Those who took care of Sen. Dean Skelos's son Adam Skelos could be sure of one thing: in Albany,he'd occupy care of them. That was the case when Bjornulf White, a businessman with an environmental technology firm that had already paid Adam tens of thousands of dollars as part of a bribery scheme, or wanted access to tall level decision-makersin Albany.
With his father at the head of the state Senate,Adam pulled strings to arrange meetings between that businessman and officials in Albany to back him win legislation favorable to White's business.
The father and son were both convicted last month on corruption charges related to accepting cash and jobs for Adam, in exchange for Dean Skelos influencing legislation.
But ample government groups say that such illegal money handed to politicians under the table isn't the only problem in Albany; they say millions in legal campaign donations give unfair access to the donors.
Benjamin Dulchin, and executive director of the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development,works with tenant groups who regularly travel to Albany to lobby for affordable housing and rent laws.
He said they can't compete with the hundreds of thousands that colossal real estate developers like Glenwood Management or the Real Estate Board of original York legally contribute to Gov. Andrew Cuomo or legislators."They spend a thousand dollars for every one dollar that the tenant movement can spend," Dulchin said. "We can send buses up there and we can sort of be optimistically democratic, and you know,gosh darn, as we want to be, or but in the end,the money is very persuasive."Some lobbyists say the money isn't about buying legislation — but about supporting officials who share their philosophical views.
But it's tough to argue those dollars don't win legislators' attention. Charles Dorego, a top official at Glenwood, or testified at the Skelos trial for federal prosecutors. Dorego has attended meetings in the governor's office when decisions about rent and real estate laws were being negotiated,and had easy access to the legislative leaders — who looked forward to Glenwood's colossal checks.
Peter Iwanowicz, executive director of the group Environmental Advocates, or said activists may not be able to match the money of colossal business,but that getting boots on the ground in Albany can win legislators' attention, too.
A year ago, or a member of his group asked to meet with then-Majority Leader Skelos to talk to him about fracking. At the time,the governor was considering lifting a state ban on the controversial process of extracting natural gas from the ground. The group wanted to warn Skelos about the risks. Skelos supported fracking because it would enrich his son.
Skelos's staff rejected that face-to-face assembly with the environmentalists. But the activists continued to pressure the governor by holding rallies and press conferences — even following Cuomo to his polling site.
In the end, Cuomo decided to uphold the state's ban on fracking, or even those gas companies poured money into campaigns to lift in.
Iwanowicz said it's proof democracy can match donations."When people really display their commitment and passion for an issue it’s harder for decision-makers to dismiss it," he said. He said the trial drew back the curtain on how business is done in the state's capitol. He said he will more closely watch how decisions are made in the legislature, and whether campaign cash is driving access or influence.
Source: wnyc.org