Run Away Jury?
Jury meet for 5 1/2 hours no decision today
Jury mulls fate of Bloomberg campaign aide accused of swiping nearly $1.1M(NYP) * Deliberations Begin In John Haggerty Trial(NY1) * Jurors deliberating in trial of NYC operative(WSJ)
Trial Mike-roscope Haggerty jury hears 2 portraits (NYP) * As Trial Ends, Two Views of Bloomberg(WSJ) * Two Competing Theories in Bloomberg Consultant’s Trial(NYT)
Highlights of Close . . .
Bloomberg lost all control over the $1.1 million once he wired it into the housekeeping account of the state Independence Party, where it wouldn’t have to be reported until after the election, Vacco argued for Haggerty.
Bloomberg tossed huge stacks of personal cash -- more than $100 million -- into his 2009 race against Bill Thompson, Vacco told jurors, noting that according to her own testimony, First Deputy Mayor Patty Harris alone made $450,000 for three months work on the campaign.
And there was little accounting for spending. Former campaign manager Kevin Sheeky had testified that in the 2005 election, no one conducted a post-election audit of the mayor’s $800,000 spending on ballot security because, in Sheeky’s words, “Well, we won.”
The NYT and NYP Have Done No Stories About Bloomberg's Lies on the Witness Stand
Bloomberg Assailed in Trial's Closing Arguments (WSJ)* Mayor Bloomberg's 'lies' still the focus of John Haggerty's defense attorney(NYDN)
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4Cover Up of Independence Party Involvement in Haggerty Because of Term Limits Fix
Bloomberg Also Used the Independence Party to Fund the Term Limits Extension Without Finger Prints
Was the reason that Independence Party leader Frank Mackay not charged for collecting 100,000 in the Haggerty deal was the DA did not want to deal with the fire storm of the Term Limits pay off?
Independence Party Bloomberg Money Laundry
If the effort had been a formal political campaign, the mayor would have had to disclose what he paid to consultants and pollsters, and whether he paid for the lunches that were doled out to tight-lipped supporters who crammed a Council hearing. But the price of extending term limits has never been disclosed, because it was washed through the same state Independence Party bank account that is at the center of Haggerty’s trial. * James Rubin, who was forced out of his post as co-editor of the Bloomberg News opinion section, has found another “powerful patron” in Gov. Andrew Cuomo. RT @adamlisberg: Dave Seifman on NY1 calls state Independence Party a "shady little party."
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"It seems as if the only two people who have any say whatsoever in how IP money is spent are Frank MacKay and First Vice-Chairman Tom Connolly (currently on the staff of State Senator Carl Kruger, who is under Federal Criminal investigation fordeceptive campaign finance practices).It’s no wonder then that MacKay and Connolly so often believe that the best use of Independence Party funds is to pay themselves off." Morano wrote a letter to the BOE complaining how the IP - How IP expenditure decisions are made
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An Indy Party Fairy Tale at the Haggerty Trial Yesterday
Indy Party Vice Chair: Haggerty Chiseled Us Too (NYDN) * Connolly said he trusted Haggerty when he said the $1.1 million contributed to the Indy Party by the mayor and then given to the GOP consultant would actually be used for a ballot security operation.* Independence big $laps Haggerty (NYP) Manhattan prosecutors have frozen his party’s funds, but state Independence Party big Thomas Connolly still toed the DA’s line yesterday, telling jurors he would never have forwarded any of the mayor’s $1.1 million campaign donation to John Haggerty if he’d known the accused thieving consultant would use it to buy a house. Independence Party Vice Chairman Tom Connolly admitted he backdated a contract between the Indys and consultant John Haggerty to provide ballot security in 2009 using $1.1 million worth of Bloomberg’s cash. The party kept 1,000,000 of the Bloomberg money was it a payoff for acting as Haggerty bag man?
Connelly just wrote these checks to Haggerty all by himself and didn't get the approval of party chairman Frank Mackay......give me a break.....and Sheeky didn't tell him that the money was for Haggerty.......give me a double break.....and the rules about housekeeping miney not being for candidates are confusing.......give me a triple break...they all are in this together and Mackay is hiding under his wife's skirt. Prosecutors have successfully sued the Independence Party to freeze the unspent portion of Bloomberg’s donation, arguing that the party knew or should have known about Haggerty’s scam. Indy Party chief in jam over wife loan * Haggerty Contract Is Said Backdated(WSJ) * Bloomberg Haggerty Trial Connelly Testimony A Joke Like CityTime Simple Math! by Suzannah Troy Artist* Independence Party Vice Chairman Says He Trusted Allegedly Crooked Bloomberg Campaign Aide
Radio Personality Frank Frank Morano Quit the Independence Party and Attack the Way It Spent Money?
"It seems as if the only two people who have any say whatsoever in how IP money is spent are Frank MacKay and First Vice-Chairman Tom Connolly (currently on the staff of State Senator Carl Kruger, who is under Federal Criminal investigation fordeceptive campaign finance practices).It’s no wonder then that MacKay and Connolly so often believe that the best use of Independence Party funds is to pay themselves off." Morano wrote a letter to the BOE complaining how the IP - How IP expenditure decisions are made
- Where the money goes
- Use of campaign accounts for housekeeping purposes Ex-Independence Party Officer Frank Morano Files Scathing Elections Complaint(NYDN) * Indy Party Vice Chair: Haggerty Chiseled Us Too (NYDN) * Connolly said he trusted Haggerty when he said the $1.1 million contributed to the Indy Party by the mayor and then given to the GOP consultant would actually be used for a ballot security operation.
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4Is Someone Trying to Stop Ray Kelly for Mayor 2013?
Lawsuit Seeks Release of Police Commissioner’s Schedule(NYT) * Suit Seeks Release of Police Commissioner's Schedule(WSJ) * The New York Civil Liberties Union says police departments across New York state use Tasers far too often, for too long at a time, and without proper training, the (TU) * James Cheesman, hero NYPD cop who famously collared fugitive, dies(NYDN)
Mayor Has No Mojo
Poll Finds Some Believe Mayor Has Lost Focus(NYT)
A new Quinnipiac University poll finds 52 percent of New York City voters say Mayor Michael Bloomberg has lost his focus in his third term, and his approval rating has slumped to 47 percent again. NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly has a 66 percent approval rating and would lead the mayoral pack for 2013 * A new Q poll finds 52 percent of NYC voters think Bloomberg has lost his focus during his third term, and his approval rating has dropped back into the mid-40s after a brief post-Irene surge.* Poll: Bloomberg Popularity Sags(NYO) * Mayor Bloomberg's Third-Term Blahs?(NYDN) * Bloomberg Has 'Lost Focus', Ray Kelly Leads In Mayor Race (Huff Post) * He Recently Gave Views to Bloomberg, but Now Is a Cuomo Appointee(NYT)
Pepper Cop Fined 10 Vacation Days Pay
Pepper cop stung with loss of days (NYP) * Revealed: The Officer Behind the Skinny Tie(NYP) * Commander Who Pepper-Sprayed Protesters Faces Disciplinary Charge(NYT) * Pepper-Spray Use by Police Is Faulted(WSJ) * Police Officer Who Used Pepper Spray On Protesters To Lose 10 Vacation Days(NY1)
Revealed: The Officer Behind the Skinny Tie(NYT) * “Hipster cop,” Detective Rick Lee, who eschews coffee and doughnuts and wears skinny jeans, has become one of the NYPD’s main liaisons with the protestors.
Eating Like Millionaires
Protest mob is enjoying rich diet(NYP) * Favored pizzeria making big dough(NYP)
Protecting Millionaires
Economic Protesters Sour Award Ceremony For Governor Cuomo(NY1) * The Post fears the Occupy Wall Street movement will embolden union attempts to extend the "millionaire's tax," which it says will drive rich people out of New York * Feminist author Naomi Wolf was taken into custody by police at an anti-corporate greed protest outside last night’s “Game Changer of the Year” award ceremony at which Cuomo was honored.
Star power at Occupy Wall Street (NY Metro) * Weather Journal: A Very Wet Test for Wall Street Protesters(WSJ) * Quinn Says City Must Find Balance in Response to Protests(NYT) * Occupy Wall Street has been a boon for private security firms that provide “executive protection, as the “guard-the-rich” industry is known. * REBNY President Steve Spinola says his group plans to request a zoning change to allow public/private plaza built under a 1961 rule to close at 1 a.m. * The Zuccotti Park protest has now raised someaccounting problems.
Jesse Jackson Sukkot
Councilman Brad Lander on his Facebook, noting that it captured him as he celebrated Sukkot last night at Occupy Wall Street, joined by a certain Rev. Jesse Jackson. * Sleep is in short supply at the protest.
Feminist Naomi Wolf writes about her arrest “standing on a sidewalk in evening dress, obeying the law” outside an event at which Gov. Andrew Cuomo received an award.
Occupy Wall Street Now Has Enough Money To Weather Winter(Huff Post) * Occupy Wall Street Reality Show?(Fox 5)* Occupy Wall Street sets sights on Lincoln Center(WABC) * Holding Out at Zuccotti Park Is a 44-Year-Old Tradition(NYT) * At Occupy Wall Street, the Sanitation Crew Fights Cigarette Butts and Apathy (Village Voice) * Former Assemblyman Richard Brodsky has been spending time at Zuccotti Park. Might he return to politics? “What’s the point? I am having a good time. I am doing something important.”
Ed Koch Does Not Love John Liu
Former Mayor Ed Koch continued his war of words against the city comptroller yesterday, saying, "John Liu is the pits." The former mayor was referring to the recent New York Times investigation of phantom donors to Liu's campaign, which he said warranted a Campaign Finance Board investigation. "He's in trouble, as he should be," Koch said. Liu has vowed to return any donations that were not aboveboard, but maintains his campaign has personal checks to back up every reported donation.
This is not the first time Liu and Koch have crossed swords: Liu criticized the renaming of the Queensboro Bridge after Koch, based on comments the former mayor made in the early '80s that Liu deemed racist toward Asians. Koch replied that Liu should be "denounced" for supporting the naming of a street after Sonny Carson, also been accused of being racist. A spokesman for Liu did not return a request for comment.
DOE Whacked for Trying to Whack UFT and Teachers . . . The NYC school system’s top lobbyist reprimanded
An investigation found that the top lobbyist for the NYC's school system improperly enlisted staffers to rally parents behind Bloomberg's aggressive effort to end teacher seniority rules
DOE big ‘outed’ in lobby effort(NYP) * Inquiry Faults City’s Insertion of Political View in Parents’ Petition Over School Cuts(NYT) * Schools Lobbyist Reprimanded(WSJ)
Bar teachers from grading their own students
Newsday says the Board of Regents plan to bar teachers from grading their own students' standardized tests is a first step toward stopping cheating, but should require the tests to be scored by computers * The Black Hole of School Fraud(NBC)
City Public School Officials Paint Dire Picture For More Than 50K Homeless Students
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Feds use Small Fish Pols to Catch Big Fish Pols . . . NYC' DAs Use Containment to Protect the Pols
He's one of the most powerful federal prosecutors in the land, but Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara confessed last night he still doesn't know why big shots turn to crime. "Why ... did defendants of great wealth and renown ... go south?" he wondered at a Fordham Law School panel on "Absence of Malice," the 1981 film in which Sally Field's reporter and Paul Newman's accused criminal navigate journalistic ethics and prosecutorial misconduct.
Bharara said his office patiently builds big cases by starting with smaller fish and working their way up: "We say, 'You're in a lot of trouble. Before we go to court, you might want to make a few phone calls.' Some people find that unseemly because there's a utilitarian aspect to it." He also said Wilford Brimley's prosecutor character seemed so competent in the movie, Bharara was ready to hire him.
Guaranteed Election Soviet Style
Queens DA Richard Brown will turn 79 five days after his all but certain re-election next month.
Mike sneers at FDNY monitor(NYP)
Cuomo today announced that he has recommended Patrick J. Foye to serve as Executive Director of the Port Authority of NY And NJ
Cop pensions stay undercover: court(NYP)
Cuomo revokes layoffs of shrinks who keep sex predators off streets(NYDN) The state Office of Mental Health quietly reversed its plan to lay off three of the 12 psychiatric examiners who determine whether sex offenders can be kept in prison after their sentences end
State Tax Collection Goes South
* DiNapoli: "If these trends continue, the state may need to adjust its revenue projections downward." * Halfway through fiscal year, @NYSComptroller reports that tax collections have grown $400M less than anticipated.
Goldman’s $428 Million Loss Is Bad Omen for Wall Street(NYT)
GOP Slug Fest in Las Vagas . . . Cooper Egged Them On
Mitt and Perry go toe to toe in debate(NYP) * A Fierce Clash for Romney and Perry in G.O.P. Debate(NYT) * Gloves Come Off During Heated GOP Debate(WSJ) * GOP contenders beat each other up, but make no compelling case against Obama
WATCH: Romney, Perry get nasty during GOP presidential debate(NYDN) * Mitt Romney And Rick Perry Get Into Illegal Immigration Slapfight * Candidates Deliver Icy Response To Occupy Wall Street At GOP Debate * Quick Take on the Republican Debate: Winners and Losers (ABC) * Debate Rivals Hit Romney's Credibility, Record - Lucy Madison, CBS News * Republican Fight Night in Vegas - David Brody, CBN News * After Sharp Debate, Campaign Shifts Focus - Dan Balz, Washington Post * The RomneyCare Bout - Jeffrey Anderson, Weekly Standard *Romney Steals Spotlight From Cain (The Daily Beast) * Best Moments From the GOP Debate (Video) * Perry Finally Shows Up - Byron York, Washington Examiner * Cain's Stimulating 9-9-9 Tax Reform - Arthur Laffer, Wall Street Journal * NBC News/Marist: Cain Leads in South Carolina, Romney in Florida * Bernanke Becomes a GOP Target - Torres & Rowley, BusinessWeek
Young Tree Buckling Sidewalks?
As City Plants Trees, Some Say a Million Are Too Many(NYT) * Bloomberg's plan to plant 1 million trees in New York City has created some unwanted side effects, as tree roots buckle sidewalks and city crews take longer to prune them * 
Midler's baubles to be auctioned for charity(NYDN)
MTA Swipes Show Subway Trends A year's worth of data analyzed by The Wall Street Journal shows how people move around the city, and how a 7.5% fare increase changed habits. (WSJ) * MTA Card Usage(WSJ)
A weekly protest outside Indian Point and the political battle over the plant’s closure drew the attention of NPR.
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Mosque Developer Fake Finance Receipts . . . Switching . . . Wants to Build Hotel or Offices at the Site
Developer Sharif El-Gamal of the proposed Park51 Islamic cultural center in lower Manhattan now says he is exploring commercial uses such as condominiums, a hotel or offices there, the Wall Street Journal* Ground Zero Mosque honcho provides doctored receipts for tax payments(NYDN) El-Gamal created a fake Finance Department receipt to convince reporters he paid $30,000 in back taxes on the property two weeks ago, but in fact paid it only after a query yesterday from the Daily New
Belmont: Immigrants Vs. Unemployed American Workers
Banned immigrant workers at Belmont open door to employing New Yorkers(NYDN Ed) The Daily News says New York Racing Association horse racing tracks need to improve their workers' meager pay and miserable conditions to attract New Yorkers to do those jobs
Axed eateries’ Coney ‘come back’(NYP) Ousted-eatery invite
NY1 Exclusive: Evicted Coney Island Businesses Get New Lease(NY1) * Breathe Easy, Coney Island’s Seedy Icons to Live on! (NYO)
In Queens, Neglected Sector Attracts Big Developers(NYT)
Good Samaritan takes down sex fiend & purse-snatcher who attacked woman(NYDN)
Cops arrest second man in connection with B'klyn groping incidents(NYP) * Second Suspect Charged in Sex-Attack Pattern(NYT) * Groping Suspect Arrested(WSJ) * Man suspected of being Queens bike-riding groper is busted(NYDN) * Brooklyn groping suspect caught with his pants down - literally - by cops(NYDN) * Police Make Second Arrest In String Of Brooklyn Sex Assaults(NY1) * Police Question Possible Suspect In Queens Sexual Assault String(NY1)* Charges Dropped Against Man Suspected in Brooklyn Assault(NYC)
‘Flat’ fee in cop assist(NYP) The Bronx cop at the center of the massive ticket-fixing probe is being investigated for receiving stolen electronics -- including a flat-screen TV -- in exchange for taking care of summonses
Ed. Dept. sharpens job ax for hubby slayer(NYP)
Law and Order
‘Bungler’ asst. DA demoted(NYP) * Officer Guilty in a Strange Hunt for Treasure(NYT)
2 Arraigned on Murder(WSJ) * NYC case reclassified as homicide(WSJ) * Mom of suspect caught on video beating McD's customers defends son(NYDN) * 'Operation Flat Rate': NYPD arrest 37 in gambling ring(NYDN) * Dad held his two kids hostage, surrenders to cops after 4 hr. standoff(NYDN) * Burglars Say The Town Inspired Their Crime Spree(Huff Post) * Suspects charged in splash-and-dash burglaries(WABC)* Felonies up 6 percent in NY commuter train system(WABC)* Another arrest made in string of gropings in Brooklyn(WABC) * Tow truck driver reportedly admits stealing a car parked(SI Advance) * Doctor Accused of Supplying Drugs to Criminals for Street Sale (NBC) * Man Charged In Cab Driver's Violent Attack(NY1)
Murdoch Family Values
Infighting Clouds Future of News Corp.(NYT)
Citigroup in $285 Million Settlement for S.E.C. Charges(NYT)
SenatorSanders Bernie Sanders (Twitter) The Fed provided $16 billion to GE while Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO of GE, served as a director on the board of the New York Fed. 