What was supposed to be a rainy day now seems more like a category 3 hurricane fund, as the story of the City Council's practice of distributing money to fake community groups unravels. It turns out that since 2001, $17.4 million has been allocated to the fake groups, with $4.7 million set aside in 2007 and 2008. more ›

According to the NY Post, the City Council Speaker's office has, since 1988, had the tradition of granting money to "phantom" (as in fake) groups. A source explained it gave the speaker "a stash of cash with which to thank or pay off politically important allies or cooperative council members." more ›