New York's Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is considering whether to release a report on the NYPD's stop-and-frisk practices. A source at Schneiderman's office tells the Daily News that there is a "working group" that is reviewing public data, including the racial breakdown of those who are stopped. Documents obtained by the paper also show that Schneiderman has met twice in the last several months with his staff to discuss stop-and-frisk. "They're still very early in the process," the source said. more ›

Almost five years after she died at 105, the court battle over Brooke Astor's will has been resolved. The big loser? Astor's only son, Anthony Marshall. The big winners? The New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and New Yorkers in general. more ›

Remember that $26 billion settlement that the DOJ and 49 attorneys general announced on Thursday with some of the country's biggest banks to let toxic mortgage bygones be toxic mortgage bygones? It may not exist yet. In one of the biggest PR coups since that free trip to South Africa, the details of the settlement were peddled via press releases (and awful stock photos) but the document itself has yet to be seen. "Once the documents are finalized, they'll be posted to nationalmortgagesettlement.com," a representative from the North Carolina's AG office told American Banker. Aw, c'mon Copperfield, give us back the settlement. more ›

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a lawsuit against Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo yesterday for using "false and misleading information" to foreclose on properties. more ›

Approximately 1,000 Occupy Wall Street protesters marched to Foley Square at around 3 p.m. this afternoon to protest the Obama administration's role in a settlement that would indemnify banks who were directly involved with creating the mortgage crisis. Though the NYPD could not confirm the number of arrests, a DCPI officer noted that "they would be in the family of 20 or so," more than the four that the movement claims were arrested on the steps of the Supreme Court building. Eyewitnesses wrote that the NYPD began arresting protesters after they blocked pedestrian traffic in front of the courthouse, and one claims that video will surface of a NYPD officer punching a protester in the face. more ›

In a press conference yesterday with high-powered attorney Gloria Allred at her side, Assistant State Attorney General and accused money-for-lashings dominatrix Alisha Smith resigned her post, but not before criticizing her employer for a breach of public decency. "All of [the AG's] actions towards me have been deeply disturbing because I have never accepted any money or payment from any outside source for anything," Smith said. more ›

While President Obama has recently tried taking a more populist, "left-leaning" bent with his new tax proposals, one New York politician has rarely strayed from those roots: Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Thanks to his refusal to back down on his investigation of a $20 billion dollar bank settlement, Schneiderman has been the subject of a raft of articles hailing him as one of the few leaders who practice their professed affinity with the left, along with Massachusetts senatorial candidate Elizabeth Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. "Honestly, my day-to-day life hasn't changed," he tells the Times. "I'm doing my job as a prosecutor." more ›

Last week a well-respected attorney at the New York Attorney General's office was suspended for her reported activities as a dominatrix, and now state employees have hit the water cooler to DISH. The Post (who else?) claims that their sources tell them that Alisha Smith, who was suspended without pay, "is now the butt of office jokes." One source whose life has probably a fraction of the excitement and fulfillment as Smith's does, says, "You've got to be out of your f*cking mind putting that stuff on Twitter." more ›

A respected prosecutor specializing in securities fraud has been suspended from the New York Attorney General's office after it was revealed that she moonlights as a dominatrix. 36-year-old Alisha Smith, or "Alisha Spark" to those that know her in the BDSM community, was commended just three years ago by then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for her $5 billion dollar settlement she extricated from Bank of America due to securities fraud allegations. "They pay her to go to the events. She dominates people, restrains them and whips them," a "fetish source" breathlessly tells the Post. more ›

In a conference with investors earlier today, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan announced that the company would cut $5 billion in annual costs by the year 2014. This means that the bank will lay off "at least" 30,000 jobs out of BOA's 288,000 current employees. "It's taking out work we don't need to do any more, and getting it out of the company," Moynihan tells the Times. The layoffs will occur over the next few years, giving BOA employees on the chopping block plenty of time to steal as many office supplies that they possibly can. more ›

Just in time for the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, a man who stole thousands from the September 11th Families' Association has been sent to jail for nine months. At the same time, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is warning folks to be super careful about giving donations to the many questionable 9/11 charities out there. more ›

Like a truffle hog rooting for delicious evil, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been ordering thorough investigations of the five largest mortgage services in the US robo-signing and forging documents to kick Americans out of their homes. Bank of America (among others) and even the Obama administration are pushing for a settlement deal that they say would help homeowners, but would preclude any further litigation related to robo-signing and other odious aspects of the toxic mortgage-backed securities business. Now, because they mean business, Schneiderman's opponents have removed him from the group of Attorneys General charged with negotiating the foreclosure settlement. more ›

The safety precautions at Indian Point may be worse than we'd thought. Nearly 40 percent of the nearby nuclear plant—which has been under increased scrutiny since the devastating earthquake in Japan led to a Chernobyl-level crisis around the Fukushima reactor there—has no manual fire suppression systems, like hydrants or fire extinguishers. And 63 percent of the plant is lacking in smoke, heat or flame detectors, the News reports. more ›

State Senator Eric Schneiderman won his bid to be New York's next "sheriff" by defeating Staten Island DA Dan Donovan in the Attorney General race. Schneiderman, who got 55% of the vote to Donovan's 44%, said, "This was a campaign of activism, and boy, did we show what activists can do!... I'm ready to go. I've stood up against powerful forces before and, Ladies and Gentleman, you may have noticed I'm hard to kill." That's total Sheriff-speak! more ›

If you're a registered Democrat or Republican, you can vote in tomorrow's primary. Besides getting a chance to participate in the democratic (small d) process, you'll also get a chance to come face-to-face with one of the new voting machines—no more old-fashioned lever machines, it's now time for newfangled scanners (time for our own Lizard People vote?). more ›

The Daily Politics' Celeste Katz reports, "The Rev. Al Sharpton just confirmed to me that he is endorsing state Sen. Eric Schneiderman in the five-way Democratic primary for state attorney general. I'm sure Team Schneiderman sees this as a real get as they continue to promote their campaign's supporters as the most racially and ethnically diverse group out there." There have been concerns about the Democratic party's all-white state ballot, so much so that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo contacted Sharpton. In recent days, Schneiderman has landed endorsements from the NY Times and the good government group the Citizens Union (rival Eric Dinallo received endorsements from the Daily News and Crain's). more ›

A day after getting praise (but not an endorsement) from the NY Times, Eric Dinallo has received the Daily News editorial board's endorsement for the Democratic nomination for NY State Attorney General. A former prosecutor in the Manhattan DA's office as well as State AG's office (under Spitzer), Dinallo is described by the News as having a "blend of first-rate legal, executive and regulatory experience that is unique among the contenders and equips him best to lead New York's top law office amid rising challenges." more ›

There are five contenders vying for the Democratic nomination to run for NY State Attorney General. The race has drawn limited interest of voters—last month, a poll found that 81% of Democrats had no idea who they would vote for—but now the NY Times has entered the fray with its endorsement of State Senator Eric Schneiderman, "because of his sound judgment, legal expertise, political independence and long history of fighting for government reform... During his 12 years in the Senate, he championed important laws protecting women’s rights and repealing the overly harsh Rockefeller-era drug laws, and he challenged his party’s leaders when they chose expedience over conviction." more ›

Is this the Daily News' way to get voters to pay attention to the Attorney General race? A recent Quinnipiac poll showed that 81% of Democrats didn't know who they would vote for in the primary next month and only 3% could name on of the five Democrats vying for a shot at Andrew Cuomo's job. But now we bet the 3% will go up, because Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice met with the News' Editorial Board and "admitted Tuesday to dabbling with marijuana and cocaine in her college days." more ›

A new bill soon to land on Governor Paterson's desk would allow drivers who've blown off their parking fines to park in city streets without fear of being towed. It's sponsored by none other than State Senator and Manhattan Attorney General hopeful Eric Schneiderman, who has been criticized himself for being a lousy backseat driver. more ›

Yesterday, Newsday reported that Nassau County DA and NY Attorney General candidate Kathleen Rice has only voted eight times since first registering to vote in 1984: "Rice, who faces four challengers in a Sept. 14 primary contest for the Democratic nomination, cast the first vote of her life in November 2002. All told through 2009, she voted in eight of the 26 years since she first registered to vote as a Republican in 1984." Rice explained, "It was my mistake. During that period of my life, I did not vote. Unfortunately, like a lot of young adults early in their professional lives, I failed to see the political significance of casting a ballot." more ›

On Monday evening, State Senator Eric Schneiderman (D-Manhattan), who is also one of the many Democratic candidates for NY Attorney General, left NY1's studios at the Chelsea Market in a car driven by a staffer, Rachel Kagan (who happens to be Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's niece!). Apparently the car hit a minivan owned by NY1 Executive Editor Melissa Rabinovich—and she only found out who hit her car because a bicyclist witnessed the accident and took down Schneiderman's car's license plate. more ›

A year after trying to slap regulations on yoga teacher training courses, the city is retreating, and the army of free spirits prepares to claim victory. Last April officials made the mistake of lumping yoga in with a host of other activities—hair dressing and truck driving among them—whose vocational schools would be required to undergo a long and arduous licensing process. But as the Times reports, the yoga community just wouldn't bend to those rules. more ›