Liu's $800 Army of Maids, Janitors and Truck Drivers
Almost $30,000 of city Comptroller John Liu’s donations for 2013 came in $800 chunks from maids, truck drivers and janitors connected to budget hotel magnate Sam Chang, the Post says: Kitchen confidential Bizarre Liu cash from hotel bizman’s staff * NYC Comptroller John Liu insists he was “deceived” by a fundraiser charged with using straw donors to circumvent contribution limits, but the identification of a yet unnamed conspirator in the case could prove that assertion wrong.
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The Liu Mysteries . . . Act II
Who Conspired to Commit Fraud With Mr. Pan? Who Were the Two Liu Campaign Staffers Who Knew About the FBI Agent Event?
A Conspirator Is Unnamed in Funds Case (WSJ) Tucked among federal charges filed last week against a fund-raiser for Comptroller John Liu was an unanswered question: If Xing Wu Pan conspired to commit fraud, with whom did he conspire?
Mr. Pan told the undercover agent, "Here's the thing, only [Mr. Liu] knows it's your event," the complaint alleges. Mr. Pan also told two campaign staffers that the fund-raiser was the agent's "event." Those statements raise questions about what Mr. Liu and his aides knew about the alleged fraud. . . Asked how he interpreted Mr. Pan's comment that the fund-raising event belonged to the uncover FBI agent, Mr. Liu replied, "Your questions are predicated on things that aren't established." * The long delay between the Liu associate indicting on conspiracy and his admission of guilt leads one former prosecutor to say that ”This is their opening salvo. They are indicating they have a lot more here. It’s just Act One.”
Bloomberg tells CNN: whatever lawmakers promised constituents, only 1 way 2 fix deficit: more $ & less spending
Bloomberg Blasts Obama, Congress Over Deficit Deal Standstill(NY1) * A damning indictment(NYP Ed)
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5 OWS Take On CUNY Tuition Hikes
Occupy Wall Street Protesters Take On CUNY Tuition Hikes(NY1) * CUNY Students Protesting Tuition Increase Clash With Police(NYT) * New Protests Over Tuition(WSJ) * 15 arrested in standoff at Baruch College(NYDN) * Over a dozen cuffed in tuition protest(NYP) * Lunch crowd back at the Zu (NYP) *
Knives Out: Politicians Blast Bloomberg’s Zuccotti Eviction; Occupy Enters New Phase (NYO) * After an Eviction, Digging Through a Surplus of Donations (NYT) * Marchers With ‘Occupy the Highway’ To Reach DC After 240-Mile Trek From NYC(WCBS) * Michael Moore: UC Davis Pepper Spray Incident ‘Resonates’ With The World Like Tiananmen Square* Albany County DA David Soares kept his word and refused to prosecute any of the Albany Occupiers who appeared in court yesterday. * Occupy Wall Street protester sues city (NYDN) *Lobbying Firm Memo To Advise Wall Street Clients On Occupy Movement (VIDEO)* Hecklers apparently connected to the Occupy Wall Street movement disrupted President Obama’s speech in New Hampshire.
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Michael Powell has a devastating look at the NYPD’s crackdown on journalists. (NYT) Reporters Meet the Fists of the Law * Media organizations sent letters to the NYPD yesterday complaining of the treatment. * Veteran cop reporter Len Levitt, scourge of the NYPD: “The police want to accredit as few reporters as possible, and they make it exceedingly hard for nonmainstream reporters to get press passes.” (Levitt is trying to renew his pass; the process isn’t going so well).
Unions, Labor Advocates Sound Off Before City Council Hearing On Living Wages(NY1) * Living wage bill to get day in committee.(NYDN) * VOTERS WANT A MAYOR WHO BACKS LIVING WAGE (CHN)
New hit vs. Seabrook Revealed
Nonprofit Assistant May Need To Take Stand Again In Larry Seabrook Trial(NY1) * Pol shook down own kin: feds (NYP) * NYC Councilman Larry Seabrook’s mistress is prepared to testify against him, saying he shook her down for thousands of dollars in kickbacks after arranging consulting jobs for her.
Terrorism suspect Jose Pimentel tried to circumcise himself, the NYT reports, and the FBI considered him so unstable and incompetent that it feared bringing a case using an informant would raise entrapment issues
The Daily News says the FBI blew it by declining to pursue a terrorism probe against Jose Pimentel, and praises the NYPD for tracking him for two years while building a case
Informer’s Role in N.Y. Terror Case Worried F.B.I.(NYT)* NYPD, FBI Split on Terror Suspect(WSJ) * FBI passed on terror plotter TWICE before NYPD finally busted him(NYDN) * The FBI also believed Pimentel was mentally unstable and had doubts about his ability to carry out a terror plot on his own.
Hunting lone wolves alone(NYDN Ed) * ‘Surprised’ terror-plot suspect to cops: Just ticket me!(NYP) * Yet another close call(NYP Ed) * ‘Lone Wolf’ Terror Suspect Pimentel Got High With NYPD Informant, Tried To Circumcise Himself (TPM) * The informant’s role is said to be the main reason the FBI did not pursue this case. But NYPD spokesman Paul Browne accused “anonymous” sources of leaking false information about the case to undermine it.
New York union leaders are working with Gov. Andrew Cuomo on a plan to use public pension funds to pay for critical infrastructure such as replacing the Tappan Zee Bridge, the Wall Street Journal reports:* Admit Claims of Major Pension Gains Tied To New Board Are Dicey(Chief) * The state pension fund has lost some ground as a result of the sluggish economy, but still remains “strong,” according to state Comptroller Tom Dinapoli.
In Brooklyn and the Bronx Its A Depression
Brooklyn, The Bronx Lead NYC In Unemployment(NYDN)
9 Of 10 Most Taxed Neighborhoods In USA Are In New York City Metropolitan Area(Huff Post)
Tales from the Sausage Factory
NY1 Online: An Inside Look At State Legislature(NY1) *The state’s highest court rejected the so-called “pork lawsuit,” but Judge Robert S. Smith, in dissenting, took the opportunity to vent his frustration on Albany.
Most Popular State Senators on Facebook
“Like” the New York State Senate? The chamber is keeping track of how popular its members are on Facebook. In its monthly web analytics report, the Senate lists members with Facebook pages and counts their fans. Who's the most popular? Buffalo Sen. Mark Grisanti, with 7,797 fans. Second prize for popularity goes to Sen. George Maziarz, with 2,620 fans, followed by David Carlucci with 2,170, Jose Peralta with 2,005, and Eric Adams with 1,905. Grisanti’s online popularity shot up after his vote for gay marriage, said spokesman Doug Curella. “I think before the marriage vote we were at about 2,000,” Curella said. “But a lot of it came after UB2020 with a lot of college students here locally, and the same-sex marriage vote helped with the increase.” Maziarz credited his daughters for keeping his Facebook page updated: “I would be less than honest if I didn’t tell you that my kids help me with it.”
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman told the Times Union that Cuomo has rebuffed his office’s efforts to get expanded jurisdiction over public corruption, but Cuomo’s camp denies it ever happened * Tensions escalate between AG Eric Schneiderman and Cuomo. The AG reportedly sought more power in public corruption cases – the exact same thing Cuomo wanted as AG – but was rebuffed. * A.M. Roundup: Schneiderman rebuffed by Cuomo(TU) * Cuomo And More Power For AG, A Gray Area(YNN)
ShellySilver Fake Sheldon Silver (Twitter) A Puerto Rican pothole manages to do what Pataki, Spitzer, Bruno and Skelos never could. 
The automatic federal spending cuts supposedly triggered by the supercommittee’s failure will cost NY $5 billion over the next 10 years, Cuomo said. * The governor convened an emergency meeting of his financial advisors to discuss the fallout of the supercommittee’s impasse. He asked them to come up with an expedited job creation and fiscal stabilization plan.
Good government groups haven’t yet given up their push for an independent redistricting panel.* Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has floated a redistricting compromise. Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto declined comment.
A look at some of the 200 waivers the Conflict of Interests Board grants to city workers, including permitting Ray Kelly to work as a limousine driver and Cathie Black to receive an engraved silver tray from I.B.M.
At least 13 Long Island students are expected to turn themselves in this morning in connection with the expanding Nassau County SAT cheating scandal. * 13 More Arrested in SAT Cheating Scandal (NBC)
Central Park Leash Policy Questioned(WSJ)
Low-Tax Cigarettes, Made in Store, Draw City Lawsuit(NYT)
Romney Previews First Television Ad(NYT) * Romney to bash Obama in first TV ad(NYD)* Here to stay? Newt Gingrich to put momentum to test in debate(NYDN) * GOP primary poll: Newt Gingrich strong, smart and lacking in character (Politico) * Gingrich 26, Romney 22, Cain 14, Perry 6, Paul 6 in latest @quinnipiacpoll. Obama 45 Romney 44, Obama 49 Gingrich 40.* Not a pander: Mitt Romney named New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte as a possible VP. * President Has Racked Up Foreign Policy Victories - Donna Brazile, CNN * Gingrich: A Font of Loony Ideas - Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post * Why Mitt Romney Is Like Harriet Miers - Erick Erickson, Red State * The GOP Is Still Marginalizing Blacks - DeWayne Wickham, USA Today * How Obama Can Get to 270 Electoral Votes - Michael Tomasky, Daily Beast * Newt Gingrich, the Comeback Kid - John Farmer, New Jersey Star-Ledger * Newt 2.0 Still Has Faults of Newt 1.0 - Martin Frost, Politico * Why Obama Still Matters - Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Beast
Networks walk a tightrope over crowded debates(WSJ) * Headed into tonight’s debate, a new poll puts Newt Gingrich out front. Herman Cain has dropped to third place.
Police: Suspect Wanted In Bed-Stuy Attempted Sex Assault Strikes Again(WCBS)
Four Charged In Brooklyn With Sex Trafficking Of Young Girls(NY1) * Four charged in teen prostitution ring (NYDN) * ‘Sex-trafficking’ raps(NYP)
