Talk Bronx New York

Embattled Gov. Paterson speaks to reporters on Thursday.

ALBANY - It’s another black eye for the state police.

A Bronx woman’s claim that state troopers pressed her to abandon a domestic violence complaint against a top aide to Gov. Paterson is just the latest allegation the department is doing political dirty work.

“This is just despicable,” said state Sen. Eric Schneiderman (D-Manhattan), one of several lawmakers to express outrage over the new allegation.

“I am unaware of any law or policy in the state of New York that authorizes this sort of conduct by the state police,” Schneiderman said.

It’s not the first time the state police has been accused of flexing its muscles inappropriately.

Back in the summer 2007, in a scandal that would come to be known as Troopergate, then-Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno accused former Gov. Eliot Spitzer of using troopers to spy on him.

The ensuing investigation got so heated that a former state police inspector who once headed the governor’s personal security detail, Gary Berwick, committed suicide at his home in Orange County in May 2008.

Around that time, Paterson nominated Harry Corbitt, 62, to run the state police and clean up the department.

Now Corbitt admits that one of his troopers directly confronted Sherr-una Booker, who had filed abuse charges against Paterson aide David Johnson, even though the agency had no legal authority over the case. Read more..

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The DN’s Erin Einhorn sent this video of yesterday’s press conference with Sen. Hiram Monserrate at which he compared himself to murdered civil rights workers and announced he had hired civil rights attorneys Norman Siegel and Steve Hyman to take his case.

You’ll notice as Einhorn pans the crowd that three Bronx Democrats - Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. and Assemblymen Jose Rivera and Peter Rivera - showed up to support their fellow Latino lawmaker, while no officials from Monserrate’s home county of Queens is present.

Diaz Sr. is a longstanding Monserrate supporter, but I was surprised to see the two Riveras (who are allies, but not relatives) on hand.

“It’s not a question of support; it’s a question of whether somebody is not getting the kind of fair treatment I think they should be getting,” Peter Rivera told me this morning.

“I think the Senate is treading on very dangerous ground when it tries to impeach one of their members for being found guilty of a misdemeanor. Those aren’t the rules that we have lived by in Albany. Ever.”

“I have an issue with changing the rules midstream and singling out individuals, particularly when they happen to be Hispanic.” Read more..

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Gov. David Paterson insisted the $750 million in scheduled payments to schools and local governments that will be withheld tomorrow are not a “cut” or an “impoundment.”

“The state has run out of money,” Paterson declared. “…We think we are well within the bounds of legal authority.”

NYSUT is reviewing its legal options.

Paterson defended his actions in a Plattsburgh Press-Republican OpEd.

One in five legislators have staffers who do double-duty as their campaign treasurers - an arrangement good government advocates warn could present a conflict of interest.

“Albany’s entrenched pay-to-play culture doesn’t get much more naked than this,” the DN says.

The relationship between the governor and the Legislature is so bad that Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson is refusing to attend formal events with Paterson.

Tired of living on the 32-30 knife’s edge, Senate Democrats are negotiating to make Republicans committee chairs in hopes of improving relations with the minority.

The MTA unveils its new austerity budget this morning, and drastic service cuts are expected.

Paterson said his “hands are tied” when it comes to the MTA because the state has no money.

Andrea Peyser thinks Eliot Spitzer, “whose cast-iron ego will outlast the cockroaches in a nuclear war,” has a good shot at success if he tried for a 2010 comeback.

Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum was once so close to ex-state Comptroller Alan Hevesi that she hired three people close to him, including one of his sons.

Chris Smith marvels at the “indomitability” of New York’s elected officials, writing: “They refuse to go away, even when the law, the voters, or sanity says they should.

The state’s system of juvenile prisons is so riddled with problems the agency overseeing them wants all but the most dangerous of youthful offenders to stay out of them.

The Post likes the idea of letting AG Andrew Cuomo have subpoena power to go after corrupt state lawmakers.

Cindy Adams is standing by her story about Paterson saying he wanted to piss “on” the Legislature.

It’s D-Day for the Kingsbridge Armory project, and so far things are not looking good.

Jordan Moss says Bronx officials can “proudly cross the finish line or meekly toss the keys back to Mayor Bloomberg.” Read more..

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October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Many, if not all, of the Bronx’s elected officials have hosted, or attended, events and rallies designed to shed light on the crime (which is more prevalent in the Bronx than elsewhere in the city), honor the victims, and condemn the perpetrators.

It’s been interesting, then, following local pols’ reaction – or lack of reaction – to the conviction last week of State Sen. Hiram Monserrate of Queens, who was found guilty of misdemeanor assault of his girlfriend.

With the exception of Jeff Klein, not one of Monserrate’s Senate colleagues here in the Bronx have been willing to criticize him, at least publicly, let alone demand his removal from office.

State Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr., for one, seems amused, not angry. “We are still the Four Amigos!” Diaz told reporters – a reference to himself, Monserrate, Pedro Espada, and Carl Kruger – after Monserrate was found not-guilty of the more serious felony assault charge, which would have forced him to step down. Read more..

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We’ve been covering Pedro Espada for more than 15 years now - although he stopped returning our calls when we slapped The Wascally Wabbit moniker on him (We’re told he WEALLY hates it).

Over that time, we’ve seen him play fast and loose, be it in politics (even secretly taping fellow pols), business, with campaign finance boards or the IRS - and get away with it.

But while he’s managed to squirm and brazen his way out of a bunch of jams, he’s REALLY outdone himself in the chutzpah department over the past few months, rising to state Senate majority leader by committing multiple counts of felony politics.

Just ask Albany Republicans and Democrats who’ve made handshake deals with him and wound up shy a few fingers.

He may be evil, he may be perverse (then again, he IS a politician), but the man is a genius.

Pedro’s parlayed his slippery loyalty, street-thug smarts, double-crossing reputation and don’t-give-a-damn attitude into not only becoming a major power in Albany, but the newest Bronx icon.

Type “Sen. Pedro Espada Bronx” on Google and he gets 236,000 hits - and counting. Jeesh!

El Diario’s Gerson Borrero quoted Pedro last week as telling reporters camped outside his Soundview health clinic: “Do you truly understand that I don’t give a s— about what you write?” Read more..

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