The Corruptive Perks Of Office, A Day In The Life Of Joe Bruno

It must be nice to hold the title of New York Senate Majority Leader. In the state capitol, influence like Bruno's can get you a long way and "earn" quite a few perks. It's been a way of life for Mr. Bruno and the entrance of tough-talking Eliot Spitzer hasn't done much to curtail the whiffs of corruption in the air of Albany. Just take a look at the treatment he got at the Sheraton in Times Square a few months back.

From The NY Sun:

During a September visit to the city, Mr. Bruno lodged in a 45th-floor duplex at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers that hotel employees say rents for $5,000 or $10,000 a night. A spokesman for the senator said the room was charged to the campaign committee of the state Senate Republicans, which he said spent between $900 and $1,000. The committee did not report the discount as an in-kind donation on its January 15 filing to the state Board of Elections.

A general manager at the hotel said a VIP club manager chose to upgrade Mr. Bruno, a frequent Sheraton customer, to the hotel's penthouse suite from a regular suite. "That night, he probably was the top dog," the general manager, Daniel King, told The New York Sun.

On November 30, the nine-member board of the Albany Convention Center Authority, which includes a member appointed by Mr. Bruno, voted to begin negotiations with Starwood Hotels and Resorts, of which Sheraton is a subsidiary, as operator of a 400-room hotel to be built in downtown Albany near the senate leader's district.

Hmmm, well it sounds funny, but what's wrong with a little upgrade?

In September, a Sheraton reservation agent quoted a price of $10,000 a night for the penthouse suite. Last week, the manager of reservations at the hotel said Sheraton charged $5,000 a night for the suite. The manager insisted that the Sheraton doesn't offer any customers a reduced rate for the room.

"We don't offer discounts," she said.

No discounts eh? Not even for a political favor to have the rights to build a new hotel in downtown Albany? Some people will do anything for a good deal, even if there is no integrity involved. Oh speaking of which, I guess that integrity and Albany just don't belong in a sentence together.