Feb.15, 2010
For years, lawmakers in New York City and Albany could toss out money like Mardi Gras trinkets in their districts. Some of this discretionary money — known as member items — went for ball fields and senior centers. But too much of it has gone astray.
Prosecutors last week charged City Councilman Larry Seabrook, a Bronx Democrat, with money laundering, extortion and fraud. Most of the 13-count federal indictment involved Mr. Seabrook’s directing of more than $1 million in city money to groups in his borough from 2002 to 2009. Prosecutors charged that the money benefited his relatives, friends and, most importantly, the councilman. Mr. Seabrook has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including that he tried to get the city to reimburse him $177 for a bagel sandwich and a diet soda.
Last year, Councilman Miguel Martinez, a Democrat of Upper Manhattan, was sentenced to five years in prison after he admitted to the theft of more than $100,000.
In Albany, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating at least one lawmaker, State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., a Democrat of the Bronx, for allegedly directing funds to a clinic he helped operate. And federal prosecutors last week subpoenaed records from Senator Malcolm Smith of Queens, the Senate president, that detail all monies he has directed to community groups over the last decade.
In recent years — and after numerous scandals — both the City Council and the State Legislature tightened rules for handing out these funds. Speaker Christine Quinn, who was criticized for her own use of these funds, has put in place tougher rules that she says would have made it nearly impossible for either Mr. Martinez or Mr. Seabrook to hand out money so freely.
Mr. Cuomo’s investigations, plus new rules enforced by his office, are designed to make sure money goes to worthwhile projects, not political campaigns and relatives. The state requires a sworn statement from the politician that the money is going for a good, public cause.
These reforms are well meant, but it is just too hazardous to give politicians their own pots of money, especially in difficult economic times. It is time to end these slush funds in the city and in Albany. The money should go where it’s most needed, not where it’s most politically fruitful.