The New York Post by BRENDAN SCOTT - January 6, 2010
ALBANY, NY -- Legislators who moonlight for fat-cat law firms, such as top Dems Sheldon Silver and John Sampson, would be forced to make their client lists public under an ethics-reform package unveiled yesterday by Gov. Paterson. The governor's proposal would, for the first time, require the state's 212 "part-time" lawmakers to detail all outside business relationships, including those who perform legal work on the side. The plan comes two days after The Post revealed that Sampson, the Senate Democratic leader, recently joined a Manhattan personal-injury law firm with ties to the powerful trial lawyers lobby. Silver, the Assembly speaker, also has an oft-criticized side job as "of counsel" to a top law firm. Paterson's ethics bill, which he plans to highlight in his State of the State Address today, rejects arguments that disclosing more about those relationships would violate attorney-client privilege. "The general rule would be that clients would have to be disclosed," said Paterson's chief counsel, Peter Kiernan. "Just as when you get in court, it's all a matter of public record. We're just making it public somewhat earlier." While lawyer-legislators don't have to reveal their clients, private businessmen serving in the Legislature must disclose with whom they do business if they are receiving checks directly from those clients. However, a businessman could incorporate as a "consulting firm," for instance, in order to hide his clients, who make payments to the firm and not directly to the lawmaker.
A 2008 study by the New York Law Journal found 39 members of the 150-seat Assembly and 19 members of the 62-seat Senate have law degrees. The sweeping legislation also would throw out the current ethics monitoring system and create a new commission to investigate everything from campaign-finance scofflaws to violations of open meetings law. It contained two proposals similar to reforms advocated by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo: Giving the AG authority to probe corruption cases and creating a board to oversee the state's pension fund. The bill would also strip pensions from public officials who have been convicted of a felony. Lawmakers said the plan was unrealistic and faulted Paterson for not taking part in recent ethics talks. "If the governor is going to continue down this path, he's going to go down it alone," said one Senate Democrat. Lawmakers have been scrambling to come up with an ethics deal since former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's federal corruption conviction last month. Bruno had taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees from companies with interests before the state -- but would not have been required to reveal his clients had he been a lawyer. Proposals backed by Silver and Sampson would require lawmakers to provide greater detail about outside earnings, but would exempt lawyers -- the job held by the vast majority of legislators with outside work -- from detailing clients. The governor's plan would allow the new ethics board to shield the names of clients in circumstances where disclosure might jeopardize their safety or right to fair representation. Additional reporting by Fredric U. Dicker - brendan.scott@nypost.com
Posts
27 comments:
I hope Patterson is the one who starts a real clean-up of the widespread corruption. ALL OF THE CORRUPTION !!!!!!!!!! (probably his only chance of showing all New Yorkers that he is a true leader)
wow, knock em DEAD DAVID!
Pummel them Paterson!
Please also include a tree of all the employees in the Friends and Family Plan of the Senators.
Please also include all complaints against lawyers, judges, public officials to be made public with complaintants consent.
Please also include all friends in the IDA & Empire Zone welfare program. Please include their politicial contributions.
(Harris Beach, Webster Szanyi)
Please include 1099 from lawyers
to clients and a yearly signature that they have not committed a fraud or felony.
Do we really need money for more lawn trash sign? Why isn't air time and Election Edition given to our candidates?
We do not have any money left, why are we giving money to crooks to run our gov't into the ground.
The same money could be spent to produce product in our country and state.
Hey Sampson,
take the money and lots of it, then help Paterson and show us what white trash some of us have evolved to.
Oh well this sounds great begin with Bernadette E. Lupinetti, Esq. in Goshen. She must have made a bundle fixing cases in Orange County, who knows she could be making more with her business of enabling the sexual exploitation of children as a law guardian. Wishes do come true, I hope Paterson makes mine come true.
Don't use Corey J Hogan & Associates they have a long history of committing felonies.
Don't use Corey J Hogan & Associates they have a long history of committing felonies, and once a lawyer commits a felony the rest just continue the felonies to protect the first.
Saint Andrew, Patron Saint of crooked Lawyers and Judges, appeals to Paterson to not go down a path which would swell the legions of crooked lawyers which Saint Andrew protects. Saint Andrew implores Paterson to not allow the bright light of disclosure to whither the income of his flock.
Terrific idea, what took so long? Too many lawyers in ALbany. Being a lawyer should be a bar to being an elected official. Take the money away from them and they will find another way to steal!
While maybe a good start, this initiative by Governor Paterson "appears" to be Fundamentally Flawed as the Ethics problems in NY are not "just" with the legislators and Lawyers.
there appears in print anyhow to be no discussion of Judicial Ethics, Judicial Disclosures, stronger provisions for Prosecutors, and Overhaul of the Commission on Judicial Conduct and Appellate Division Attorney Discipline Committees and without those elements in the Mix the plan is flawed and misses fundamental areas to address.
maybe these areas of the System are addressed in the proposed Bill but if so, have not seen it yet or seen it discussed in print so if these areas are addressed, then apologies to the Governor's proposal althought it is a good start.
if these areas of Judicial and Prosecutorial and Judicial Conduct and Appellate Division problems have not been addressed then it creates a whole bunch of questions since even former Gov Spitzer publicly acknowledged the Judiciary as the last bastion of political patronage in the system to be dismantled as of Press Statements in early 2007 appearing in the NY Times and Times Union but despite all the efforts of this Blog and others Gov Paterson has not appeared to even ACKNOWLEDGE the need for Fundamental OCA and Court Reform publicly as of yet anyhow
hudson valley region
Funny you should mention Corey 'HO"gan,as he was best man at my wedding and my ex-husband's best friend in HIGH school.
My ex worked for him as a CPA, when I attempted to take him back to court for college support money. The judge... O'Donnell, who I have never met, but find very abusive and Pateson recently reaped praise upon him..was not the judge who heard my divorce, as that judge retired, but was given the case to adjudicate.
I was never allowed to testify to anything in my origianl summary, and O'D onnell took the basic divorce decree and changed it all so he could rule against me.. as my atty at that time was stunned and never saw this happen before.
I ws a 28 yr court clerk at that time...but O'Donnell who worked with the judge I had removed was spitting angily while my atty discussed a further date formy testimony. O'D onnell said NO to any other date and then ruled against me illegally per the divorce decree...on guess what... the traditional suspect and crooked summary judgment, utilized in the 8th for their secretive corruption!
I sought the administrative judge at that time and before I really knew her...TOWNSEND'S.... opinion on this faulty ruling..which she took and kept for a few months...but gave it back after I went to the union to address my concerns of several years of retaliation by the women that I worked with relative to the judge removal,that went unaddressed for years! Townsend and O'Donnell worked together in family court with the judge that I had removed....as you can now see the corruption brewing.
My sources...which are always very excellent informed me that COREY paid the judge money... in SOMEWAY.... to throw the case! MY ex dumped his friend and job, soon afterward, as he never paid one cent for my child' education.
COREY HOGAN IS SCUM. His old gambling days in law school taught him the seedy side of life....and I won't reveal what his live in girlfriends confided in me, about the real COREY.
Can it be that Patterson actually gets it?
He has nothing to gain and everything to lose by playing by the old rule book. It is clear that Cuomo has all those plays covered and Patterson is on the losing end.
Patterson can only win both in public opinion and possibly the election, if he overhauls all the corruption in this state.
They lawyers have a stranglehold on the citizens of this state.
I hope Patterson takes this opportunity to begin to make real change in this state.
thank you for the info on Corey Hogan, you slimball Corey, the lawyers with knowledge that
Corey's Office committed felonies and altered my medical history and files you have to tell the truth or your names are next...........
Flynn, Viti, Wojtaszek!
you bunch of disguting lying bastards!
call his wife about the girlfriend
his neighbors, his employees, tell them all about Corey........
return the favor!
how do you like it Corey, except one thing we tell the truth!
what did your ex do, threaten to tell his wife or maybe IRS issues or what a slime ball he is, so Corey paid the judge!
see Townsend only was did was she was told to do, that was her downfall, hope she turns them all in!
reveal what his girlfriends told you! we want to expose, the system has failed us and these slimballs will be named!
What's going on with the Federal Corruption Indictments in Westchester?
What happened to the impeachment of Nicolai?
Wasn't Scarpino supposed to be indicted?
These two should be at the top of the list and there is plenty of evidence against them that is publically available, yet noting seems to be being done.
What gives?
is that why I was subjected to witch hunts, your disgusting Corey J Hogan & Associates and I proved you were lying........
where are the FEDS?
I wonder what happened to those indictments also, hopefully they are busy working on them and other indictments..........
they have to be indicted or they will teach each other how to do it.........same greed that has destroyed our country........
called the Seven Deadly Sins......
Henry friends also include
Bishof & Schiffmacher
I wonder why they falsified those bill of particulars, subjected me to witch hunts?
I wonder if Henry Wojtaszek knows who my psychotic stalker is since his wife works for the DA who tried to falsely and selectively prosecute me.......
what is the common denominator?
they are doing it as a show to get votes . This will come out before the elections.
They will not prosecute themselves.
Paterson has been in office for months he could have done something before.
they are doing it as a show to get votes . This will come out before the elections.
They will not prosecute themselves.
Paterson has been in office for months he could have done something before.
I think Paterson realized Ethics Reform must come first or they will continue to act like children at the ice cream store trying to get another scoop and for free...
they must be held accountable
they must have term limits-called the Napolean effect
they must disclose all income & disbursements
do you really think the entire subjects he covered were just for show, why did Skelos respond and now state the issue is the Budget, diverting attention from Ethics,
you see it is exact same thing,
do the opposite
say the opposite
of your opponent........
do not honor their requests, that is some of the Republicans way, that how they keep chaos and unaccountability!
Hey Georgie, your peeps are out
"Do Not Honor their requests, do the opposite"
and "make sure it cost them and cost them and cost them"
utilized in the 8th for their secretive corruption!
those are utilized to make the paperwork believe you weren't subjected to a witch hunt, if the paperwork doesn't state the way they want it, they just change it!
Georgie, we know, we will be returning the favor!
see Cuomo, you don't properly investigate and wars start and we have only just begun on they
they who will get me,
bite me they!
Post a Comment