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Tag: Eliot Spitzer
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NY’s top ethics officer accused of ethical breach
The fallout from Eliot Spitzer’s short but contentious reign as governor of New York state continues.
This week, Joseph Fisch, the state’s inspector general, charged the state’s top ethics watchdog, Herbert Teitelbaum, with acting unethically.
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The charges came in a 174-page report (not counting appendices) that gives a detailed sense of the power of personal, professional and political connections in Albany.
The report also recalls a scandal that erupted just a few months after Spitzer took office in January 2007.
At first, the controversy focused on Republican Joseph L. Bruno, the then leader of the state Senate and a Spitzer opponent.
Allegedly, Bruno had been using state aircraft to fly to political events, a violation of law.
Rather quickly, the scandal did an about-face when it was reported that members of Spitzer’s staff had used state police to gather the damaging information on Bruno.
The use of the police for political purposes violated the law and the scandal got a label, Troopergate.
The Commission on Public Integrity launched an investigation, an investigation that posed a threat, if not to Spitzer, then to members of his inner circle.
Fisch, the inspector general, claimed in a report issued Wednesday that Teitelbaum compromised the investigation by leaking confidential information to Robert Hermann, then the director of Spitzer’s Officer of Governmental Reform and a member of Spitzer’s cabinet.
Hermann then passed information to Lloyd Constantine of Spitzer’s staff on several occasions, the report alleges. Hermann had once been Constantine’s supervisor in the state attorney general’s office.
Hermann also supposedly talked once about the investigation with Peter Pope, Spitzer’s director of policy.
Fisch also charges that the commission did not act properly when it was told of Teitelbaum’s conversations with Hermann.
Both Teitelbaum and Hermann have denied that they did anything wrong, and Teitelbaum has resisted the calls for his resignation.
Gov. David A. Paterson, Spitzer’s successor, has asked his seven appointees to the 13-member commission to resign. They, so far, have refused to step aside, just as they have refused to fire Teitelbaum.
Teitelbaum and Hermann, both Spitzer appointees and Spitzer supporters, had known early for years before they came to be officials in Albany.
As Fisch’s report explains, they first met when Hermann was at the law firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
Hermann interviewed Teitelbaum for an associate’s position with the firm, a position that he took.
However, Hermann had left the firm by the time Teitelbaum began work. (Eliot Spitzer would later be a lawyer with Skadden, Arps.)
Later in their careers, Teitelbaum and Hermann worked together at Teitelbaum, Hiller, Rodman, Paden & Hibsher, P.C., another law firm.
They had also served at different times as the legal counsel for the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund.
Paterson was Spitzer’s lieutenant governor at the time of the Troopergate episode, and he was not swept up in the investigation.
However, he has a link to the latest news. In naming Fish inspector general last year, Paterson had returned a favor.
In 1982, Fisch, the chief assistant district attorney in Queens, hired Paterson, who was fresh out of law school.
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‘Hillaryland’ is reborn at the State DepartmentMay 18, 2009 at 6:58am
Hillary Rodham Clinton may have reinvented herself (again) as Secretary of State, but she hasn’t exactly started with a blank slate.
Socialite Marylou Whitney makes grand gesture – at Eliot Spitzer’s expense
Eliot Spitzer got another lesson in political humility from one of New York’s wealthiest and most-connected society mavens this week.
The disgraced former governor of New York was recalled – or more accurately, mocked – at Saratoga Racetrack, when a pair of colts named “Luv Gov” and “Ninth Client,” made their debut at the races. The colts’ owners are Marylou Whitney, the so-called Queen of Saratoga, and her third husband, John Hendrickson.
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Click to activate the interactive map (requires Java)MAP HINTS: Click expands a name. Control+Click centers map on a name. Solid lines are current relations. Dotted lines are former relations. For advanced tools choose Tools > Options from the menu at top. More help. Not seeing the maps? Please go here to check for the latest version of Java.“We just wanted to have a horse named after a big part of New York history,” Hendrickson told the Albany Times-Union. “Don’t you think a dead heat with Skipadate and Ninth Client is a classic?”
Ouch.
“Luv Gov” was part of the headline splashed across the cover of the New York Daily News after Spitzer was caught on a federal wiretap arranging a visit with a high-priced prostitute. The wiretap captured the voice of a man identified in court papers as Client 9, arranging to have a prostitute travel from New York to Washington to meet him. After Spitzer was identified as Client 9, the governor was engulfed in a political furor, and resigned a few days later.
So why would would an 82-year-old socialite, famous for her philanthropy and her parties, seek to rub Spitzer’s face in that?
Whitney, as it turns out, had a history with the former governor. The grand dame of racing had been the honorary chairwoman of Empire Racing Associates, a consortium of companies bidding to take over the racing franchise in New York State from the not-for-profit New York Racing Association. Whitney was a powerful advocate of the take-over, arguing that a for-profit company would “protect Saratoga’s historic traditions and put horse racing first.”
Spitzer, however, nixed the deal, suggesting antitrust and other concerns involving Empire’s partners, Magna Entertainment and Churchill Downs.
If that wasn’t enough, Whitney was reportedly outraged by Spitzer’s efforts to sink the fortunes of her longtime friend, Joseph Bruno, until recently, the leader of the state Senate and a longtime advocate of horse racing.
When news broke that Spitzer’s aides had tracked Bruno’s use of state aircraft for personal travel, and then leaked their findings to the press, Whitney told the New York Times, “It made me very unhappy.”
The Times described her reaction this way: “Squinting ever so slightly, vowels stiffening, she added: ‘I stand by him. We all do.’”
When Bruno resigned last month, Whitney broke down during an interview with an Albany television station. She described him as a longtime advocate of horse racing, as well as of Saratoga County, which he had represented for more than three decades.
Whitney first came to Saratoga 50 years ago, on the arm of her late husband, Cornelius Vanderbilt “Sonny” Whitney, the scion of both the Vanderbilt and Whitney fortunes. When he died at 93 in 1992, he reportedly left his widow $100 million.
She has used that money, among other things, to carry on her late husband’s passion for horse breeding and racing., as well as for Saratoga Springs. Her colt Birdstone, a product of Marylou Whitney Stables in Lexington, Ky., defeated Smarty Jones in the 2004 Belmont Stakes.
The socialite famous for grand gestures – arriving at charity balls by balloon, in carriages shaped like pumpkins, or towed by horses disguised as unicorns – has also given millions of dollars to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the national museum of dance in Saratoga, Saratoga Hospital, and a thoroughbred retirement fund.
About 10 years ago, she married Hendrickson, a former aide to Gov. Walter J. Hickel of Alaska. Hendrickson, who is 39 years her junior, has run many of her business affairs, among other things, negotiating the sale of a large tract of Whitney family property in the Adirondacks to the state of New York for a hefty price.
Whitney remains active despite suffering a stroke in 2006, hosting her traditional opening day luncheon in Saratoga’s Carousel Restaurant late last month.
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Ousted Sierra leaders tie suspension to Clorox criticism
At the very least, the timing raises questions: The biggest environmental group in the U.S. expelled 27 leaders of its Florida chapter shortly after the state committee accused the Sierra Club’s national directors of betraying their principles to endorse a “green” cleaning line by the Clorox Company.
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Willett noted another state chapter, Massachusetts, had also criticized the Sierra Club’s decision to endorse the new biodegradable cleaning line, “and no action has been taken against them, and there won’t be. That’s not how the Sierra Club works.”
First announced in January, the unprecedented partnership between the Sierra Club and Clorox has been hailed by supporters as a way to promote a green marketplace, and denounced by critics as a sell-out to a company most closely associated with Clorox Bleach. Under the deal, the Sierra Club gets an undisclosed percentage of profits from the sale of the new line, marketed under the name Green Works, in exchange for the use of its logo.
At least some ousted activists don’t buy the assertion that their suspension is unrelated to their criticism. Joy Towles Ezell, former chairwoman of the Florida chapter, told the Guardian that the same weekend in January that the chapter passed a measure condemning the deal, they were told of their impending removal.
She said that the new Clorox products should be named “Money Works” or “Toxic Works.”
“Clorox is the bad guy to me,” Ezell said. “. . .You sell your soul when you get involved with something like that.”
Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope admits he was skeptical when first approached by Clorox. But after reviewing the ingredients of the cleaners, most of which are plant products, and contemplating Clorox’s market reach, he decided to take the gamble.
“One of the reasons green home cleaning products haven’t achieved much market penetration is if they came from an environmental brand, people had the sense they won’t work … And if it came from someone with a cleaning reputation the reaction was: They can’t be green.”
Green Works may be an even bigger gamble for Clorox’s new CEO Donald Knauss, who came from Cola Cola in 2006, and who has pushed the company to launch its first new product line in 20 years. Knauss has identified sustainability as one of three core consumer trends with which he wanted to align Clorox products, and hired “green” consultants, who led him to the Sierra Club.
Green consultant Joel Makower, who worked on the project, calls the launch a watershed:
It’s an intriguing moment. Green Works enters the marketplace with a near perfect storm of market conditions: growing mainstream consumer demand for green products that don’t require compromise or sacrifice; significant interest from Wal-Mart and other big retailers in pushing greener products to the masses; a product that seems competitive with the leading green brands; and endorsement from Big Green.
Naysayers, however, predict the endorsement will undermine the credibility of the environmental group, noting that a month before the deal was signed, Clorox was fined $95,000 by the Environmental Protection Agency for donating a mislabeled Chinese version of Clorox bleach to a Los Angeles charity.
“The Sierra Club has become little more than another corporate front group,”
said Tim Hermach of Native Forest Council in Eugene, Oregon in a piece in Corporate Crime Reporter.Hermach had special animus for the group’s executive director: “Carl Pope has sold out the Sierra Club’s mission of saving nature and now seems proud of his role as an obsequious and professional Uriah Heep. As a result, Sierra Club is getting lots of corporate appreciation, cash and favors.”
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Will MTV audience care who rocked the cradle?
MTV’s Rock the Cradle has kicked off its debut season, but does the average MTV reality show fan even care about these celebuspawn?
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MTV’s website describes the premise of the show, “Yeah, we’re searching for the next superstar, but this isn’t your average, every day singing competition. We’re shining the spotlight on children of rock stars to see who has what it takes to step out of the parental shadow and fulfill their DNA destiny. ‘Cause, really, isn’t everything better when celebrities are involved?”
But really, how many typical MTV viewers even know the music that made the parents of these contestants famous? Aside from seeing episodes of Being Bobby Brown on Bravo and reruns of the movie Grease on cable, it’s likely that “Hammer time,” would be nothing more than a legend for today’s teens, MTV’s target audience.
The contestants of Rock the Cradle sing each week, and the one with the highest score from the judges is safe from elimination. The rest have to depend on viewer support to keep them from being kicked off the show.
The show is judged by Britney Spears’ former manager Larry Rudolph, choreographer Jamie King, and celebrity stylist June Ambrose.
After the first episode, which aired last week, Lucy Walsh, daughter of The Eagles’ Joe Walsh, received the highest score, which isn’t too surprising. She’s the only contestant who already has a record deal, with Island Records.
Rock the Cradle may get some success if the contestants can hold audience attention without relying on famous parents. It’s pretty certain that the fans of Kenny Loggins, The Doobie Brothers and Olivia Newton-John aren’t tuning in to MTV regularly.
Rock the Cradle airs on MTV on Thursday at 10 p.m.
This post is tagged with: Al. B Sure!, Being Bobby Brown, Bobby Brown, Britney Spears, Eddie Money, Island Records, Jamie King, Joe Walsh, June Ambrose, Kenny Loggins, Larry Rudolph, Lucy Walsh, MC Hammer, MTV, Olivia Newton-John, Rock the Cradle, The Doobie Brothers, The Eagles, Twisted SisterRead related stories: Entertainment · Music · Television
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Cayne, Macklowe keep their condos at The Plaza
Another way the rich are different: They don’t have to pay mortgages.
A case in point: Days before Bear Stearns chairman James Cayne suffered a dizzying $900-million loss in wealth as a result of the fire sale of Bear Stearns, he purchased two apartments in the storied Plaza for a cool $28 million.
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The 1907 landmark, famous as the home of children’s book heroine Eloise, recently reopened as a mix of luxury condos and hotel units. The development boasts a Who’s Who of corporate chieftains, including New England Patriots boss Robert K. Kraft, Staples Chief Executive Ronald Sargent, Italian racing mogul Flavio Briatore and Dave Barger, chief executive of JetBlue.
Like Cayne, several have been socked by recent gyrations in the real estate and financial markets. Real-estate mogul Harry Macklowe, who spent $60 million last year to buy up a string of adjacent apartments, is facing a mountain of debt himself as a result of a $7 billion, seven-building buy last year. To stave off cash-hungry creditors, he has been trying to unload the iconic General Motors building, and the office tower at 1301 Avenue of the Americas. So far, though, he’s shown no sign of giving up his dream of a palace on the park.
Italian businessman Luigi Zunino, meanwhile, is trying to flip the third-floor apartment which he is in contract to buy, according to the Wall Street Journal. Zunino is the CEO of a Milan-based real estate company that lost three-quarters of its value in the last year. While most condos in The Plaza have been selling for between $4,000 and $6,000 per square foot, Zunino is valuing his apartment at $10,000 per square foot.
If he gets his $100-million asking price, it would set a record for residential real estate in Manhattan. If not, maybe he can start a support group for onetime Masters of the Universe in the Oak Room.
This post is tagged with: Business, Dave Barger, Flavio Briatore, James Cayne, Robert Kraft, Ronald Sargent, The Plaza, WealthRead related stories: Business · Wealth
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