From
Associated Press:
ALBANY, N.Y.
(AP) -- They were Albany's most powerful men: the governor, the Senate
leader and the Assembly speaker. Together, they negotiated
billion-dollar budgets and decided which bills passed and which ones
didn't.
Now two face federal corruption
charges, and the third - Gov. Andrew Cuomo - appears eager to focus on
other issues even as he faces questions about his ties to a major real
estate firm at the center of the newest scandal to rock the state
Capitol....
"If the charges are
correct, it's deeply disturbing," is what Cuomo said following the
arrest of Senate Leader Dean Skelos on charges that he extorted payments
for his son from the developer and another business. The Long Island
Republican resigned his leadership post Monday.
Skelos'
arrest comes after Manhattan Democrat Sheldon Silver stepped down as
Assembly speaker in January after he was charged with taking nearly $4
million in payoffs. Both men say they are innocent and are keeping their
legislative seats.
In the political language
of Albany, the governor, the speaker and the Senate leader are known
collectively as the "three men in a room," a nod to the longstanding
practice of negotiating the budget and other key pieces of legislation
behind closed doors. Silver's arrest came the day after Cuomo referred
to Skelos, Silver and himself as the "three amigos" during his budget
presentation, which contained a depiction of the three men wearing
sombreros.
Millions of dollars in
contributions by New York City real estate interests, mainly funneled
through LLCs, have been cited in the cases against Silver and Skelos,
who received large contributions from Glenwood Management, a New York
City real estate firm headed by Leonard Litwin, Cuomo's top donor.
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