http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-05-16-11-46-09 ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- They were Albany's most powerful men: the governor, the Senate leader and the Assembly speaker. Together, they negotiated billion-dollar budgets and decided which bills passed and which ones didn't. Now two face federal corruption charges, and the third - Gov. Andrew Cuomo - appears eager to focus on other issues even as he faces questions about his ties to a major real estate firm at the center of the newest scandal to rock the state Capitol. ... The political crisis in Albany got less attention. "If the charges are correct, it's deeply disturbing," is what Cuomo said following the arrest of Senate Leader Dean Skelos on charges that he extorted payments for his son from the developer and another business. The Long Island Republican resigned his leadership post Monday. Skelos' arrest comes after Manhattan Democrat Sheldon Silver stepped down as Assembly speaker in January after he was charged with taking nearly $4 million in payoffs. Both men say they are innocent and are keeping their legislative seats. In the political language of Albany, the governor, the speaker and the Senate leader are known collectively as the "three men in a room," a nod to the longstanding practice of negotiating the budget and other key pieces of legislation behind closed doors. Silver's arrest came the day after Cuomo referred to Skelos, Silver and himself as the "three amigos" during his budget presentation, which contained a depiction of the three men wearing sombreros. Millions of dollars in contributions by New York City real estate interests, mainly funneled through LLCs, have been cited in the cases against Silver and Skelos, who received large contributions from Glenwood Management, a New York City real estate firm headed by Leonard Litwin, Cuomo's top donor. Glenwood has been identified as the New York City company that gave large campaign donations to Skelos using LLCs, allegedly in return for helping continue tax breaks now worth about $1 billion annually to the city's residential developers. Those tax breaks, along with New York City's rent regulations, are up for renewal this year. The complaint against Skelos alleges that he used his influence to pressure a Glenwood executive to arrange payments for his son. Cuomo received $1 million from limited liability companies tied to Glenwood. Cuomo said recently that he never discussed rent laws with the company. Administration records show he met with Glenwood executives three times to discuss rent regulations in 2011, the last year they were up for renewal. Cuomo's spokesman said later that the governor simply forgot the meetings. "I don't believe anyone said Glenwood has done anything wrong," Cuomo said about his connections to the company.
If you truly believe that THE MAJORITY of all politicians are honest men and women striving daily to serve the needs of all their constituents, never letting their votes be bought by rich donors... My guess is no politician has ever lasted 2 terms without committing a crime.
When the Oregon governor resigned, I thought, the Northwest is really lightweight compared to other regions, where several governors are hanging on through true scandals, not just over whether a girlfriend pretended to rank higher than she really does. The Oregononian even wrote an editorial demanding he resign. Sheesh. Lightweights. For example in South Carolina, you have a female governor Nikki Haley who's had affairs, and the men are talking. Since she's a Republican, the Clinton-haters are silent, so there is no threat to her getting re-elected.
