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

Savulich/News Christine Quinn

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