Friday, April 18, 2008

Probers slog thru pile of paper in Council's cash-stash fiasco

BY FRANK LOMBARDI and GREG B. SMITH
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Friday, April 18th 2008, 4:00 AM

Department of Investigation probers are poring through thousands of documents bearing the names of politicians, dollar amounts and a roster of nonprofit groups - some real, some not.

They are looking for crimes and trying to track the millions of taxpayer dollars the City Council spends on pet projects through so-called "discretionary funds."

Nailing down exactly how much and where it went won't be simple.

This year $47.4 million went to Council discretionary funds, with Speaker Christine Quinn controlling $21 million and the rest split up among rank-and-file members.

Other untold millions are buried in another $313 million budgeted by the Council.

Quinn controls how that money is spent on supposed "new initiatives" and "restorations," but individual members or borough delegations often get to share in passing it on to favored groups and take credit for it in their districts.

Possible abuse of discretionary funds is at the heart of the ongoing probe by DOI and the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office, whose investigators have discovered a shocking example of alleged fiscal trickery used to hide and obfuscate.

They uncovered the Council's secret method of parking discretionary funds in fictional nonprofits to distribute later.

That practice, they say, dates back at least to 2003, implicating Quinn and her predecessor, Gifford Miller.

Already the investigation has paid off.

This week two aides to Council member Kendall Stewart (D-Brooklyn) were charged with embezzling $145,000 from a nonprofit funded with discretionary funds, $14,000 of which came from fictional nonprofits.

Stewart, who funneled more than $356,000 into the group, has not been charged and denies wrongdoing.

In announcing the charges, U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said because of the lack of transparency in the budget process, "discretionary funds are ripe for abuse."

He also made clear the investigation is continuing, and evidence that other Council members put money into nonprofits with whom they have ties has already surfaced.

The Daily News reported Thursday that Council member Maria del Carmen Arroyo sponsored $82,000 for a nonprofit that employed her sister and nephew.

Her mother, Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo, funneled another $141,000 in state funds into the same group.

Until this year, it was impossible to know who was sponsoring expenses. Quinn changed that, for the first time connecting Council members to their discretionary spending.

In some cases, members sponsor items by themselves, while in most they team up with colleagues to co-sponsor. In some cases, entire borough delegations put forth discretionary items.

All Council members are alloted the same amount for some items: $151,700 for youth groups; $108,750 for senior citizen groups.

The speaker distributes the rest for "additional needs," which is why senior members and those close to the speaker fare better than newcomers and those from other parties.

An analysis of $36 million of the member items - those released and itemized by the Council in the fall - shows Finance Chairman David Weprin (D-Queens) co-sponsored or sponsored more items than anyone else - 194 items worth $16.8 million. He boasted that he liked to get his name attached to as many groups as possible.

He was followed closely by Lewis Fidler (D-Brooklyn) with 149 items worth $10 million.

Each year, when the Council approves the city budget, it also approves a document called Schedule C - a list of several thousand nonprofit groups allocated pork funds.

Council members eagerly scoop up Schedule C as if it were a new Harry Potter novel. They peek inside to make sure their groups are funded.

One councilwoman famously griped during the 2006 budget vote, "There is so much pork you can almost hear it oink."

gsmith@nydailynews.com

Here's a partial list of "discretionary funds" itemized by city council member. Total amount tabulated is $36 million in the fiscal 2008. There are two categories: Total member items both sponsored and co-sponsored by council member, and "solo" member items (sole sponsorship) by council member. Both have accompanying dollar figures.

NAME DISTRICT BOROUGH POLITICAL PARTY number of items amount solo amount
Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. 32 Queens Democrat 47 $3,440,464 20 $122,357
Tony Avella 19 Queens Democrat 36 $2,804,157 9 $67,607
Maria del Carmen Arroyo 17 Bronx Democrat 50 $2,038,124 19 $239,187
Charles Barron 42 Brooklyn Democrat 59 $3,166,714 31 $130,964
Maria Baez 14 Bronx Democrat 31 $1,331,794 13 $122,187
Bill de Blasio 39 Brooklyn Democrat 93 $8,024,589 20 $176,000
Gale A. Brewer 6 Manhattan Democrat 76 $5,635,120 22 $158,500
Leroy G. Comrie, Jr. 27 Queens Democrat 138 $5,799,464 80 $710,857
Inez E. Dickens 9 Manhattan Democrat 118 $4,523,387 68 $588,200
Erik Martin Dilan 37 Brooklyn Democrat 53 $3,944,339 19 $280,000
Mathieu Eugene 40 Brooklyn Democrat 47 $3,724,750 10 $46,500
Simcha Felder 44 Brooklyn Democrat 70 $4,512,500 21 $103,500
Lewis A. Fidler 46 Brooklyn Democrat 149 $10,081,407 41 $702,625
Helen D. Foster 16 Bronx Democrat 18 $1,460,437 1 $102,187
Dennis P. Gallagher 30 Queens Republican 71 $2,575,857 40 $299,857
Daniel R. Garodnick 4 Manhattan Democrat 60 $4,796,227 12 $119,500
James F. Gennaro 24 Queens Democrat 64 $4,333,071 14 $102,000
Vincent J. Gentile 43 Brooklyn Democrat 113 $3,710,750 60 $156,500
Alan J. Gerson 1 Manhattan Democrat 52 $4,745,477 12 $63,000
Eric N. Gioia 26 Queens Democrat 77 $7,092,464 18 $115,000
Sara M. Gonzalez 38 Brooklyn Democrat 36 $3,329,250 5 $160,000
Vincent Ignizio 51 Staten Island Republican 21 $620,000 12 $92,500
Robert Jackson 7 Manhattan Democrat 96 $4,816,727 43 $337,250
Letitia James 35 Brooklyn Working Families 84 $4,729,607 34 $232,500
Melinda R. Katz 29 Queens Democrat 67 $4,193,835 20 $85,907
G. Oliver Koppell 11 Bronx Democrat 33 $1,533,937 14 $187,187
Jessica S. Lappin 5 Manhattan Democrat 58 $5,081,727 14 $86,500
John C. Liu 20 Queens Democrat 43 $2,990,857 13 $105,500
Melissa Mark-Viverito 8 Manhattan Democrat 53 $3,942,481 12 $174,000
Miguel Martinez 10 Manhattan Democrat 45 $4,055,477 4 $195,000
Michael E. McMahon 49 Staten Island Democrat 104 $2,022,157 72 $661,000
Darlene Mealy 41 Brooklyn Democrat 43 $3,178,250 11 $59,000
Rosie Mendez 2 Manhattan Democrat 87 $5,954,733 25 $118,700
Hiram Monserrate 21 Queens Democrat 29 $2,126,857 6 $67,000
Michael C. Nelson 48 Brooklyn Democrat 81 $5,133,750 25 $217,500
James S. Oddo 50 Staten Island Republican 90 $1,228,000 57 $274,500
Annabel Palma 18 Bronx Democrat 33 $1,936,437 8 $285,000
Christine C. Quinn 3 Manhattan Democrat 153 $8,155,061 60 $423,500
Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. 47 Brooklyn Democrat 91 $5,543,607 27 $314,500
Joel Rivera 15 Bronx Democrat 68 $3,394,244 33 $321,337
James Sanders, Jr. 31 Queens Democrat 24 $2,168,857.00 3 $86,000
Larry B. Seabrook 12 Bronx Democrat 25 $1,314,538 10 $238,431
Helen Sears 25 Queens Democrat 64 $4,001,371 17 $93,000
Kendall Stewart 45 Brooklyn Democrat 52 $3,707,607 17 $140,000
James Vacca 13 Bronx Democrat 32 $1,683,981 12 $155,187
Peter F. Vallone, Jr. 22 Queens Democrat 76 $3,223,071 48 $632,357
Albert Vann 36 Brooklyn Democrat 57 $3,242,937 26 $118,000
David I. Weprin 23 Queens Democrat 194 $16,853,128 31 $736,500
Thomas White, Jr. 28 Queens Democrat 33 $2,480,107 8 $132,857
David Yassky 33 Brooklyn Democrat 84 $8,199,357 29 $285,000

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