Adolfo Carrión and Joe Lhota

 By Rafael Martínez Alequín

The political winds of the 2013 New York City mayoral election emit a foul smell the name of former Deputy Mayor under the Guiliani administration Joseph Lhota has sufaced as a leading mayoral candidate, as well as Adolfo Carrión.

There are other GOP hopefuls.   Long Island resident Rev. A. R. Bernard, billionaire John Catsimatides, weekly newspaper publisher Tom Allon, and announced candidate George MacDonald. What do these politicians have in common? Except for Rev. A. R. Bernard, they were Democrats who became Republicans hoping to do duplicate Bloomberg.

I have disagreed with the Mayor's policies especially when he bought a third term with the consent of his partner, Christine Quinn, and the City Council’s lambs.

The city was racially polarized during the administration of Giuliani and Lhota.  Today, the City is less divided along racial and ethnic lines.

  If Joseph Lhota becomes mayor, he will bring the city back to the time when Giuliani was mayor— divided along race and ethnicity. I was a victim of Lhota's anti-minority view he shoved me on the steps of City Hall and call me a “FUCKING SPIC.”  Read the New York Times report of the Incident:

METRO NEWS BRIEFS: NEW YORK; Deputy Mayor Admits Shoving ... 

veteran police reporter Leonard Levit

View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

 

What do Carrión and Lhota have in common with this writer?  When Carrión became Bronx Borough President, he fired me because of my heavy accent.  I brought a suit against him, and it was settled out of court, they agreed to pay me an unspecified amount .

Why I am writing about it?  My belief is that the city I love, does not need to have Carrión or Lhota at the helm of City Hall.  Carrión is ashamed of Puerto Ricans with an accent, and Joseph Lhota, has a history of engaging his tongue, before he engages his brain.

On the other hand, it will be fun for political reporters to cover a campaign with Lhota running for mayor and Giuliani in tow.

Ex-M.T.A. Chief and Mayoral Candidate Is Unknown to Many Voters, Poll Says

By DAVID W. CHEN

Joseph J. Lhota, the former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, remains an unknown quantity to the vast majority of New Yorkers, according to the poll. Sixty-nine percent said that they did not know enough about him to say whether they liked him or not, and of those who did, 19 percent assessed him favorably, and 11 did not.

New York State Gun Laws The First In Country Since Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting In Newtown

Hans Pennink /REUTERS

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signs the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act at the Capitol in Albany, New York January 15, 2013. The bill was passed by both the Senate and Assembly during a news conference.
By MICHAEL VIRTANEN 01/15/13 05:54 PM ET EST

ALBANY, N.Y. — Jumping out ahead of Washington, New York state enacted the nation's toughest gun restrictions Tuesday and the first since the Connecticut school massacre, including an expanded assault-weapon ban and background checks for buying ammunition.
Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the measure into law less than an hour after it won final passage in the Legislature, with supporters hailing it as a model for the nation and gun-rights activists condemning it as a knee-jerk piece of legislation that won't make anyone safer and is too extreme to win support in the rest of the country.
"Common sense can win," Cuomo said. "You can overpower the extremists with intelligence and with reason and with common sense."
Owners of an estimated 1 million previously legal semiautomatic rifles, such as the Bushmaster model used to kill 20 children and six adults in Newtown, Conn., a month ago, will be allowed to keep their weapons but will have a year to register them with police. The sale of any more such weapons is prohibited.
"When there's a pileup of events, when the federal government does not do it, the state of New York has to lead the way," said state Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, a Brooklyn Democrat and co-sponsor.
In addition to outlawing a broader array of military-style weapons, the measure restricts ammunition magazines to seven rounds, down from the current 10, creates a more comprehensive database of people barred from owning guns, and makes New York the first state to require background checks to buy bullets. The system will also help flag customers who buy large amounts of ammo.
In another provision, therapists, doctors and other mental health professionals will be required to tell state authorities if a patient threatens to use a gun illegally. The patient's weapon could then be taken away.
Richard Aborn, president of the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City, said Cuomo clearly understood gun violence is a complex issue requiring broader solutions than simply banning a particular weapon. "I think that's an important message for the nation," he said.
In a statement, the National Rifle Association said: "These gun control schemes have failed in the past and will have no impact on public safety and crime."
"While lawmakers could have taken a step toward strengthening mental health reporting and focusing on criminals, they opted for trampling the rights of law-abiding gun owners in New York, and they did it under a veil of secrecy in the dark of night," the NRA said.
President Barack Obama will unveil his own proposals in response to the Newtown tragedy on Wednesday. He favors sweeping gun legislation, including a ban on assault weapons. But because of powerful opposition from the gun lobby, he is said to be weighing 19 steps he could take through executive action alone.
Those could include ordering stricter action against people who lie on gun-sale background checks, seeking to ensure more complete records in the federal database, and striking limits on federal research into gun use.
New York's law passed the state Senate, which is run by a Republican-dominated coalition, 43-18 Monday night. The Democrat-controlled Assembly approved it 104-43 Tuesday afternoon.
Republicans complained the measure was rammed through the Legislature and infringes on the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
"A lot of people say, `Why do you need these guns?'" said Assemblyman James Tedisco, a Schenectady Republican. "It's part of the freedoms and liberties we have. ... It's for our public safety. It's to protect us from our own government."
He said the bill was dangerous because it would give people a "false sense of well-being."
"You are using innocent children killed by a madman for your own political agenda," he said. "You are actually making people less safe."
Tom King, president of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, questioned whether other states or the federal government would follow New York's lead and said he expects the law to be challenged in court.
Previously, New York state law on assault weapons banned semiautomatics that have detachable magazines and at least two military-type features, such as a pistol grip, folding stock, muzzle flash suppressor or bayonet mount. The new law outlaws weapons with just one of those features.
It also requires background checks for even private gun sales, except those among immediate family.
In addition, it says handgun owners must renew their licenses every five years, and it increases prison sentences for using guns in various crimes or taking them onto school grounds.
"By making this a priority, the governor has not only saved lives but will hopefully inspire leaders in Washington also to take swift action," said Dan Gross, president of the national Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
In a concession to the pro-gun side, local authorities will be allowed to withhold the identities of registered gun owners – an issue that erupted recently when a suburban New York City newspaper published the names and addresses of gun owners in its readership area.
The New York legislation sparked spirited discussion among customers at the Buffalo Gun Center in the suburb of Cheektowaga, where business was so brisk that people had to wait in line in freezing temperatures just to get in the door.
"It's ridiculous. It's absolutely – how to put it nicely – it's Prince Andrew Cuomo's bid for the White House," said Jim Hanley, who was waiting to buy another handgun. "I want to do it before the right is taken away. Andrew Cuomo and Barack Hussein Obama are two best gun salesmen in the history of the world."
___
Associated Press writers Michael Gormley in Albany and Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo contributed to this report.

Lhota, at Business Luncheon, Talks Up ’13 Race for Mayor

By DAVID W. CHEN

At a luncheon for the New York Building Congress, Joseph J. Lhota, the former chief of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, more than hinted at his intention to run for mayor.

Tina Fineberg for The New York Times

More than 150,000 students would be affected by the strike.

The Local 1811 of the Amalgamated Transit Union said the decision for its 8,800 drivers and matrons to strike was essentially about children’s safety.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg held a news conference to denounce the move and say that the city was ready with an array of backup steps to support children and their families.
video by Rafael Martínez Alequín

Bill de Blasio targets finance firms investing in gunmakers

City advocate wants 12 major financiers of weapon manufacturers to retract funding following Newtown, Conn. school shooting, the latest in a series of killings using assault weapons.

Comments (3)

By Tina Moore / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Monday, January 14, 2013, 2:26 AM

Bloomberg

BlackRock Inc. has been targeted by City Advocate Bill de Blasio for backing assault weapon manufacturers

Here is the money behind the guns. Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has compiled a list of what he calls New York's "Dirty Dozen" — the city's 12 biggest corporate investors backing gun manufacturers. Now he's demanding they disarm.

On Monday, he's beginning a campaign aimed at pressuring the 12 investors to divest themselves from companies that sell military-grade weapons and ammunition to civilians. 

"The days of quietly condoning business as usual are over," de Blasio told The Daily News. "We're pulling back the curtain." His office is creating a site online that will allow people to check if their IRAs, 401 (k) plans or mutual funds are invested with any of the "Dirty Dozen." 

OPINION: THE NATION CAN'T RECOVER UNTIL WE'RE ALL SAFER

De Blasio - who is running for mayor - laid out his reasoning for the campaign in letters to each of the 12 corporate investors, demanding, "Wipe your hands of this destructive industry." 

"The tragic shooting in Newtown, Conn., has forced a national debate on gun control. But as we consider necessary legislation, we cannot leave other tools unused to force the gun industry to reform its practices," he wrote. "A decisive action by shareholders can fundamentally alter industry practices including the manufacture of military grade weapons for the civilian market and the dangerous legislative agenda promulgated and financed by the gun industry. Responsible shareholders can no longer be a party to these practices." 

Picasa

Cerberus Capital Management announced it would sell the country's largest gun company, Freedom Group, which produced the weapon used in the Newtown, Conn. school shooting.

The 12 investment companies singled out by de Blasio held more than $1.5 billion in gun company stock as of September, according the most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission reviewed by his office. 

The so-called Dirty Dozen include hedge funds like Renaissance Technologies, and large mutual fund companies like Black Rock. 

BlackRock is No. 2 on the list, with $345.8 million in gun-company investments, according to de Blasio's office. Renaissance Technologies is No. 4 on the list, holding $79.5 million in shares of gunmakers Smith & Wesson Corp., which produced the M&P15 used in the Aurora, Colo., theater rampage, and Sturm, Ruger & Co., the maker of the Mini-14 semi-automatic weapon used by Anders Breivik to slaughter 69 people, mostly teenagers, in 2011 in Norway. 

BlackRock spokeswoman Lauren Post said in an e-mail, "We invest on behalf of our clients. Any stocks in the companies you outlined are included in certain major stock indexes (Russell, FTSE, etc) and therefore are held in passive index funds." 

A spokesman for Renaissance Technologies declined to comment. 

No. 1 on the list is the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, which announced in the days following the Newtown shooting that it would sell the country's largest gun company, Freedom Group. The gunmaker produced the Bushmaster firearm that Adam Lanza used in the Newtown massacre which killed 20 elementary school kids and six adults. 

Cerberus will come off de Blasio's list when the sale's complete, de Blasio said. 

Adam Kanzer, managing director of Domini Social Investments LLC, a mutual fund company which only invests in companies that it considers socially responsible, said other investment managers too often select investments "without even thinking" about the consequences. 

"They're simply pushing a button and an algorithm is making a decision for them," he said. 

And as a result, millions of Americans people are putting their hard-earned dollars into the gun companies through mutual funds and 401k plans. 

"There are consequences for allocating billions of dollars to companies that are producing dangerous products and then selling them through retail channels," Kanzer said. "Those companies take a portion of their profits and funnel it over to the NRA."  

With Erin Durkin

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bill-de-blasio-targets-gunmaker-investors-article-1.1239560#ixzz2HyHPUTF2

Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times

Fernando Ferrer, the acting chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and former mayoral candidate and Bronx borough president, sat down for breakfast at the Tibbett Diner in the Bronx.

Breaking Bread: Fernando Ferrer

With Transit Chairmanship, a Familiar Face Slips Back Onstage

By CLYDE HABERMAN 7:57 PM ET

Fernando Ferrer’s unexpected re-emergence as acting chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority prompted curiosity about second acts in New York public life.

Naomi Wolf | Will Obama's 'War on Weed' Ignore Voters?

Naomi Wolf, Guardian UK
Naomi writes: "Obama is thinking about more than a warning: he might actually sue the states, and any others that follow Colorado's and Washington States' leads."
READ MORE

Advocate for the Homeless Announces a Mayoral Run

By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM

George T. McDonald, who developed the Doe Fund, said his campaign would focus on joblessness.

• Video: George T. McDonald Announces Candidacy

US Vice-President Joe Biden makes brief remarks to the press at the beginning of a meeting about gun control. (photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Joe Biden: Obama Prepared to Use Executive Action on Gun Control

By Tom McCarthy, Guardian UK

10 January 13

Vice-president promises swift action from administration at inaugural meeting of national task force on gun control

resident Barack Obama is considering the use of an executive order to restrict access to guns or ammunition in the wake of nationwide revulsion in the US over the Connecticut school shootings, vice-president Joe Biden said Wednesday.

Such a move would be deeply controversial in the gun lobby, but Biden said the president was determined to explore every legislative avenue.

"The president is going to act," Biden said in a briefing to reporters before the inaugural meeting of a new national task force on gun control. "Executive order, executive action that can be taken; we haven't decided what that is yet. But we're compiling it all with the help of the attorney general and all the rest of the cabinet members as well as legislative action, we believe, is required."

Biden did not specify what kind of action the president might take. In the past the Obama administration has used executive orders, which have the force of law, to require gun dealers to report when customers buy multiple high-powered rifles and to increase penalties for violating gun laws. A new order, nearly certain to face legal challenges, could seek to tighten enforcement of laws governing private sales of guns or to beef up background checks.

"We are not going to get caught up in the notion that unless we can do everything we're going to do nothing," Biden said. "It's critically important that we act."

Any unilateral action by the president seemed sure to inflame gun advocates, who argue that gun sales are protected under the second amendment and who equate gun control with tyranny. Gun-rights groups are organising a "Gun Appreciation Day" on the weekend of the president's second inauguration. The influential conservative website the Drudge Report illustrated the story covering Biden's remarks with pictures of Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin.

Biden said that the 14 December massacre at a Connecticut elementary school, in which 20 first-graders were shot dead in their classrooms by a man armed with a semi-automatic rifle, had mobilised the nation to act.

"Every once in a while there's something that awakens the conscience of the country, and that tragic event did it in a way like nothing I've seen in my career," Biden said.

The national taskforce includes the victims of mass shootings and gun control advocates. The group plans to meet Thursday with representatives of the National Rifle Association and gun retailers including Walmart. The taskforce was to deliver recommendations to the president as early as mid-month.

New York could become the first state to pass gun control laws after the Connecticut massacre, aides to Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in advance of his annual address planned for Wednesday afternoon. Lawmakers in Albany worked late into the night Tuesday to settle on new rules to further restrict the sales of assault rifles and large-capacity magazines, and to require the regular renewal of gun permits, among other measures.

The NRA has vocally opposed calls for new gun control legislation, saying that more guns are needed to improve public safety.

"If it's crazy to call for armed officers in our schools to protect our children, then call me crazy," NRA head Wayne LaPierre said a week after the Connecticut shooting. "I think the American people think it's crazy not to do it. It's the one thing that would keep people safe."

Deaths from guns are on pace to surpass traffic deaths in the United States by 2015, according to a Bloomberg News study. In 2011, the latest year for which detailed statistics are available, there were 12,664 murders in the US. Of those, 8,583 were caused by firearms, down 3% from a year earlier.

The Biden taskforce is part of new wave of gun control activity across the country. Former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in a 2011 massacre in Tucson that killed six, announced on Tuesday the formation of a political action committee to fight the NRA.

"Special interests purporting to represent gun owners but really advancing the interests of an ideological fringe have used big money and influence to cow Congress into submission," she wrote in an editorial with husband Mark Kelly, an astronaut. "Rather than working to find the balance between our rights and the regulation of a dangerous product, these groups have cast simple protections for our communities as existential threats to individual liberties."

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is heading up a campaign called Demand a Plan that has produced dozens of videos in which family members of victims of gun violence call for new gun laws. Advocates have proposed a coalition of mothers against gun violence that would be modeled after Madd, the anti-drunken driving group that succeeded in lowering the legal blood-alcohol content for drivers nationally.

 

Comments   

We are concerned about a recent drift towards vitriol in the RSN Reader comments section. There is a fine line between moderation and censorship. No one likes a harsh or confrontational forum atmosphere. At the same time everyone wants to be able to express themselves freely. We'll start by encouraging good judgment. If that doesn't work we'll have to ramp up the moderation.

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Remember that making the world better begins with responsible action.

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+2 # SMoonz 2013-01-10 13:40

Ok so an Executive Order might be signed in order to address the gun issue. Quick reaction which would be odd.

Big banks plunder the American people, 29 trillion dollars worth gets taken from us, the system isn't regulated in any way. Number of legislation or Executive actions taken. Zero.

Doesn't that even scare you?

 

 

+2 # GDC707 2013-01-10 15:59

Yes it does. It all scares me.

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Hilda Solis Resigns: Labor Secretary Announces She'll Depart Obama Cabinet

AP  

Posted: 01/09/2013 4:28 pm EST  |  Updated: 01/09/2013 6:53 pm EST

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is leaving her position in President Barack Obama's cabinet, the Associated Press reports.
The White House confirmed the development in a statement:

Over her long career in public service - as an advocate for environmental justice in California, state legislator, member of Congress and Secretary of Labor - Hilda Solis has been a tireless champion for working families. Over the last four years, Secretary Solis has been a critical member of my economic team as we have worked to recover from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and strengthen the economy for the middle class. Her efforts have helped train workers for the jobs of the future, protect workers' health and safety and put millions of Americans back to work. I am grateful to Secretary Solis for her steadfast commitment and service not only to the Administration, but on behalf of the American people. I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

More from the AP:

In a message to colleagues, Solis said she made the decision to leave after discussing it with her family and close friends. One of the highest-ranking Hispanics in Obama's administration, Solis has won praise from labor unions for aggressive enforcement of wage and hour laws and job safety regulations. But business groups have criticized her as not taking a more cooperative approach.
"Leaving the department is one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made, because I have taken our mission to heart," Solis said. "As the daughter of parents who worked in factories, paid their union dues and achieved their goal of a middle-class life, and as the first Latina to head a major federal agency, it has been an incredible honor to serve."
President Barack Obama called Solis "a tireless champion for working families."
"Over the last four years, Secretary Solis has been a critical member of my economic team as we have worked to recover from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and strengthen the economy for the middle class," Obama said in a statement.

Solis said she is proud that 1.7 million people have completed federally funded job training programs under her tenure. Her agency oversaw the spending of about $67 billion for unemployment insurance benefits, job training and other job placement and worker protection programs under Obama's economic stimulus package.
Separately, the White House said Wednesday that Attorney General Eric Holder, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki would remain in their posts.
Holder and Sebelius have been frequent targets of Republican foes in Congress. The attorney general has been criticized for the government's handling of Operation Fast and Furious, a gun-running investigation gone awry. Sebelius is in charge of putting in place Obama's health care overhaul law, which Republicans have failed to repeal.

This story is developing. Check back for more updates...

Also on HuffPost:

Dozens Injured in Manhattan Ferry Crash

By MARC SANTORA 17 minutes ago

Commuters aboard a vessel docking in Lower Manhattan Wednesday morning described feeling a huge jolt, an accident that officials said left at least 57 people injured.

January 8th, 2013Top Story

Here Is a List of All the Assholes Handsome Law-Abiding Citizens Who Own Guns in New York City

• 
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By John Cook

Last month, the Journal News sparked a firestorm of protest when it published a mappable database of every licensed gun owner in Westchester and Rockland counties, north of New York City. The paper obtained the data—which New York state law explicitly and unambiguously demands be made public—through open records requests. The reaction was swift and furious—gun rights and privacy advocates published the names and addresses of the paper's editors in retaliation, and the paper (ironically) hired armed guards to protect against threats.

One weird reaction came from TV wraith Ann Coulter, who told Fox News' Sean Hannity last week: "If we're producing lists of gun permit owners, I want them for Manhattan. I want to know how many rich liberals with their body guards have gun permits." You're in luck, Ann. I happened to have just such a list in my filing cabinet. Here it is.

Below is a 446-page list of every licensed gun owner in New York City. I obtained it from the NYPD two-and-a-half years ago via a Freedom of Information Law request. Because the NYPD is more interested in raping and/or eating ladies and spying on Muslims than it is in honoring public records law, the list contains only the names, and not the addresses, of the licensees. (If you're curious, here's what section 400.00 of the Penal Law of New York, entitled "Licenses to carry, possess, repair and dispose of firearms," has to say on the matter: "The name and address of any person to whom an application for any license has been granted shall be a public record." The only way to get the associated addresses from the NYPD, as the law requires, would be to take them to court, which no one has apparently done.)

I reported in 2010 that the names of Fox New chief Roger Ailes, his mouthpiece Sean Hannity, Howard Stern, Don Imus, Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr., and Estee Lauder heir Ron Lauder appear to have permits to carry or own guns in the city—though the lack of addresses makes it difficult to verify that it's Howard Stern the radio personality as opposed to Howard Stern the accountant from Queens. If you want to have an intern scour it for "liberals," Ann, have at it. (Interesting sidenote: The Journal News also requested permit data from Putnam County, N.Y., which is loudly and proudly refusing to obey the law and hand it over. One of the names on Putnam County's list is presumably Ailes, who has a home there. Putnam County's effort to flout the law is being led by state Sen. Greg Ball, who is a close ally of Ailes and has previously served as his hatchet man in an effort to shut down a rival to two newspapers that Ailes and his wife own in Putnam County.)

But if it's addresses you want, look no further: New York pistol owners must register not only with their local police departments, but with the state as well. And the names of 1.2 million New Yorkers licensed to own handguns, and the addresses of 300,000 of them, have been freely available online for more than two years. Two databases listing all of the handgun owners were initially posted online anonymously at a web site called Who's Packing NY in August of 2010. That web site is no longer working, but a mirror—complete with the two full databases available for download—is still working here. According to the site, the New York state police handed over the gun data in two spreadsheets, one called "new system" and one called "old system." Only the "new system" entries have address data—Ailes and Hannity, for instance, list their address as News Corp's Avenue of the Americas headquarters, so we know it's them. The John Mack that shows up on the NYPD list has an address on the state list that happens to be Morgan Stanley's headquarters, so we know that former Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack packs heat. The James Breslin that shows up on the NYPD list gave the state an address for a New York City Fire Department facility, so it's probably not Jimmy Breslin the reporter and writer.

(The NYPD list, by the way, is divided into five kinds of licenses: "PR," or premises license, allows you to keep a gun in your home or business but no where else; "CB," or carry business—which Ailes has—allows you to carry it on your person; "CG," or carry guard, is for security guards; "SC," or special carry, is for businesses to let various qualified employees carry guns, and "CL," or limited carry business, is a carry business license with special restrictions.)

In any case, it's clear that many of the Rockland County and Westchester County gun owners who are outraged at having their addresses plastered on the internet have had those addresses plastered on the internet for years without it causing a problem. And if anyone wanted to really stir some shit up, they'd grab those Who's Packing databases and throw them up on Google Maps.

Here's the full, searchable, NYPD list. (And for the record, they are not all assholes. Some of them need guns for legitimate reasons for their jobs, like providing security for assholes.)

Click to view Click to view

[Image by Jim Cooke]

Racino probe targets Dems’ high rollers

• By JOSH MARGOLIN and CARL CAMPANILE
• Last Updated: 6:37 AM, January 8, 2013
• Posted: 12:37 AM, January 8, 2013

EXCLUSIVE

The feds are grilling state Senate Democratic insiders as part of an explosive probe into an alleged Aqueduct casino bid-rigging scandal, The Post has learned.
Investigators are asking questions about the roles of then-Senate Democratic leaders John Sampson and Malcolm Smith and others who were accused of helping the Aqueduct Entertainment Group (AEG) land a multibillion-dollar casino contract three years ago, sources said.
The state ultimately rescinded the contract in 2010 amid a state inspector general’s probe into claims of favoritism. The IG’s office referred its scathing findings to federal authorities for potential prosecution.

Robert Miller

John Sampson and other Senate Dems are being eyed in Aqueduct probe.

The state subsequently selected Genting, an international gambling firm, to operate the Aqueduct slots casino.
It’s the second federal probe targeting Sampson. The Post last week reported that the former Senate minority leader is linked to a broader federal investigation into Queens Rep. Gregory Meeks and a convicted real estate developer, Edul Ahmad.
Smith, who has talked about running for mayor on the Republican line, also is being targeted as part of the Meeks inquiry, a law-enforcement official said.
FBI agents recently interviewed witnesses about the Aqueduct case who were captured on wiretaps talking to other subjects convicted on corruption charges — including ex-state Sens. Carl Kruger and Hiram Monserrate and lobbyist Richard Lipsky.
“The line of questioning was about the Aqueduct deal,” said one Senate Democratic source familiar with the case.
“They asked about John Sampson, Malcolm Smith, Eric Adams and Carl Andrews,” the source said of FBI agents. “They said, ‘What do you know about these people and their role in the Aqueduct deal?’ ”
Adams was chairman of the Senate Racing and Wagering Committee when AEG was awarded the bid. Andrews, a former Brooklyn state senator, was AEG’s lobbyist.
The Senate Democratic insider said the feds appeared to be looking at developing potential conspiracy charges for setting up the contract for AEG.
In the IG report, Sampson was slammed for tainting the process by leaking a confidential bidding document to AEG’s lobbyist, Andrews, that included the detailed plans of rival bidders.
At the time, Sampson insisted he did not leak privileged information. But the IG report dismissed his claim as “fallacious.”
Sampson declined to comment yesterday.
Meanwhile, a source told the feds that Smith boasted that the AEG casino would be his “golden parachute” when he left the Senate.
During his testimony, Smith insisted he did not play an active role in the Aqueduct selection process. But the IG report concluded that he was an AEG advocate who served as “AEG’s eyes and ears in the Senate.”
Smith, asked about the federal probe yesterday, denied any wrongdoing.
“Malcolm has committed no illegal activity whatsoever, nor has he been contacted by any law-enforcement agency in this matter,” said Smith spokesman Todd Shapiro.
ccampanile@nypost.com

My Successor? Mayor Ponders Dream Choices

By MICHAEL BARBARO and MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM 10:50 PM ET

Joshua Bright for The New York Times

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg with Christine C. Quinn, Council speaker, on Monday. She has been viewed as his preferred candidate.

Advisers to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, concerned about the field of possible candidates, have floated the idea of a mayoral run to at least five boldface figures.

Republican Party Seems As Divided, Angry As Ever

By STEVE PEOPLES 01/05/13 11:02 AM ET EST

BOSTON — The Republican Party seems as divided and angry as ever.
Infighting has penetrated the highest levels of the House GOP leadership. Long-standing geographic tensions have increased, pitting endangered Northeastern Republicans against their colleagues from other parts of the country. Enraged tea party leaders are threatening to knock off dozens of Republicans who supported a measure that raised taxes on the nation's highest earners.
"People are mad as hell. I'm right there with them," Amy Kremer, chairman of the Tea Party Express, said late last week, declaring that she has "no confidence" in the party her members typically support. Her remarks came after GOP lawmakers agreed to higher taxes but no broad spending cuts as part of a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff."
"Anybody that voted `yes' in the House should be concerned" about primary challenges in 2014, she said.
At the same time, one of the GOP's most popular voices, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, blasted his party's "toxic internal politics" after House Republicans initially declined to approve disaster relief for victims of Superstorm Sandy. He said it was "disgusting to watch" their actions and he faulted the GOP's most powerful elected official, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
The GOP's internal struggles to figure out what it wants to be were painfully exposed after Mitt Romney's loss to President Barack Obama on Nov. 6, but they have exploded in recent days. The fallout could extend well beyond the party's ability to win policy battles on Capitol Hill. It could hamper Republicans as they examine how to regroup and attract new voters after a disheartening election season.
To a greater degree than the Democrats, the Republican Party has struggled with internal divisions for the past few years. But these latest clashes have seemed especially public and vicious.
"It's disappointing to see infighting in the party," said Ryan Williams, a Republican operative and former Romney aide. "It doesn't make us look like we're in a position to challenge the president and hold him accountable to the promises he made."
What's largely causing the dissension? A lack of a clear GOP leader with a single vision for the party.

Republicans haven't had a consistent standard-bearer since President George W. Bush left office in 2008 with the nation on the edge of a financial collapse. His departure, along with widespread economic concerns, gave rise to a tea party movement that infused the GOP's conservative base with energy. The tea party is credited with broad Republican gains in the 2010 congressional elections, but it's also blamed for the rising tension between the pragmatic and ideological wings of the party – discord that festers still.
It was much the same for Democrats in the late 1980s before Bill Clinton emerged to win the White House and shift his party to the political center.
2012 presidential nominee Romney never fully captured the hearts of his party's most passionate voters. But his tenure atop the party was short-lived; since Election Day, he's disappeared from the political world.
Those Republican leaders who remain engaged – Christie, Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus – are showing little sign of coming together.
Those on the GOP's deep bench of potential 2016 presidential contenders, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, have begun staking out their own, sometimes conflicting ideas for the party.
Over the short term at least, the party's divisions probably will continue to be exposed.
Obama has outlined a second-term agenda focused on immigration and gun control; those are issues that would test Republican solidarity even in good times. Deep splits already exist between Republican pragmatists and the conservative base, who oppose any restrictions on guns or allowances for illegal immigrants.
It's unclear whether Obama can exploit the GOP fissures or whether the Republican dysfunction will hamper him. With Boehner unable to control his fractured caucus, the White House is left wondering how to deal with the House on any divisive issue.
Fiscal issues aren't going away, with lawmakers were agree on a broad deficit-reduction package. The federal government reached its borrowing limit last week, so Congress has about two months or three months to raise the debt ceiling or risk a default on federal debt. Massive defense and domestic spending cuts are set to take effect in late February. By late March, the current spending plan will end, raising the possibility of a government shutdown.
Frustrated conservative activists and GOP insiders hope that the continued focus on fiscal matters will help unite the factions as the party pushes for deep spending cuts. That fight also may highlight Democratic divisions because the party's liberal wing vehemently opposes any changes to Social Security or Medicare
"Whenever you lose the White House, the party's going to have ups and downs," said Republican strategist Ron Kaufman. "My guess is when the spending issues come up again, the Democrats' warts will start to show as well."
The GOP's fissures go beyond positions on issues. They also are geographical.
Once a strong voice in the party, moderate Republicans across the Northeast are nearly extinct. Many of those who remain were frustrated in recent days when Boehner temporarily blocked a vote on a disaster relief bill.
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said campaign donors in the Northeast who give the GOP after the slight "should have their head examined."
Boehner, who just won a second term as speaker, quickly scheduled a vote on a narrower measure for Friday after the new Congress convened, and it rushed out a $9.7 billion measure to help pay flood insurance claims.
Weary Republican strategists are trying to be hopeful about the GOP's path ahead, and liken the current situation to party's struggles after Obama's 2008 election. At the time, some pundits questioned the viability of the Republican Party. But it came roaring back two years later, thanks largely to the tea party.
"If we have learned anything from the fiscal cliff fiasco, conservatives discovered we need to stand firm, and stand together, on our principles from beginning to end," said Republican strategist Alice Stewart. "It's frustrating to see the GOP drop the ball and turn a position of true compromise into total surrender. The Democrats succeeded in their strategy of divide and conquer."
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Associated Press writers Ken Thomas and Ben Feller in Washington contributed to this report.

Juan Pichardo, hero cop, disarms bandit in bloody Bronx car-lot shootout, 2 NYPD officers shot in Brooklyn released from hospital

The 9-year New York Police Department veteran broke free of zip ties, takes bullet in thigh during hour-long battle Thursday evening. Officer Michael Levay and plainclothes partner Lukasz Kozicki both leave hospital.

By Matthew Lysiak , Daniel Beekman AND Larry Mcshane / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Friday, January 4, 2013, 1:56 PM

Updated: Friday, January 4, 2013, 5:41 PM

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Dan Beekman/New York Daily News

“That guy could have killed one of us,” says Jason Marengo, a manager at the business. “The guy said, ‘This is not a joke, this is a stick up.’ He had a gun to my face.”

Hero NYPD veteran Juan Pichardo stared death in the face — and never blinked.
Pichardo ignored a gun-toting bandit’s threat of execution to help thwart an armed robbery at a friend’s Bronx car lot, an eyewitness said Friday.
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“That guy could have killed one of us,” said Jason Marengo, a manager at the business. “The guy said, ‘This is not a joke, this is a stick up.’ He had a gun to my face.” Gunman Jeffrey Okine and an accomplice posed as buyers interested in buying a 2001 Nissan Maxima — only to pull a gun and demand cash once they were inside the office at the Boston Road Auto Mall.
THREE COPS SHOT IN TWO INCIDENTS IN THE BRONX, BROOKLYN
The bandits wrapped plastic zip ties around Pichardo’s wrists and began rifling through the office for cash at about 6:30 p.m., Marengo recounted.

Joe Marino/New York Daily News

Mayor  Bloomberg, joined by (left to right) Transit Chief Joseph Fox, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Chief of Department Joseph Esposito, speaks to news media following the shooting of  three NYPD cops on Thursday.

The bandits wrapped plastic zip ties around Pichardo’s wrists and began rifling through the office for cash at about 6:30 p.m., Marengo recounted.
“He said he was going to kill Juan if he didn’t give him the number for the safe,” Marengo said.
“That’s when Juan grabbed the opportunity.” The nine-year vet escaped from the zip ties and jumped one of the bandits, taking a bullet through the right thigh. A bleeding Pichardo pushed the gunman to the floor, while Marengo chased the robber’s sidekick.
JOSEPH BAEZ, ACCUSED OF SHOOTING OFFICER NELSON VERGARA, JAILED WITHOUT BAIL

Andrew Savulich/New York Daily News

Police and detectives are on the scene at a Boston Road auto dealership after an off-duty police officer was shot in the leg Thursday evening while foiling an attempted robbery.

While the second bandit escaped, he was arrested along with the getaway driver and a third man shortly after the shooting, police said. Pichardo was one of three city cops wounded in a single bloody hour Thursday evening. While he remained hospitalized in the Bronx, one of two officers wounded in a Brooklyn subway gunfight was released Friday.

DCPI

Handguns recovered by police at the Bronx (left) and Brooklyn (right) shootings.

“It’s nice to be going home,” said Officer Michael Levay, who survived with just a welt after a bullet slammed into the back of his bullet-resistant vest around 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
About 70 fellow cops applauded and bagpipes played as Levay gingerly walked into the backseat of a waiting silver sedan with his parents. Levay, 27, flashed a thumbs-up before driving off.
Levay, 27, flashed a thumbs-up before driving off. His plainclothes partner, Lukasz Kozicki, was hit three times in his legs during the shootout aboard an N train in Brooklyn. The 32-year-old Kozicki appeared pained when he left the the Lutheran Medical Center in Bay Ridge about three hours later.

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Giuliani Is Ready to Put His Man in Mayor’s Seat

By MICHAEL BARBARO

Rudolph W. Giuliani has put his Rolodex behind Joseph J. Lhota, the recent Metropolitan Transit Authority chief whom he sees as a potential pragmatist contender.