I've heard here and there that the FBI probe into State Senate Leader Joseph Bruno was going nowhere, a dead end that was only used by NY Democrats to put a negative light on him. Of course most of those voices came from Bruno's camp and this was shown to be true after the FBI issued new subpoenas last week for Bruno and his business associates. It is too bad it took a newspaper publication to kick the FBI back into gear, but at least the information spurred something good.
From The New York Times:
The subpoenas, which were issued last week and seek records related to Wright and Mr. Bruno, were reported Sunday in The Times Union of Albany. It is the first indication in several months that the roughly two-year-old federal investigation into Mr. Bruno’s outside business interests remains active.
It is not clear how many of the union locals have been subpoenaed.
Mike Roberts, who recently became head of an Albany-area branch of Unite Here, a union of hotel and restaurant workers, said his local had been subpoenaed. “We’re just obviously perusing the documents and cooperating,” he said.
The Times Union reported that James E. Long, a lawyer for Laborers’ Local 190 in Albany, said the local had been subpoenaed Wednesday. Another lawyer in Mr. Long’s office said on Sunday that Mr. Long would not comment further.
John McArdle, a spokesman for Mr. Bruno, said: “We’ve cooperated with the inquiry. He’s not been accused of anything, and I think that’s all we’re saying.”
Gee thanks John, thanks for sharing with us what your official spin line is. If you'd like to answer why Bruno is at the center of an FBI investigation, then by all means tell us something new. Whether you want to admit it or not, it is certainly peculiar that unions that did more business with Wright Investors Service' due to Bruno being there. The FBI had Bruno's home business to investigate and now there's just a little bit more.
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