Figures, Seminerio Wasn't Alone

Having politicians on the payroll of large corporations is nothing new when it comes to greasing the wheels of government. That is especially true in Albany, where pay to play is practically the only game in town if you want something done. Politicians are all too well endeared to these fiscal overtures, whether or not they are legit. Anthony Seminerio showed his love for the all mighty buck over the pledge he took to put his constituents first. Now it seems that Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. has his hand in the same cookie jar that got Seminerio in trouble with the Feds.

From The NY Sun:

A hospital system that may figure in the federal corruption case against a Democratic state assemblyman, Anthony Seminerio, has for years been paying another assemblyman as a consultant, according to state financial disclosure records.

Since 2003, a Democratic state assemblyman of central Brooklyn, William Boyland, Jr., has received an unspecified amount of outside income from Brookdale University Hospital in Brownsville.[...]

The MediSys network also includes the Flushing Hospital Medical Center and Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, which is in Mr. Seminerio's district.

Financial disclosure forms have listed Mr. Boyland as a director of marketing and as a consultant to the hospital, describing his job as giving "advice on community outreach." The public version of the forms conceals the extent of the lawmaker's outside earnings.

The lawmaker described his role as a "patient recruiter," saying he brought to Brookdale "patients and folks." He declined to say how much he is paid by Brookdale and cut off the conversation abruptly when asked to explain his responsibilities at the hospital with more detail.

Boyland may not be charged with anything by the authorities, but that doesn't mean there isn't smoke billowing from this room. He may not have been caught doing anything malicious like Seminerio but it still strikes me as odd that Boyland is a "patient recruiter." Being associated with Seminerio in any fashion is a bad sign and one of many such marks for Albany in general. While Boyland might not be guilty of anything specifically, it is still indicative of the need to change the way business....and especially outside business of lawmakers is handled.