Assemblyman Seminerio Will Go To Trial

Like the indicted Manhattan Surrogate Court Judge-Elect Nora Anderson, Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio's day of reckoning was long in coming. Authorities were trailing him for a while and he was arrested a couple months earlier on corruption charges. Only this time, there were a couple of differences from the first time this broke in the news.

From The Daily Politics:

Federal prosecutors have obtained a corruption indictment against Queens Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio, formalizing a criminal complaint lodged in September.

The indictment accuses the veteran lawmaker of using his clout in Albany in exchange for payoffs from a hospital and other organizations. The money was funneled through a Marc Consultants, a firm set up by Seminerio in 2000. The brief filing by acting U.S. Attorney Lev Dassin covers a lot of the same territory as the original criminal complaint, offering few additional details.

It does, however, say that Seminerio pocketed "approximately $1 million" in ill-gotten gains -- double the amount cited three months ago.

Last month, the Daily News reported that Seminerio was trying to negotiate a plea bargain that would spare him jail time.

I guess that plea deal didn't go to well for the Assemblyman, eh? Blagojevich is looking at up to thirty years for merely attempting to extort money in pay to play politics. I wonder what Seminerio is looking at for actually engaging in it over here in New York City?

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.

NY Assembly Investigates Ethics In The Dark

Even with the indictment and arrest of Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio, the legislative body is up to their old tricks while considering what to do about their tarnished ethical image. The take down of Seminerio is significant because the Assembly realizes that they can be infiltrated by law enforcement for their shady ways. Recently re-elected captain of the ship Sheldon Silver must have been worried about the situation, because he held a secret meeting specifically concerning ethics in the Assembly.

From The Gothamist:

After longtime Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio's arrest on bribery charges, the State Assembly apparently held a secret meeting to discuss, per the AP, "tougher rules over disclosure of outside income by lawmakers."

In the criminal complaint against Seminerio, there were also references to "Assemblyman No 1," Assemblyman No 2" and "Senator No 2"--prompting lawmakers to wonder who's who. Seminerio's $500,000+ in bribes were apparently accrued after he set up a shell company to accept payments; current rules do not require lawmakers to disclose who their clients are.

While Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver wants an overhaul of the rules, it's unclear how far he will go. As the Post reports, Silver "earns an undisclosed income from powerhouse Manhattan law firm Weitz & Luxenberg." And for reference, the Post adds the current rules allow them to "earn unlimited amounts of outside income" while their "official salaries can exceed $120,000 a year and are the third highest in the nation."

Of course no one but the women and men in the room know what went on since it was held in secret, away from New Yorkers that pay their third-highest-salaries in the nation. We also do not know how many other Assemblymembers take bribes because the state house would never investigate itself or else it would probably be nearly empty after a full reivew.

Their leader would also never go far enough to root out the corruption, because he doesn't want anyone to know what exactly he does at the law firm that pays him x (anothe unknown) amount of dollars a year on top of his legislative salary. I'm not holding my breath on any reform from Silver, other than a cheap gimmick to make people think he cares about the Seminerio fallout.

One Day After The Primary, Corrupt Queens Assemblyman To Lose His Job

Yesterday's primary election decided the fates of many politicians, but uncontested Queens Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio (D-Ozone Park) had his fate sealed by the FBI. Seminerio was being tracked by the Bureau for being well, another 'bloodsucker' in Albany and they executed warrants this past weekend. While Paterson might not have had Seminerio specificly in mind, the Feds had their silver bullet ready for him. The slayer happened to be an acquaintenace of his that wore a wire, recording some choice conversation.

From The Times-Union:

``I was doing favors for these sons of b---- there, you know, they were, they were making thousands,'' the FBI quoted Seminerio telling a cooperating witness on tape. ``Screw you, from now on, you know, I'm a consultant.''

Seminerio turned himself into authorities in Manhattan this morning after the execution of search warrants in New York City and the Capital Region over the weekend.

The federal complaint from the FBI showed the probe also involved an undercover agent, hospital administrators who paid Seminerio to represent their interests in Albany and a lot of salty language by the crusty Seminerio, a former New York City correction officer.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Michael Garcia said the case focuses on Seminerio's creation of Marc Consultants, which received more than $500,000 in fees from parties with business before the state. Seminerio hid the business, even though state lawmakers must disclose income of more than $1,000, according to the corruption probe.

We may not have been able to take the down the ultimate prize (named Shelly Silver) but rooting out a corrupt politician is always a good thing. Now we just need to keep working to cut the figurative head off down the line so we can create a different culture in Albany, one that serves the people and not the politicians.