Spitzer's Many Excuses
Spitzer's Many Excuses
Five Different Stories in One Month, Three in the Same Day
The AG Was for Enforcing the Law Before He Was Against It
Mineola, NY - Democratic candidate for Governor Tom Suozzi today said that his opponent Eliot Spitzer is having trouble separating his two roles - Attorney General and candidate for Governor - when it comes to protecting the clients of his largest donors. Spitzer has offered five conflicting excuses in one monthand three in the same dayfor why he is not enforcing the law and closing the Turning Stone Casino, which last month was found by New York's highest court to be operating illegally.
The Casino is run by the Oneida Indian Tribe, which is represented by Albany's two biggest lobbyists, Patricia Lynch & Associates and Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman, & Dicker - both contributors to Spitzer's gubernatorial campaign. Lynch, the former chief of staff to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, has pledged to contribute $250,000 and has personally contributed $50,000 to Spitzer.
"It is time for Eliot Spitzer to stop using the Attorney General's office as an extension of his campaign," said Suozzi. "It is time for Eliot Spitzer to give us the real reason he will not enforce the law. His stories don't add up."
Up until the Turning Stone decision, Spitzer talked tough about collecting taxes from Native Tribes and enforcing the law: "If it's the law, we should enforce it." But after the Turning Stone was found to be operating illegally, he changed his tune, saying only that he "will consider legal steps."
Less than a month later, he backed even farther away from his original position, declaring that, "Nobody is going to immediately move to close a business that is employing thousands of people."
So much for enforcing the law.
Five days later, Spitzer flip-flopped again; this time having campaign spokesperson Christine Anderson claim that Turning Stone was a federal matter and that "The attorney general's office does not have full criminal authority."
That same day, a spokesperson for the Attorney General, Darren Dopp, passed the buck yet again by claiming that the case was in the Governor's hands: "We act only after consultation with our client (the governor) and at his direction."
Incredibly, that same day Spitzer himself put out a third excuse, contradicting both his spokespeople and claiming that he needed more time to decide what to do about a case he'd been involved in since 2001, protesting that "It would be poor prosecutorial discretion to step in and close it down instantaneously, without permitting this careful investigation of options to determine what wise public policy would be."
So much for enforcing the law.
"This election boils down to character and priorities," said Suozzi. "Eliot Spitzer continues to fall short on both counts."
SPITZER'S JUSTICE:
LOBBYISTS LURKING IN THE SHADOWS
In January 2006, Eliot Spitzer attacked Governor George Pataki's proposal to delay enforcement of tax collection on Native retailer's cigarette sales to non-Natives. Spitzer said, "If it's the law, we should enforce it." (Buffalo News, Spitzer Opposes Cigarette Tax Collection Delay, January 19, 2006)
Yet when New York's highest court recently found that the Oneida Indian Tribe was illegally operating its Turning Stone Casino in Verona, Spitzer changed his tune and took a pass on enforcing the law. (Albany Times Union, Tribe Loses Appeal Over Casino Pact, May 5, 2006)
He's been flip-flopping since, offering a new excuse for why he won't do his duty each time the last one gets shot down. It sure looks like Spitzer was in favor of enforcing the law before he was against it:
SPITZER'S FIVE EXCUSES FOR NOT ENFORCING THE LAW
1. I'll get around to it
maybe
On May 9, 2006 just four days after the court decision declaring the casino unlawfulSpitzer said that he would consider legal steps against the Oneida Indian Nation for its unlawful operation of the casino.
"Attorney General Eliot Spitzer revealed Monday he will consider legal steps against the Oneida Indian Nation for its apparently unlawful operation at Turning Stone Casino." (Albany Times Union, Casino May Face Legal Action, May 9, 2006)
2. I won't do my job because casino jobs are at risk
On June 2, 2006less than one month laterSpitzer backed away from his law and orderstance and his legal obligation to enforce the law. This time he explained that he was not prepared yet to close Turning Stone, because he wanted to retain its illegal casino jobs.
"Nobody is going to immediately move to close a business that is employing thousands of people." (Albany Times Union, Spitzer: Jobs Shield Turning Stone, June 2, 2006.)
This is a far cry from his many Wall Street prosecutions, where the Attorney General never hesitated to bring action out of concern for its employees, according to the OAG's own public statements.
3. It's not my job
On June 7, 2006, Spitzer's campaign spokesperson claimed that Indian gaming fell under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
"Indian gaming is overseen by the Federal National Indian Gaming Commission," Anderson said. "The governor's office has written to that commission to ask what steps should be taken with regard to this casino. The attorney general's office does not have full criminal authority, and can't simply walk in and shut it down." (Albany Times Union, The Lynch Factor, June 7, 2006.)
The NY Constitution prohibits commercialized gambling (Art. I Sect. 9). In order to legally operate a casino in New York, Indian tribes must build the casino on sovereign Indian land and receive approval to operate the casino through a Compact signed by both the Governor and Legislature.
On March 29, 2005, The United States Supreme Court ruled that the land on which the Turning Stone Casino is built is not sovereign and is subject to state and local jurisdiction. (City of Sherrill, New York v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York)
On May 4, 2006, the NYS Court of Appeals rendered the gaming compact between the Oneida Indian Nation and the State of New York invalid because Governor Cuomo failed to seek legislative approval of the gaming compact. (Indian Country Today, Recent Supreme Court Rulings Will Have Repercussions for Oneida Nation, July 6, 2004)
Spitzer's claim that he cannot enforce the law is simply not true. The Oneida Tribe is operating an illegal gambling operation on land that is subject to the jurisdiction of state and local laws.
4. Blame the GovernorI just work here
On the same day, a spokesman for the attorney general offered a conflicting explanation for why Spitzer was not acting on the Supreme Court decision calling his lobbyist friend's client's casino illegal. "The attorney general does not act independently on Indian matters," Spitzer spokesman Darren Dopp said, "We act only after consultation with our client (the governor) and at his direction." (The Post Standard, Suozzi Takes Aim at Spitzer Casino Stance, June 7, 2006.)
5. I need more time to get around to doing my job
Still the same day, Spitzer himself offered a third explanation contradicting those offered by both of his spokespeople, and contradicting his own earlier statements. This time he claimed that he needed more time to come up with "wise public policy":
"It would be poor prosecutorial discretion to step in and close it down instantaneously, without permitting this careful investigation of options to determine what wise public policy would be." (Albany Times Union, The Lynch Factor, June 7, 2006)
Spitzer has had five years to "determine what wise public policy would be." In 2001, Spitzer represented Governor Pataki and argued unsuccessfully on behalf of a pact made between Governor Cuomo and the Oneidas for the creation of Turning Stonean agreement that was never approved by the legislature as required by law. (Albany Times Union, Spitzer Won't Try and Close Casinos, April 21, 2001.)
FOLLOW THE MONEY: Oneida's Hired Guns Are Albany's Top Lobbyists
The Oneida Indian Nation employs three different lobbying firms: Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker, LLP, Patricia Lynch Associates, Inc, and Neil Holch, a D.C.-based lobbyist. In 2005, Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker and Patricia Lynch Associates were New York's two top lobbying firms, with contracts totaling $6,966,756 and $4,273,219 respectively. (NY Temporary State Commission on Lobbying, 2005 Annual Report)
Creating Gridlock in Albany is Expensive: The Oneida Casino Paid Over $4.5M to Lobbyists in 2004 and 2005
Spitzer, Pataki, Silver and Bruno have all failed to address the illegality of the Turning Stone Casino. It's no surprise that the Oneida Indian Nation spent $2,550,732 in 2004 and $2,082,043 in 2005 on lobbyists and their expenses. The nation spent more on lobbying than the Jets, the Public Employee Federation union, the Healthcare Association of New York, the United Teachers union, or the Medical Society of New York. (NY Temporary State Commission on Lobbying, 2005 Annual Report)
Albany's Top Lobbyists Lob Big money at Spitzer's Gubernatorial Campaign
Patricia Lynch is one the most powerful lobbyists in Albany primarily due to her connection to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silverone of the three men in the room who run Albany on behalf of the special interests, and one of Eliot Spitzer's earliest and most prominent supporters. Lynch was " .one of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's closest aides, serving as the gatekeeper to his office, his director of communications and one of his chief advisers in the speaker's constant battles with the Republican governor." (New York Times, "The Insider: Former Political Aid Seems to Have All the Right Friends," March 15, 2005)
Lynch is not just a close political ally of Eliot Spitzer, but a leading fundraiser for him. She appeared on five of Eliot Spitzer's fundraising invitations from 2004 to 2006. In addition to pledging to raise at least $235,000 for Spitzer's gubernatorial bid, Lynch personally donated $49,500 to Spitzer's campaign. Her husband Kenneth Ludman also donated $4,000 and Patricia Lynch Associates made a $964 in-kind contribution for event facilities/catering.
Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman, & Dicker has strong ties to Senate Majority leader Joe Bruno. His son, Kenneth Bruno, worked for the firm until April 2005 when he founded his own lobbying firm. Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman, & Dicker has contributed $36,000 to Spitzer's gubernatorial campaign. (The Times Union, Bruno's Son Will Launch Albany Law Practice, November 30, 2005)
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