jawin:

Next Saturday, April 28, 2012, your esteemed organization, the Center for the Women of New York will be honoring Assemblywoman Grace Meng at the Douglaston Manor with one of your "Women in Leadership" Awards. As you are well aware, Assemblywoman Meng has employed as a campaign consultant in her race for the United State House of Representatives, the Multi Media consulting firm headed by the long time Associate Publisher of the Queens Tribune, Michael Nussbaum. Multi Media shares the same premises with the Queens Tribune. As you are further aware, the Queens Tribune is notorious for having published and continuing to publish demeaning-to-women sex-trafficking classified ads in its back pages. How can your organization, a champion of women's rights, in good faith laud Ms Meng by presenting her an award when she is indirectly promoting this degradation of women through her affiliation with Multi Media? Your organization states that you are "Honoring women . . . who are committed to women's rights . . ." It makes absolutely no sense. Assemblywoman Meng's relationship to Multi Media is a commitment to women's rights? Is this a joke? Your public reply would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely, GeorgetheAtheist

Jeff Gottlieb thrown in race to split Jewish vote

From True News for Change NYC:

Former Brian McLaughlin, Alan Hevesi, David Weprin and Morton Povman staffer, Jeff Gottlieb, expected to enter the race for congress in the Meng district according to political consultant Jay Golub. Gottlieb will clearly split the Jewish vote with Lancman making county choice Grace Meng a walk in to win.

Jay Golub, who is a consultant for Jeff Gottlieb's congressional run to split the vote in the 6th, is president of GSP consultants. Golub GSP Consulting was paid $4,500 by the Ragusa faction of the Queens GOP against the Haggerty faction. Steven Graves was running in the 25AD for State Committee as part of the Ragusa faction in 2009. Also working for GSP is Dennis Gallager, who the NYP calls the "Perv pol." Gallagher, who stepped down in 2008 after pleading guilty to sexual-abuse charges stemming from accusations that he raped a woman in his Middle Village office, is listed on a city government database as an “additional lobbyist” with GSP Consulting. Gallagher, a Republican, confirmed that he does consulting work with Golub and that he’s done consulting for Councilman Peter Koo (R-Queens) but said he hasn’t done any work for Republicans in Queens “on a paid basis.” Michael Nussbaum, Meng's campaign consultant, also worked on the 2009 Peter Koo campaign. Golub also worked on the campaign for Issac Sasson. In both the Koo campaign and the Sasson campaign, Nussbaum's Multi Media company did the printing.

And speaking of Gallagher, guess who he was hanging out with on Easter eve?

None other than Council Member and GOP congressional candidate Dan Halloran! Dan was hosting karaoke at a Whitestone pub, and posted photos of the merriment on Facebook.




For some reason, the last photo was mysteriously deleted from the Councilman's page early on Easter Sunday. Too bad for them that I had already seen it and downloaded it.

Queens Dems & Queens GOP: it's just one big embarrassing hack orgy, isn't it?

Which brings us back to Gottlieb:

From City Hall:

He is currently an employee at the Board of Elections, a patronage position. And the Flushing resident has literally has come out of nowhere to run for Congress: He has no federal campaign account, no campaign website and waited several weeks into petitioning into order to begin.

In addition, Queens Democratic sources said that before Gottlieb entered the race, Meng backers attempted to recruit Matt Silverstein, a Democratic state committeeman who is also Jewish, to run for the congressional seat in order to split the Jewish vote.

Chronicle keeping tabs on the Trib

From the Queens Chronicle:

...we have to again take the Tribune to task for favoritism in its coverage of a race for public office, favoritism that likely has both politics and money behind it. Coincidentally, it’s again a race that involves Halloran, the winner of that 2009 contest and now a candidate for the Congressional seat that Rep. Gary Ackerman is giving up at the end of the year.

But this time it’s not Halloran the Tribune is showing bias against — at least not yet. Instead it’s Assemblyman Rory Lancman of Fresh Meadows and Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley of Middle Village. They’re the two Democrats vying for the congressional nomination against the party’s choice, Assemblywoman Grace Meng of Flushing. Whoever wins the primary will then face GOP designee Halloran.

The Meng campaign just hired Multi-Media, the consulting firm the Tribune claims acts independently of the newspaper, even though it’s headed by the paper’s associate publisher, Michael Nussbaum.

So what does she get for hiring Multi-Media? Political advice, mailers and, just maybe, last week’s Tribune front page, which focused on Meng’s “making history” with her campaign (she’s Asian, you see), and relegated her competitors to inset-style photos.

We hope the Tribune — a storied newspaper that does also produce quality journalism —will play it straight this time around and be fair to all the candidates. We’ll be watching for this, since we read the Trib, and most of our competition, on a regular basis. And if we find the paper is showing favoritism again, we’ll report on it.