Finally, Joe Bruno Indicted For Corruption!

After years of meticulously investigating the now-former Majority Leader of the New York State Senate, Joe Bruno has been indicted on eight counts of public corruption. It has been a long time coming for this day, but despite many denials from Mr. Bruno of wrongdoing, his time in court is soon at hand.

From The Times-Union:

ALBANY - A federal grand jury today indicted former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno on felony charges alleging he used his position to extract $3.2 million in private consulting fees from clients who sought to purchase his influence.

An 8-count indictment handed up today charges the 79-year-old Republican with corruption charges that carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Bruno pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Albany and released without bail.

Bruno had spending thousands on lawyers in the last month, so he probably knew this was coming. Whether he knows shame from this, I sincerely doubt it. However, it is a great day for those of us that wish to clean up the filth in Albany and across our state. Bruno may have resigned his position last year, but it does not absolve him of the crimes he will be tried for. Further, I hope it serves as a warning to all current and future legislators that there is a price to be paid when you take the trust of the electorate and spit in their faces in the name of tainted influence and greed.

Of course, the possibility of him serving 20 years is probably nil. Forfeiting his assets and spending a few months or years behind bars is a little more likely.

Bruno's Indictments May Finally Be Near

Ex-Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno has already begun his new lobbying career, but his past might just catch up to him anyways. Bruno has been under investigation for approximately three years now and the government's attorneys could be ready to strike. Or at least Bruno's friends think so.

From The NY Daily News:

Pals of former state Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno are bracing themselves for his possible indictment - which an ally of the one-time GOP powerhouse said is 80% likely - before the year is out.

"The sense is that they spent all this time turning over every rock and they can't just let it go without doing something," a source close to Bruno said. Federal prosecutors have been investigating the ex-majority leader's outside business interests for three years.

Bruno is "prepared for the worst, but isn't going to let it affect the way he handles himself," the source said.

It could just be idle speculation telegraphed out by Bruno, but I suspect reaching out to Liz on this to smooth things over before an indictment does indeed come to fruition. His friends think the case is weak (naturally) but unless they work for the U.S. Government, they really do not have a clue as to what the Feds know. Bruno thinks he's a slick politician, but even those types can be caught.

Manhattan Judge Indicted For Campaign No-Nos

Ah, another day, another scandal. Nora Anderson was indicted for violating campaign rules today. She hasn't even been able to grab her gavel before the authorities come running after her for breaking the law. It might not be as bad as Blagojevich (not many can top him in these post-Tammany Hall days) but she's certainly no angel.

From The Cityroom:

Nora S. Anderson, who last month won the election for Manhattan Surrogate’s Court judge, was indicted Wednesday on charges that she concealed the source of $250,000 deposited into her campaign account to make it appear as though the payments came from herself.

Prosecutors said that the money, in fact, came from Seth Rubenstein, Ms. Anderson’s boss and campaign adviser, and he, too, was charged in the indictment.

Under election law, Ms. Anderson was allowed to contribute as much money as she wanted to her own campaign account. Outside donors were limited to $33,122.50 for the primary, prosecutors said.

Of course, this is nothing new. The charges were being floated around during the campaign, but she couldn't be stopped before election day. Now at least, something can be done before she's allowed to do real damage.....well, allowed to do more damage to the Surrogate Court here in Manhattan.

Cheney And Gonzales Indicted For War Crimes...So What?

Yesterday Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and several other minor officials in Texas were indicted for an assortment of crimes. Cheney and Gonzales take the cake of course, since the charge of war crimes is a serious one. Few people deserve a lifetime in jail than Dick Cheney, who has a reckless disregard for the law and humanity in general. His crimes should land him in jail for several hundred years at a minimum. So am I excited about this development? Nah, not really.

From RawStory:

Cheney's stake in the Vanguard Group, which holds interests in the private prison companies that run the detention centers, was cited in the indictment. Cheney is accused of a conflict of interest and "at least misdemeanor assaults" on detainees through his ownership interest.

Gonzales is accused of using his position during his time as Attorney General to block an investigation into abuses at the detention centers, located in south Texas.

Democratic state Senator Eddie Lucio Jr. is also named in the indictment, Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra said. Lucio's attorney, Michael R. Cowen, called Guerra a "one-man circus." "In the March 2008 Democratic Primary," he added, "70 percent of the Willacy County voters elected to remove Juan Guerra...Now, with only a few weeks left in his term, Mr. Guerra has again chosen to misuse his position in an attempt to seek revenge on those who he sees as political enemies."

What a shame that of all the District Attorneys out there, this was the one to have moved ahead on an important case like this. Sure, it is a nice protest but not one with much credibility behind it. Earlier this year a few towns in Vermont indicted him too, but did anything come of that? Of course not. A lawsuit currently filed against Gonzales in another instance of his politicization of the DoJ has resulted in him paying for a private attorney on our dime.

Cheney and Gonzales are career criminals of the worst sort, because they in essence have legalized their crimes. In the case of FISA, they even had Congress retroactively approve their de facto abolishment of the fourth amendment in the Constitution. So, the only way we are going to get justice is from a Congress that is led by the neck by our next President. Though we on the left should know better, and the likelihood of justice for the scum that has worked around the White House in the last eight years is smaller than winning the lottery...three times in a row.

Sen. Stevens Trial Starts Today

Its been fifteen years since Kay Bailey Hutchinson was indicted for abuses of power and now a comrade in the Senate GOP caucus is about to stand trial as she did back then. To be fair to Hutchinson, the decisions of the Grand Jury didn't speak to her budding Senate career, simply as a local politician. Stevens on the other hand has been a Senator almost as long as Alaska has been in the Union and he knows very well what he's been up to with his cronies. Now his trial will start tomorrow regarding those lobbyist relationships and specifically how he hid gifts from VECO.

From The Washington Post:

The first sitting senator to face a federal trial in more than two decades, Stevens, an 84-year-old Republican icon of both the Senate and his home state, was indicted eight weeks ago on charges that he failed to disclose lavish gifts he received from executives of an oil services company. If convicted, Stevens could face prison time, his 40-year Senate career would meet an ignominious end, and Republicans would probably lose a normally reliable Senate seat.

While battling prosecutors in what is expected to be a month-long trial, Stevens also will be running an uphill reelection campaign from the same Washington courthouse -- 3,500 miles from Anchorage. He may have to debate his Democratic opponent well after midnight by teleconference and make arduous red-eye flights to attend weekend campaign events.

It's a risky strategy but perhaps the only one that could result in his reelection, analysts say.

"We have an Alaska Senate race that's about to be decided by 12 residents of the District of Columbia," said Jennifer Duffy, a senior editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. "If he's acquitted, he goes home, and it becomes more of a victory lap than a campaign."

Twelve D.C. residents sure sounds like a nice metaphor for the United States' system of justice and the possible outcome for Stevens. Ultimately it is how they judge his actions and decide whether or not it is time to hold criminals like him accountable for screwing with our democracy. With six weeks to go in this race Stevens is seriously handicapped while Mark Begich campaigns around the state. He needs to get his name out and meet people, so that he can convince them that representing Alaska is not all about bringing home an obscene amount of pork while slicing yourself a nice piece of the national taxpayers' money.

Mr. President, You May Be Under Arrest...In Vermont

Out of all the states I've been to, not many have made the impression that Vermont has on my mind. From the scenic beauty to the friendly people, the incredible cheese and the amazing ice cream factory that is Ben and Jerry's, this small state packs a large punch. Well now it might get even better, as the town of Brattleboro considers issuing arrest warrants for George Bush and Dick Cheney.

From RawStory:

A group in Brattleboro is petitioning to put an item on a town meeting agenda in March that would make Bush and Vice President Cheney subject to arrest and indictment if they visit the southeastern Vermont community.

"This petition is as radical as the Declaration of Independence, and it draws on that tradition in claiming a universal jurisdiction when governments fail to do what they're supposed to do," said Kurt Daims, 54, a retired machinist leading the drive.

As president, Bush has visited every state except Vermont.

Now he'll probably never visit.

What this group wants to do is something that the Congress should have taken care of long ago. Bush and Cheney have committed so many crimes, you'd only have to prosecute them on a few to get a life sentence for both of them. The reasons to impeach and convict them are numerous yet they remain free, allowed to commit the wholesale destruction of our country.

So if Congress won't take care of business, then the towns and cities have a right, no, a duty to see that justice is served!