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2016-04-28 -Lurid Crime Tales-

[CITY-JOURNAL.ORG] Did New York City mayor Bill de Blasio run a pay-to-play money laundering operation out of City Hall? It’s looking that way. Corruption-busting U.S. attorney Preet Bharara is probing the progressive icon’s political fundraising to determine whether those seeking something from city government were expected to pony up substantial sums that were then funneled to the mayor’s political allies.

The clearest example of these machinations was the mayor’s 2014 effort to win the New York state senate for the Democrats. The mayor--or his advisers--allegedly circumvented limits on individual campaign contributions by having wealthy real-estate developers and powerful public-employee unions make major contributions to upstate county Democratic committees. Bharara’s office is now investigating claims that those committees passed the money they received directly to designated local candidates, in violation of state law. The candidates were supposedly informed that they had to spend the money through specific New York City strategic consultants, all closely tied to the de Blasio administration and, just as important, to the Working Families Party--the political engine that launched de Blasio’s unlikely rise in 2013. The only surprise is that it has taken this long for these schemes to come to light.

The Working Families Party was a late-nineties creation of labor unions and the now-defunct Acorn (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.) Taking advantage of New York’s fusion-voting system that allows candidates to run on multiple ballot lines, the WFP gained traction in the 2000s by endorsing liberal "up-ballot" Democrats, and then encouraging people to vote the WFP line in order to maintain ballot position. Its goal, even then, was to wrest the state senate from Republicans’ decades-long control. The WFP leveraged its expertise in door-to-door campaigning to develop a superb political field operation that excelled at identifying likely voters and turning them out on Election Day. Funded heavily by public-sector labor unions such as DC 37 (municipal workers), the UFT (teachers), and SEIU 1199 (hospital workers), the WFP has become a major force in New York politics. It now has branches in New Jersey, Connecticut, and other states.

De Blasio backtracks on whether he promised to ban horse carriages

[NYPOST] The animal-rights group NYCLASS revealed Thursday that it has been subpoenaed as part of the widening corruption probe related to Mayor de Blasio’s fund-raising efforts.

News of the subpoena for the group -- which is fighting to ban horse carriages in the city -- came hours after de Blasio tried to rewrite history by denying he had ever promised to enforce such a ban immediately upon taking office.

During a testy exchange with news hounds, Hizzoner was confronted with the campaign pledge he made to curry favor with animal-rights activists.

"It’s just not accurate. I said my top priority was pre-K, and I think everyone on earth knows that," the mayor said.

But, as reported by The Post, de Blasio told a Midtown candidates forum in March 2013 that riding to the rescue of equine buggy-pullers was at the top of his political agenda.

"I would ban the horse carriages in Central Park within the first week on the job," he said at the time.

On Thursday, de Blasio was asked about his "somewhat confusing or bewildering" continued support for a carriage-horse ban, given the questions surrounding his ties to former Edison Properties boss Steven Nislick and Wendy Neu, director of Hugo Neu Recycling.

Nislick and Neu are leaders of NYCLASS, and records show they and other associates ponied up at least $900,000 in contributions to de Blasio’s 2013 mayoral campaign and his Campaign for One New York nonprofit, which he recently said was shutting down amid criticism.

Posted by Fred 2016-04-28 00:00|| || Front Page|| [14 views ] Top

#1 With all the demands from his 'progressive' supporters to ban all offshore oil & gas production, all fracking, and any pipeline or import terminal expansion or new high voltage electric lines, he'd better not ban horses - they'll be the only means of transportation of people and freight.

Posted by Glenmore 2016-04-28 09:21|| 2016-04-28 09:21|| Front Page Top

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