Suozzi Asks AG Candidates for their Stances on Spitzer's Conflict of Interest on Family Trust

Suozzi Asks AG Candidates for their Stances on Spitzer's Conflict of Interest on Family Trust

Democratic Candidate for Governor Tom Suozzi today asked the five candidates running to succeed Eliot Spitzer as Attorney General this year to take a stance on Spitzer's conflict of interest for overseeing his own family's charitable trust.

Last week, Suozzi filed a formal request with the New York State Ethics Commission for a ruling on Spitzer's conflict of interest in serving as a board member on a charitable trust that his office has responsibility for regulating.

Yesterday Suozzi sent a letter to the Attorney General candidates - Democrats Andrew Cuomo, Mark Green, Charlie King and Sean Maloney, along with Republican Jeanine Pirro - asking whether they shared Spitzer's position that state ethics laws did not apply to him in this case.

"Given the seriousness of this issue, and the precedent that could be set here, I am interested to know your views as potential holders of this high office on the following questions," Suozzi said in the letter.

* "Do you agree with Mr. Spitzer's current contention that the Attorney General's office does not have oversight authority over family charitable trusts?
* Do you agree with Mr. Spitzer's contention that there is no conflict of interest in this instance?
* Would you have followed the same course of conduct in joining a family trust as a trustee as Mr. Spitzer did in 2001, had you been in his shoes? If offered the opportunity, would you serve on a trust in a similar capacity?
* Would you also refuse to seek an advisory ruling from the Ethics Commission if confronted with a similar situation?"

Attached below is the full text of the letter Mr. Suozzi addressed to the candidates.

--Attachment--

July 18, 2006

Andrew Cuomo
1740 Broadway, 8th floor
New York, NY 10019

Mark Green
420 Lexington Ave., Suite 3030
New York, NY 10170

Charlie King
48 Wall Street, 4F
New York, NY 10005
Sean Maloney
264 West 40th Street, Second Floor
New York, New York 10018

Jeanine Pirro
P.O. Box 8283
White Plains, N.Y. 10602

Dear Candidates for Attorney General:

I am writing to call your attention to a serious ethical issue involving the Attorney General's office. Recent news reports have revealed that in 2001, during his term of office as Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer assumed a position as a trustee with the Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust.

As you are aware, the Attorney General and his staff are charged with, inter alia, the duty to oversee and supervise non-profit organizations and charitable trusts, under section 8-1.4, et seq., of the NYS Estate Powers and Laws ("EPTL"). A close reading of the state ethics laws and related advisory opinions from the New York State Ethics Commission shows that these dual roles of trustee and overseer constitute a clear conflict of interest.

Moreover, as you know, as a licensed attorney Mr. Spitzer also has an obligation to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, and to avoid potential conflicts of interests between clients with differing interests. In this case, that would be the People of the State of New York who elected him to an office that oversees and supervises charitable organizations, and the Spitzer family trust, which is under the direct jurisdiction of his agency.

Mr. Spitzer has shown little concern for these standards, or for the serious ethical questions that independent experts have raised about this case. Back in 2001, he did not submit notice of his proposed appointment to Spitzer family trust board to the State Ethics Commission; nor did he ask the Commission to rule on the propriety of the same.

Since then, Mr. Spitzer has continued to refuse to submit this question to the Commission, even in light of the disclosure of the conflict by the news media. He even went so far as to deny, through his spokesman, that his office even had oversight responsibilities for family charitable trusts - an obvious error - compounded and confused by the initial claim that he had recused himself from his official oversight duties over his family trust.

On Thursday, July 13th, 2006, I formally requested that the New York State Ethics Commission, in accordance with its responsibilities set forth in Executive Law Sec. 94(15), investigate and report on the activities and actions undertaken by the Office of the New York State Attorney General, and Eliot Spitzer as Attorney General and as an individual, in relation to the Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust.

In pursuing this action, I am in no way questioning the charitable giving of the Spitzer family trust. I am already on record as generally saluting their financial support of deserving charitable and civic organizations. The issue here is the Attorney General's conduct, and his apparent refusal to abide by the same rules as other elected officials.

Given the seriousness of this issue, and the precedent that could be set here, I am interested to know your views as potential holders of this high office on the following questions:

Do you agree with Mr. Spitzer's current contention that the Attorney General's office does not have oversight authority over family charitable trusts?

Do you agree with Mr. Spitzer's contention that there is no conflict of interest in this instance?

Would you have followed the same course of conduct in joining a family trust as a trustee as Mr. Spitzer did in 2001, had you been in his shoes? If offered the opportunity, would you serve on a trust in a similar capacity?

Would you also refuse to seek an advisory ruling from the Ethics Commission if confronted with a similar situation?

Please respond at your earliest convenience with your positions on this matter.

Respectfully,

Thomas R. Suozzi
Democrat

http://tomsuozzi.com/announcements/pr-071906/