Results tagged “darrendopp”

Yesterday, over 8,500 pages of documents detailing Albany DA David Soares's investigation into former Governor Spitzer's campaign to smear former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno were released yesterday--at a price. Lohud.com's Joseph Spector writes that the country clerk offered a $90 CD to the public and press that contained four boxes worth of information:

I’m just starting to go through it, and it’s an absolute mess. Every page is it’s own pdf file and not even scrollable or searchable. So it appears every page is its own file, making it that much more difficult to review. None of the files are titled, there’s no index...

Continue reading "Albany DA Offers Troopergate Docs for $90"

The State Commission on Public Integrity found that four Spitzer administrations officials broke the law as they tried to smear Spitzer's rival, former State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. However there were no charges for former Governor Spitzer.

Long before Kristen and Hookergate, former Governor Eliot Spitzer was embroiled in Troopergate, a spectacularly misguided attempt to smear his rival, State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, with state police records. Now, the Spitzer aide most identified with the scandal is trying to set the record straight, but the state ethics panel apparently isn't having any of that.

Albany County District Attorney David Soares released a second report saying that former Governor Eliot Spitzer did, according to an aide's testimony, tell his aides to release state travel records about his Republican rival in a smear attempt. This report reverses Soares' September report, which concluded Spitzer's aides broke no laws.

Just as news settles that former Governor Eliot Spitzer was personally involved in trying to bring down rival State Senator Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, the Albany DA's office probably won't prosecute anyone in the Troopergate mess.

Former Governor Eliot Spitzer was deeply involved with the plot to smear rival State Senator Joseph Bruno to the point of being so mad he would spit his coffee, according to NY Times sources.

Today, Governor Spitzer is giving his second State of the State Address. Which makes us recall last year's State of the State.

Troopergate was initially about Gov. Spitzer or his aides using State Police to effectually spy on Spitzer's primary political foe in Albany, Joseph Bruno. (The two also don't appear to like each other on a personal level.) The Governor's communications director Darren Dopp was suspended in the course of the investigation and has since left state employ for a job with an Albany lobbying firm.

Governor Spitzer may have been proud of not doing things the usual Albany way at the beginning of his term, but in the wake of Troopergate and other missteps, he's apparently desperate for support. So desperate that he's turned to lobbyists.

Albany county attorney general P. David Soares is taking another stab at the Troopergate scandal by issuing subpoenas for Gov. Spitzer's e-mails to and from his aides, as well as e-mails between aides. Troopergate centered around accusations that Spitzer and/or his top aides used state police to essentially spy on Spitzer's primary foe in Albany--state senate leader Joseph Bruno. The first Troopergate investigation resulted in the resignation of Spitzer's communications director Darren Dopp. The broad subpoena recently delivered to the Spitzer administration seeks public and private e-mails that may show the Governor pressured Dopp to perjure himself during a sworn statement.

Troopergate is the story that just keeps giving! Yesterday, we found out that Darren Dopp, former aide for Governor Spitzer accused of leaking information to smear Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, probably won't face perjury but there's question as to whether a sworn statement he gave is actually a sworn statement since it doesn't have the language "I swear to the truth of this statement." Now it turns out that Dopp called Attorney General Andrew Cuomo "an animal"!

While Governor Spitzer has been trying to get back to business, the Senate Investigations Committee and Albany County DA's office have been busy deciding what to do with Spitzer's from communications director Darren Dopp. Dopp resigned after he at least co-devised a plan to smear Spitzer's rival Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno over the summer. The NY Times reports the Albany County DA's office is not going to charge Dopp with perjury - yet. Dopp's...

Well if it's not the driver's license issue that's plaguing Governor Spitzer, it's Troopergate and its fallout. Spitzer's former communications director Darren Dopp (pictured), who was faulted for at least co-devising a plan to smear Spitzer rival State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, may have perjured himself during an investigation and now the Albany County DA's office has opened an inquiry. Back in July, Dopp gave a sworn written statement to Attorney General Cuomo. But...

State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver made a public plea to Gov. Eliot Spitzer to cool down his feud with State Senate Leader Joseph Bruno. The so-called Troopergate scandal began when the Governor allegedly sicced State Police on Bruno to monitor his business travel practices. In the aftermath, Spitzer lost some of his long-time aides when he claimed he knew nothing about the surveillance and they resigned. Darren Dopp recently was hired as a lobbyist after losing his job.

Darren Dopp, Governor Spitzer's communications director who was suspended after it was discovered he and other aides were plotting against a Spitzer rival (the State Senate majority leader), may be leaving state government for the warmer shores of...political lobbying. Dopp allegedly accepted a job at Patricia Lynch Associates, which was formed at a former aide of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, according to its website, occupies "the number two spot among all lobbying firms in New York State."

Governor Spitzer's communications director Darren Dopp has come full circle. The aide, criticized for trying to dig up dirt on Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno by way of the State Police's records on Bruno's travel, had originally said he'd comply with the investigation and offer up his e-mail correspondence. But, after being served with a subpoena from the Ethics Commission, Dopp's lawyer Terrence Kindlon said his client would fight it. Now, Kindlon tells the press, "I could not insist that he resist the subpoena."

Darren Dopp, Governor Spitzer's communications director who was faulted for at least co-devising a plan to smear State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno by way of State Police records, is planning on fighting a subpoena from the State Ethics Commission. The subpoena, which asks for Dopp's email that relates to the scandal (beginning January 1, 2007, Spitzer's first day, until a few days ago), is described as "very broad" by Dopp's lawyer Terrence Kindlon who told the NY Times, "It asks for a lot of information that isn’t really mine to give, including correspondence with ink-stained wretches [as in reporters!]. Prudence dictates that we ask a court to look at this and determine what is being legitimately requested.”

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck at 186th St. and Amsterdam in Manhattan, a child was struck and killed by a car on 130th Ave. and Springfield Blvd. in Queens, and a pedestrian was struck by a Bobcat (motorized work vehicle) on Monroe St. and Catherine Slip in Manhattan.
• Ironic Sans examines the new animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and finds specific references to it taking place in NYC, but a very unspecific skyline of unrecognizable buildings.
• A candid admission at the blog dailyheights.com and advice that is is a terrible idea and dangerous to wander off the subway late at night while completely intoxicated.
• Sprint has hired Samsung to install a fourth-generation level of wireless Internet known as Wi-Max in NYC by the end of 2008.
• Republican Presidential aspirant Mitt Romney is presenting NYC to the rest of the country as a paradigm of the ills of illegal immigration. Bloomberg News columnist Amity Shlaes contends that he is badly mistaken.
• A pair of NYC sanitation workers sprinted across three lanes of traffic on the Van Wyck Expressway after witnessing an accident last summer, and then kicked through a car's sunroof to pull a woman and an infant from the overturned vehicle, which was smoking and leaking gasoline.
• Gov. Spitzer's aide Darren Dopp will take some vacation time before returning to work, but his suspension has been lifted following his participation in a scandal to embarrass Majority Leader Joe Bruno with the help of State Police.
• Police are looking for a pair of men who pose as plumbers in Manhattan while burgling the apartments of elderly women.

Governor Spitzer's ethics woes went to the national stage yesterday when the Today show ran a segment (see it here) about the mess that included the on-screen caption "Spitzer Scandal." Sure, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office did not find any law-breaking by Spitzer's aides, just dirty tricks-ing by way of using the state police to discredit Spitzer's main Albany rival, State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.

We were skimming 1010WINS when we saw this headline Spitzer Energy Adviser Resigns Amid Threat Investigation. What? An energy adviser was involved in the plot to discredit State Senator Joseph Bruno? But actually it's something nuttier:

Energy adviser Steven Mitnick confirms that he has resigned from his position in the Spitzer administration.

Continue reading "All the Governor's Men"

State Ethics Commission, long time no see! It's been about eight months since you found State Comptroller Alan Hevesi had violated state law, and now you're back on the radar with an investigation into Governor Spitzer's administration's conduct regarding use of the state police to track State Senate Majority Joseph Bruno.

Governor Eliot Spitzer's "ChopperGate" has more of a stink today: It turns out that two of his senior aides refused to speak with the Attorney General's office during the investigation. While the investigation ultimately found that Spitzer aides didn't technically break the law when they were trying to use State Police records to discredit State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, it makes it hard to believe Spitzer's assertion that his aides had cooperated fully with the AG's office.

After Attorney General Cuomo found that Governor Spitzer's staffers were using state police records to attack rival Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, everyone agrees on one thing: It's very bad for Governor Spitzer.

Whoa: Attorney General Andrew Cuomo released a report investigating allegations that Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno misused state aircraft, using it to travel to political fund-raisers, as well as Bruno's subsequent allegations that Governor Spitzer misused the state resources to spy on him. The report clears Bruno of wrongdoing, noting that the Republican was conducting state business and could justify using state aircraft.

The Post takes out a fraction of its crowded cover (A-Rod's 30th home run gets top billing) to trumpet that Governor Eliot Spitzer's aides allegedly looked for dirt on Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, in hopes of getting a NYC DA's office to investigate Bruno. Not only that, a source says Spitzer's office allegedly contacted an "investigative agency...about a possible probe of Bruno before the accusations of the misuse of state aircraft became public nine days ago - suggesting a conspiracy aimed at Bruno was already under way." That is some source!

Okay, this might be the official nadir of the Governor Eliot Spitzer-Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno fight. The Post exclusively reports that a furious Spitzer called Bruno an "old, senile piece of s---t". Swear words and ageism!

Why is it that things are hotter in Albany with the Legislative session over? The brouhaha between Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Governor Eliot Spitzer has, as the Sun put it, "reached a new low." Bruno had a press conference yesterday, saying Spitzer's alleged State Police surveillance on Bruno's activities was "espionage." From the Times Union:

"I've been in government 31 years and I've never experienced anything like this," said Bruno. "I was stunned to learn Governor Spitzer is using the fine men and women of the New York State Police to conduct surveillance on me," Bruno said. "This should send shivers up the spine of every New Yorker."

What a way to mark the middle of Governor Eliot Spitzer's first year in office: He has forwarded information about Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's statecraft and police escort use to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Albany DA Daniel Soares. That's quite a steamroll! But the story is totally, almost deliciously insane. If you've been trying to ignore the dysfunction of Albany, we urge you to stop - this is too good.

Albany seemed to be its usual stagnant self, as the legislative sessions closed on notes of rancor, versus happiness and optimism on the job well done. Many issues were left unresolved, and Governor Spitzer and Senate Majority seem to be rarin' for a fight.

The Daily News reveals the extent of Eliot Spitzer's real estate portfolio. And it's quite impressive. Thanks to his father, developer Bernard Spitzer, the Attorney General and gubernatorial frontrunner earned almost $1 million on rents from a variety Madison Avenue properties. Hello, Attorney General Big Pockets!