14 APRIL C R Y D E R P O I N T ‘SHOW ME THE MONEY’ SMITH, HALLORAN, FOUR OTHERS ARRESTED FOR SCHEMING TO RIG ELECTION BY MELISSA CHAN Two Queens politicians and a borough GOP boss were among six officials arrested by the FBI for conspiring to rig the mayoral election, authorities said. State Senator Malcolm Smith allegedly bribed county GOP leaders to let him run for mayor as a Republican, according to the Southern District U.S. Attorney and FBI. Councilmember Dan Halloran is accused of setting up meetings between Smith and county leaders and negotiating payouts. He allegedly pocketed nearly $21,000 in cash in exchange for his help, officials said. “Elected officials are called public servants because they are supposed to serve the people,” FBI Assistant Director George Venizelos said in a statement. “They broke the law and the public trust. There is a price to pay for that kind of betrayal.” Smith, a registered Democrat, needed consent from three of the city’s five Republican Party county chairmen to appear on the Republican ballot for city’s 2013 mayoral election. Vincent Tabone, vice chair of the Queens County Republican Party, and Joseph Savino, chair of the Bronx County GOP, were part of the conspiracy scheme, officials said. The pair took at least $40,000 in cash bribes in return for their support, a 28-page federal criminal complaint detailed. Tabone, who was an advisor for Republican John Catsimatidis’ mayoral run and also reportedly employed by Catsimatidis’ chain, Gristedes, was said to have been fired from both positions after his arrest. Halloran also agreed to give an undercover FBI agent, posing as a wealthy real estate developer, $80,000 from City Council discretionary funds in exchange for cash for his 2012 congressional campaign. The councilmember received $7,500 in cash on September 7 and $6,500 in checks later that month from the agent. “That’s politics. It’s all about how much,” Halloran said to the undercover agent. “And that’s our politicians in New York. They’re all like that.” Smith struck a deal with the undercover agent, authorities said, to use his Senate position Councilmember Dan Halloran to help obtain state funds for a road project in Spring Valley that would benefit the agent’s posed development company. Mayor Noramie Jasmin of Spring Valley, and the deputy mayor, Joseph Desmaret, were also arrested in connection with the scheme. Smith, elected to the State Senate in 2000, was the chair 14 cryder point courier | APRIL 2013 | WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM Photo courtesy The New York Daily News Joseph Savino, chair of the Bronx County GOP of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) before his power was revoked shortly after the arrest. IDC Leader and Senate co-leader Jeffrey Klein said Smith should think about resigning. “I believe that Senator Smith should seriously consider whether or not he can continue to effectively serve his constituents,” Klein said. Halloran has been the Republican incumbent in Council District 19 since 2009. He is running for re-election this year. “These allegations represent a reprehensible abuse of the public’s trust,” City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said. “If true, then the full weight of the legal system should be brought to bear on all parties implicated.” Halloran allegedly wanted to use the bribe money to pay his mortgage, the complaint said. He also urged Smith to appoint him as Deputy Police Commissioner if the hopeful won his bid for mayor. “You can’t do anything without the f---ing money,” Halloran told the undercover agent, according to the complaint. “Money is what greases the wheels.” According to Halloran’s spokesperson Kevin Ryan, the lawmaker denies allegations. The six defendants were arraigned in federal court in White Plains, but no pleas were entered. All were released on $250,000 bonds with travel restrictions and are slated to return to court on April 23. Todd Shapiro, a spokesperson for Smith, touted the senator’s 13 years of service. “He will be vindicated when all the facts in the case are revealed,” he said. FBI QUESTIONED LEADERS IN PARTY PROBE BY MELISSA CHAN Councilmember Eric Ulrich and ex- Congressmember Bob Turner were two of many Queens leaders questioned in the FBI’s probe into the county’s GOP last year, The Courier has learned. “At some point during this investigation, I was questioned by the FBI, as were many other people,” said Ulrich, 28. “I told them what I knew on firsthand knowledge. I also told them what I thought was hearsay.” Many in the southern Queens district, including former district leaders and candidates, were questioned in person by FBI agents last year into dealings with the party, Ulrich said. “It’s a federal crime to lie to an FBI agent. I told them the truth or what I knew to be true. What I didn’t know at the time was that there already was an investigation into the Queens County Republican Party,” he said. The agency launched its investigation into the party last May amid allegations Board of Elections employees may have used their positions to further their careers as political consultants, the New York Post reported. “I had known for a long time that Vince Tabone was a corrupt person and that he was involved in illegal activity,” Ulrich said. The lawmaker claims Tabone, the party’s vice chair, solicited money in the past in exchange for county support. Ulrich did not disclose further details of the investigation. But he said he cautioned Halloran — his only other Queens GOP colleague in the Council — to stay away from county leaders, including Tabone. “I had warned Dan a million times. I said these are bad people, and he agreed with me. That’s why I’m so shocked,” Ulrich said. “Dan knew these people were unscrupulous, notorious bad apples.” Party chair Phil Ragusa has asked Tabone to resign, pending the outcome of legal proceedings, according to a statement released by the Queens GOP. But Ulrich said the “compromised county” needs Ragusa to step down as well and elect Turner as their new leader. Ragusa has not been accused of any wrongdoing, but Ulrich said that could easily change during the course of the probe. “Who’s to say what Vince Tabone and others might tell the FBI now that they’ve been arrested,” Ulrich said. “I think they’ll tell everything they know to save their own skin.” Vincent Tabone, vice chair of the Queens County Republican Party State Senator Malcolm Smith
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