Last year the House passed legislation to block Seneca Indians from selling cigarettes through the mail, a business that, combined with their gambling empire, nets them $1 billion annually. But now, thanks to aggressive political practices, the western New York Nation may be back in tobacco. The Times reports their success is due to a “campaign of back-room lobbying and public political threats” but a Seneca spokesman says they're playing by the rules. “Isn’t that the way things go in the American system?” asked Richard Nephew, co-chairman of the Seneca Nation’s foreign relations committee. “It is something new for us to actively get involved in the American political process,” he said. “But we are trying to learn what works in America, and I guess making political contributions is something that works.” more ›

It's less than a month till the primary election, but frontrunner Democratic mayoral candidate City Comptroller Bill Thompson is gearing up his attack on Mayor Bloomberg. Thompson's campaign complained to the city’s Campaign Finance Board that Bloomberg didn't disclose $3.3 million in contributions. PolitickerNY explains, "The contributions at issue here are mainly to local Republican organizations and the Independence Party, both of which later endorsed Bloomberg"—however—"The contributions were not unreported: the campaign reported them to the state board of elections, not the city board." more ›