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Former Erie County Democratic Committee Chairman G. Steven Pigeon was arraigned in federal court yesterday on a criminal complaint alleging that he conspired to generate a $25,000 donation to the campaign of Governor Andrew Cuomo from a Canadian gambling conglomerate. The Cuomo campaign had rejected two previous attempts that foreign company made to contribute, but on the third try, it funneled the contribution through a US citizen, its Florida-based lawyer. 

The criminal complaint did not name the Canadian company or its CEO, nor even the campaign involved. It appears that David Baazov of Amaya Inc., filtered a $25,000 donation to Cuomo’s campaign through his company’s Florida-based attorney, Marlon Goldstein.

From its corporate communications page, “Amaya owns gaming and related consumer businesses and brands including PokerStars, Full Tilt, BetStars, StarsDraft, the European Poker Tour, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Latin American Poker Tour and the Asia Pacific Poker Tour.

Amaya has since retained the services of Bolton-St. John’s to undertake its Albany lobbying. (Jan – June 2014, Jul – Dec 2014), and in that latter half of 2014 also retained “Niagara Frontier Business Solutions, Inc.” located in a home in Buffalo and using the phone number of Bolton-St. John’s partner, Jack O’Donnell. Amaya paid O’Donnell $55,000 for the latter half of 2014 and $120,000 in 2015. Amaya, whose lobbying affairs after 2015 were being handled by executives located on the British tax haven the Isle of Man, paid O’Donnell another $20,000 in the first half of 2016, but in the latter half of last year reported only using Cozen O’Connor from New York City. 

The Buffalo News reports that Amaya paid Steve Pigeon’s and Gary Parenti’s “PaPi Consulting, LLC” $388,000 from 2010 – 2015 for Albany lobbying. In 2016, Quebec securities regulators charged Amaya’s Baazov with five counts of securities manipulation and insider trading. Former NATO Commander and Presidential candidate Wesley Clark is on Amaya’s Board of Directors. Clark is an associate of Pigeon’s. 

The Buffalo News explains that, 

The federal complaint, based on emails seized from Pigeon’s waterfront condo during a 2015 raid, alleges he conspired to hide the true source of the foreign contribution while arranging it for a Manhattan event featuring the governor. He could face five years in jail if convicted.

“Pigeon sought and successfully helped … a $388,000 client,” acting U.S. Attorney J.P. Kennedy said during an afternoon press conference, “allowing them to interfere in a U.S. election by making a significant contribution.

Pigeon spoke with the News’ Bob McCarthy after the arraignment, and attacked – oddly – New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has no federal power or jurisdiction. 

These latest ridiculous charges – three in a row now – show what a political witch hunt this is…I was simply a co-host of a Cuomo party and invited a Canadian citizen to an event like what he attends all over the United States. I simply invited a person and I’m the only one charged…This is all the result of a politically motivated prosecutor and an obsessed federal agent on this case,” he said, calling the attorney general “the most political prosecutor in the history of this state….I have no idea why these people are piling on,” he said, adding that millions of dollars have been spent to put him under a “microscope.”

A lot of political actors in western New York have a word for that – karma. 

Schneiderman didn’t file this complaint. He doesn’t prosecute in federal court. The acting US Attorney’s office brought this prosecution under federal law. It has evidence that Pigeon knowingly conspired to mask an illegal foreign donation to Governor Cuomo through a U.S. person. The News details that the emails reveal a deliberate scheme to evade restrictions on foreign contributions. Pigeon’s attorney, Paul Cambria, took an opportunity to throw the Governor under the nearest bus, 

The Cuomo people were aware of it,” he said, adding that his client is convinced of the political motivations, “at least from the state standpoint.”

It’s black letter law, re-affirmed even by a post-Citizens United SCOTUS decision. 

Foreign nationals, other than lawful permanent residents, are completely banned from donating to candidates or parties, or making independent expenditures in federal, state or local elections.

It is analogous to Nick Sinatra buying a handful of money orders to help fund Pigeon’s “WNY Progressive Caucus” (“AwfulPAC”) in 2013, and putting his employee’s name on the documents to hide his involvement. 

One question: all of this money flowing through Pigeon’s bank accounts from other sources to be used for political purposes – that’s income. Was it declared as such? 

It seems as if the sunlight on Pigeon’s emails and bank transactions is revealing a lot of ugly stuff, and prosecutors are only just beginning to unravel it all, apparently evealing a broad criminal enterprise designed improperly to influence elections by funneling massive sums of money to committees and campaigns.

So far, within the context of the #Preetsmas series of stories regarding the prosecution of Steve Pigeon’s “WNY Progressive Caucus” (“AwfulPAC”) and its alleged misdeeds during the 2013 election season, the Public has reported on the following federal tax liens filed with the county clerk’s office against Pigeon: 

Part of Pigeon’s self-preservation involved convincing local political reporters that everything he was doing was totally above-board. The Buffalo News’ Bob McCarthy, for instance, fell for it. In February 2015, Pigeon showed McCarthy his tax returns to address this question: Does Pigeon earn enough to make these huge 6-figure contributions and loans to quixotic PAC efforts? 

A few short months later, McCarthy had to eat crow. The IRS had filed multiple tax liens against Pigeon for unpaid taxes – one from 2012 for $25,527; one from 2014 for $118,650; and one from June 2015 for $126,259. The overwhelming bulk of that last one covered the 2013 tax year, when Pigeon’s AwfulPAC had been most active. 

In 2015, the IRS filed a fourth tax lien against Pigeon for $65,806 in unpaid taxes from the 2014 tax year. Even his condo association got in on the fun by asserting a lien of $4,400 for unpaid condo fees. 

Today, we can report that the IRS filed a fifth federal tax lien against Pigeon for unpaid taxes from the 2015 tax year in the amount of $79,494. 

Steve Pigeon Dec 2016 Tax Lien by Alan Bedenko on Scribd

That brings the total number of liens to six, with a grand total of $420,136. Rought calculations would tell us that this would represent the tax due and owing on easily seven figures’ worth of income. It could have been declared and unpaid, or it could have been undeclared and found through, for instance, some sort of law enforcement investigation into money transfers for election purposes. 

A call the Public placed Thursday to Mr. Pigeon’s lawyer, Paul Cambria, was not returned. 

Cheektowaga Democratic operative Frank Max pled guilty in Albany Wednesday to two class-A misdemeanors relating to improper and falsified campaign finance disclosures for his “Progressive Democrats of WNY” political club. In recent years, Max has been closely aligned with the Steve Pigeon breakaway faction of nominal Democrats. This conviction falls squarely within the Preetsmas canon. 

Max’s guilty plea was detailed in an afternoon press release from Attorney General Eric Schneiderman: 

Max entered a guilty plea today before the Hon. Joshua Farrell in Albany City Court, Criminal Part, to two class A misdemeanors, including Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the Second Degree, in violation of Penal Law section 175.30, and one count of Knowingly and Willfully Filing a False Campaign Finance Disclosure Report, in violation of Election Law 14-126(4). He was charged after an investigation revealed Max’s failures to truthfully disclose to the New York State Board of Elections the financial activity of the Progressive Democrats of Western New York, a Political Action Committee Max both founded and served as treasurer of since its inception.

“Campaign finance laws exist for a reason-to protect voters and keep our democratic process honest and transparent,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “When well-connected political operatives fail to make proper disclosures, it creates widespread distrust in the system as a whole. Today’s plea sends the message that political committees, treasurers and candidates will be held accountable if they fail to obey the law.”

The maximum penalty for each count is up to one year in jail for each count. Sentencing is scheduled for May 5, 2017 at 2:00 p.m.

Under the Election Law, political committees and candidates are required to file periodic financial disclosure reports accurately disclosing their expenditures and contributions in order to maintain transparency in the election process.  According to documents filed in Court and Max’s guilty plea, Max failed to provide accurate information on two Campaign Finance Disclosure Reports. The inaccurate information included falsely claiming that donations received by the Progressive Democrats of Western New York in amounts over $99, which should have been itemized, were less than $99, thereby circumventing the reporting requirements. In addition, a $900 donation was reported as $400. Finally, corporate donations were not properly noted. This is particularly significant because corporations are subject to strict limitations on the amount of total annual contributions they can make to political candidates.

“Campaign finance disclosure ensures New Yorkers have confidence and transparency in the electoral process,” said Risa Sugarman, Chief Enforcement Counsel for the New York State Board of Elections. “The public has the right to know who contributes to political committees and how the money is spent. We will continue to work together with our law enforcement partners, including the Attorney General, to assure New Yorkers that violations of the public trust do not go unpunished.”

Schneiderman thanked not only the members of his own team and the State Police, but also agents from the FBI and the office of the acting United States Attorney for the Western District of New York, James Kennedy.

Longtime readers of my Preetsmas series regarding the campaign finance irregularities of people and entities with ties to Steve Pigeon will already be familiar with Max and his chronic, opaque electoral shenanigans.

Most recently, in November 2016, one of Max’s former allies/campaign workers publicly accused him of refusing to pay for petition gathering. The more important revelation was that Max’s group had clearly participated in the 2016 primaries, but failed to file requisite disclosures for same. In 2015, we had similar evidence of primary activity without primary financial disclosures being made; there was a definite pattern of deceptive non-compliance. 

In February 2015, Max’s club showed a balance of $2.00 despite having held a big Christmas fundraiser in December. Max’s allies created their own club in 2015, and to this day it remains out of compliance with election law. 

On the 7th Day of Preetsmas, June 2015, I detailed how Max’s club had donated well in excess of the allowed maximum to its preferred candidates for county legislature, apparently colluding with the WNY Progressive Caucus, or “AwfulPAC”, which was active in 2013 and is alleged to be at the center of an ongoing state and federal investigation. 

In 2016, Max and his club tried one last, Pigeonless gasp at statewide office, running the former AwfulPAC steward for state assembly. That campaign tanked as dramatically as it deserved, but not before first releasing its own emetically hilarious campaign finance disclosures. 

The Preetsmas story is ongoing, but progressed visibly last June with the guilty plea of Supreme Court Justice John Michalek and the indictment of Steve Pigeon. It was very clear then that the investigation was far from over, and Pigeon’s attorneys have been in court a few times since then to challenge the government’s evidence. 

Query whether Max’s plea is indicative of something larger, or the end of a relatively small matter. His sentencing may be dependent on how cooperative he’s been with related investigations into AwfulPAC and the charges pending against Steve Pigeon. 

The defeat of Mazurek, Flaherty, and Coppola don’t just mean triumph for Wallace, Flynn, and Small. Erie County Democratic Committee Chairman Jeremy Zellner and his party apparatus were also big winners last night. The 2016 primary saw the utter collapse of the Steve Pigeon faction, which goes to show you that nine felony indictments count for something. 

Assembly 143

Political newcomer Monica Wallace absolutely humbled “Crybaby Kristy” Mazurek by a gaping margin of 76 – 24%. This was a colossal blowout, and was the centerpiece of this year’s defeat of Pigeonism. Wallace – who has never been involved in party politics or factional squabbles – came to this race with an appeal to ethics, good government, and restoring trust in Albany after the previous two Assemblypeople left office in disgrace.  

Mazurek tried to ride that same road, but it was an impossibility. For that district, capability and integrity matter more than ever, but she instead ran on her family name and ethnic identity, glossing over her many problems by blaming her illness, or how mean her opponents are. Yet she and her treasurer couldn’t – or wouldn’t – competently navigate campaign finance requirements, and Mazurek has $30,000 in federal tax liens, which she never addressed or explained to voters. In a year where ethics in Albany is a big deal, she revealed herself to be Steve Pigeon’s power of attorney for matters arising out of the sale of his downtown apartment. In the end, her surname and ethnicity couldn’t compete with a mild-mannered, soft-spoken, multitasking mom, wife, lawyer, teacher, and taxpayer. 

By the way, Mazurek claimed she ran a relentlessly positive campaign. False. Mazurek attacked Wallace for not giving up enough time for public or charitable service. Working for a federal judge is defined generally as “public service”.  Not only did Kristy Mazurek lose by a huge margin, her brother and sister-in-law lost their Cheektowaga committee races. Not at all a good day for that family. Kristy Mazurek is unqualified to be anywhere near elective office, and the voters knew it. 

I hope that all of Mazurek’s and AwfulPAC’s victims from 2013 enjoyed a chilled glass of something bubbly last night. You deserve it. 

Senate 60

This year was – what, the tenth (?) time Al Coppola tried – and failed – to return to the State Senate, where he served from February 2000 – January 2001, after winning a special election to replace Anthony Nanula, and then subsequently lost the primary to Byron Brown. He’s well-liked in some corners of Buffalo’s West Side, but the Senate District is more than just one neighborhood. Parkside community activist Amber Small raised an impressive amount of money, ran a professional and competent race, won herself – after much delay – the endorsement of the party hierarchy, and soundly defeated Coppola 67 – 33%. 

Small’s real challenge comes over the next six weeks, as she goes up against multi-millionaire Chris Jacobs, who overwhelmingly defeated his own perennial candidate, Kevin Stocker. The margin of victory in that Republican primary was Mazurekesque in its decisiveness. Jacobs and the state committee, however, revealed that they will not play nicely – they will be relentlessly negative and lie if they have to. Jacobs and the Republicans spent ridiculous amounts of cash on radio ads slamming Stocker and accusing him of corruption and criminality. They even slammed Amber Small in a last-ditch effort to harm her and lift up Coppola. It became quite clear that Jacobs is afraid of going up against Small. She is young, smart, a political newbie, and enjoys a pretty wide enrollment advantage. If Jacobs and the GOP are willing to lie, accusing Small of campaign finance irregularities that don’t exist, they’re going to make October very ugly. 

District Attorney

John Flynn defeated incumbent acting District Attorney Michael Flaherty last night 45 – 40%. Mark Sacha earned 14% of the vote, as well, which means the anti-Flaherty vote was pretty overwhelming. Flaherty wasn’t incompetent, and he indicated a willingness to address election law crimes by prosecuting alleged vote fraudster Rus Thompson. But Flaherty didn’t show any willingness to go after public integrity overall. For instance, Mazurek’s own campaign finance disclosures were an absolute shambles from day one. Investigate that – Mazurek’s finances were being handled by people with years’ worth of experience, yet the newcomers were the ones who followed the law. 

Democratic Headquarters pulled out all the stops for John Flynn, and their efforts paid off. They got their message out, they got their vote out, and Flaherty’s campaign was being run by people who have a blood feud going with Zellner’s HQ – Jim Eagan and Rich Horner, to name a couple. They went so far as to hijack a “Flynn for DA” URL to redirect to Flaherty’s website, and stuck a crime victim in front of a camera to politicize her brother’s murder. 

With their ringleader under indictment and further investigation, the Pigeon faction of nominal Democrats is in dramatic decline. The money spigot has been largely shut off, the patronage jobs have dried up, the friendly vendors, consultants, and hangers-on are exposed as incompetent, and left high and dry. The hacks who relentlessly puff people like Mazurek, Stocker, and Coppola are left embarrassed. 

What’s left of the Pigeon forces’ efforts this year weren’t just about trying to defeat the HQ-endorsed candidates so they could crow about how ineffective Jeremy Zellner is, and how he should go back to fetching coffee for the big kids; their efforts were supposed to bring about a competitive race for the county party chairmanship. There might be a race, but it won’t be competitive. 

Three great Democrats defeated their insurgent opponents last night, and all of Bob McCarthy’s yellowed, Pigeon-fed, hand-wringing columns about Zellner’s youth, inexperience, and ineffectiveness will have to be filed away once and for all. 

 

Tomorrow – Tuesday September 13th – is primary day. If you’re a Democrat in the 143rd Assembly District, it is your responsibility to vote for endorsed candidate Monica Wallace.  Why? Because Wallace is uniquely qualified to serve as your legislator in Albany, and will – once and for all – allow the district to move past its recent history of scandal and embarrassment. Polls are open from 6am to 9pm.

By contrast, Wallace’s opponent is wholly unfit and unqualified for public office. 

In 2013, Kristy Mazurek was the treasurer of the WNY Progressive Caucus, or “AwfulPAC“. This entity was a Steve Pigeon front organization that raised and spent close to $300,000 within a matter of weeks, in order to sabotage the Erie County Democratic Committee and its slate of endorsed candidates. No surprise, then, that Mazurek enjoys current funding from a shady, probably illegal, Republican-financed PAC. For its part, Mazurek’s own AwfulPAC is now the epicenter of a state and federal investigation into widespread fraud and corruption. It’s already seen a Supreme Court Justice resign in disgrace and its mastermind indicted on nine felony counts. Mazurek herself reportedly cooperated with investigators, but has not yet been charged with any crime. 

Mazurek is now running for the State Assembly to replace disgraced incumbent Conservative Angela Wozniak who, in turn, replaced the disgraced Dennis Gabryszak. Mazurek had worked for Gabryszak and claims to have been a victim of his harassment. She brought a lawsuit that has since been dismissed because she waited five years to bring it, and the statute of limitations is three. She is appealing the dismissal. 

What is often lost in the AwfulPAC narrative is what it actually did. It mostly produced direct mail and other advertisements, some of which were practically defamatory in their rank falsehoods. Here is a sampler of mailers that AwfulPAC sent out to Democrats in 2013 to attack County Legislator Betty Jean Grant and former County Legislator Tim Hogues. 

They attacked other candidates similarly, including Lynn Dearmyer. The language and imagery used and sent to predominately white households is pretty blatantly racist. Betty Jean Grant is “radical” and “extremist”. “They” are “dead set” on “raising our taxes”. 

They leaked a false and defamatory story to PoliticsNY.net, accusing Wynnie Fisher of being a lunatic. Also, 

 I wrote about this in some detail in June of 2015 as “The Story of Preetsmas”. 

Grant and Hogues were understandably outraged. 

Mazurek was typically flippant. At bare minimum, Mazurek cut and signed the checks that paid for those inflammatory and racist mailers. 

Hoges and Grant made a formal complaint to the Board of Elections, which turned it over to the Attorney General, and the Feds got involved, too. Mazurek dismissed all her critics, detractors, and complainants as “crybabies“. 

Just three short years later, the tables have turned. Factually accurate negative mailers slamming Mazurek have hit mailboxes in the 143rd in recent days. The Monica Wallace campaign is only producing or sending a couple of them; most are being put out by NYSUT as an independent expenditure. 

Who’s the crybaby now? 

Too funny! This is a woman who literally called the Shredd & Ragan show in 2014 to try and intimidate them into keeping me off their air. Why is she now so aggrieved? 

Would you look at that? Finally, someone used Mazurek’s Georgia mugshot in a piece of campaign lit. Mazurek has been arrested for two (2) DWIs, one in Georgia (which she pled down), and one near Albany, where she was convicted in 2008 of a misdemeanor, but failed to pay the associated fines. The DMV suspended her license in September 2014 and issued a scofflaw summons. In 2015, Mazurek was pulled over and later found responsible for operating without a license in Clarence Town Court, and paid a fine. 

There’s no real excuse for driving drunk; certainly not cancer. I’m not sure how cancer is to blame for her ongoing close association with indicted felon Steve Pigeon, or her inept and illegal handling of the AwfulPAC treasury, or her unpaid taxes, or attempts to intimidate radio shows or bloggers or candidates whom she hates, or defaming candidates for office. I know lots of people who have suffered from cancer, yet the disease never compelled any of them to behave in such a manner. 

I’ve joked a lot in the past about how everyone in WNY politics is awful in their own way; myself included. But some are far more awful than others. Some confuse vice with virtue, bullying with oppression, friendship with conspiracy, lies with honesty. Kristy Mazurek is a convicted criminal; power of attorney to a man indicted of nine felonies. She is wholly unfit for public office. Indeed, based on her current and past misdeeds, had she already been elected to office, responsible Democrats would feel the need to disavow her; to demand her resignation. Albany itself is already a cesspit of horrible, corrupt people, and dysfunctional beyond reason. Albany already serves to empower the powerful, enrich the wealthy, and screw over hardworking New Yorkers. It is not structured in a way adequately to answer to the electorate. The power of incumbency is so strong that most legislators vacate their Albany offices in disgrace, if not in handcuffs. Albany should be made better, not worse. 

So, given a choice between someone so wrapped up in western New York’s own provincial brand of corruption, and Monica Wallace, who is a wife, a mom, a lawyer, a former clerk to a well-respected Federal Judge, and a law professor, who do you think would do a better job of doing the people’s business in Albany? Of bringing your concerns to downstate leadership in order to give families and working western New Yorkers a fair shot?

Three years ago, Kristy Mazurek used a corrupt slush fund to defame her opponents with false and racist mailers, then called them crybabies for complaining. Now, she wails when her own misdeeds – her alleged and real criminality – are raised as issues against her. Call it hypocrisy, call it chutzpah, call it karma, but the people in the 143rd know better, and Mazurek’s former victims hopefully have champagne at the ready. 

This isn’t about Democratic factionalism anymore. Every responsible candidate with a (D) after her name wants nothing to do with Steve Pigeon and his ragtag band of upturned palmed ne’er-do-wells. In the race for District Attorney, someone has the chutzpah to accuse John Flynn of Pigeon ties, while Michael Flaherty’s campaign is literally run by Pigeon stalwarts. Time will tell whether this is all Pigeonism’s last gasp, but it goes to show you that it’s all fun and games until the indictments start rolling in. 

There is, however, one candidate – irresponsible though she may be – who doesn’t shy away from her Pigeon ties at all. Steve’s Power of Attorney, Kristy Mazurek, is running for Assembly, and her campaign finances have already been exposed as an illegal, sloppy mess. Today, she reports a negative balance of $1,545. This is not something that is allowed to happen. Campaigns can’t spend more money than they have. 

It may be at least partly attributable to the fact that Mazurek’s campaign had to refund $1,100 in illegal cash donations. 

For a candidate who brags about how much support she has from the community, her money seems to come from a small number of donors with predictable Pigeon affiliations. 

Mazurek has spent upwards of $11,000 on printing services for palm cards and direct mail, but one donation should raise eyebrows. Mazurek’s campaign manager dipped into a Republican-funded Steve Pigeon slush fund that he controls. 

The shadowy “WNY Freedom” PAC, using Mazurek campaign manager and Marc Panepinto staffer / Pigeon insider David Pfaff’s home address, transferred $2,000 to Mazurek in late August. This particular Pigeon-connected political action committee reports that it was funded entirely by Republican money, including Carl Paladino’s. 

Steve Pigeon set up “WNY Freedom” in late 2013, around the same time that the Preetsmas target WNY Progressive Caucus (a/k/a “AwfulPAC“) was winding its activities down. Its first donations, as the News reported, came from Carl Paladino. 

Buffalo developer Carl P. Paladino, who also is not suspected of any wrongdoing, said Pigeon asked him to donate $1,000 in October 2013 – immediately after the WNY Progressive Caucus raised $267,000 for opponents of candidates backed by Pigeon adversaries in Democratic headquarters.

For some reason, Carl didn’t just send a check for $1,000, but instead broke it down into five separate $200 donations made by five separate Carl-controlled LLCs, making good use of New York’s execrable LLC loophole. So, Steve says “jump”, and Carl spits, “how high?” 

WNY Freedom later raised an additional $4,700 from the Buffalo Republican Committee. 

To be clear – the only money ever used to fund the WNY Freedom PAC came from Republicans – the Buffalo committee and Carl Paladino. In fact, the Buffalo Republican Committee went broke in part thanks to its funding of a Pigeon PAC. Until now, the PAC itself has reported giving money only to a few local charitable organizations, but to no political campaign. This is false, misleading, and illegal. Firstly, if Mazurek’s 11 day pre-primary disclosure duly noted the $2,000 inflow from WNY Freedom, why hasn’t the PAC itself disclosed this amount? 

In fact, the WNY Freedom PAC has a habit of not disclosing donations it makes on its own books, while they appear on the books of other campaigns. Again: WNY Freedom reports only ever having raised $5,700 from any source, ever. So, explain this: 

How is it that a Steve Pigeon PAC that has only ever raised $5,700 has the wherewithal to make contributions in excess of $10,500 over the years – including $8,000 reported by the Dick Dobson for Sheriff campaign, which was the centerpiece of the AwfulPAC effort in 2013? 

And where is the Board of Elections on this? Where is the District Attorney or Attorney General on this? These aren’t some newish pikers – this PAC is run by people with decades’ worth of experience as party and campaign insiders. There is no accident here. This is not “mistakes” being “made”.  This is a deliberate scheme to circumvent the law and exploit its inherent weaknesses. Check 1003 to the Lancaster committee; Check 1004 to Mychajliw’s committee on 10/22/13. The Dobson donation was originally reported as being made from AwfulPAC itself; witness this incredible explanation: 

Who funded this? Where did it come from? Why won’t these people just follow the rules? To this day, we have no idea how WNY Freedom came up with $8,000 to give to Dick Dobson, nor has it disclosed any such contribution, or how it might have conceivably been financed. 

It’s just one of several Steve Pigeon-connected political slush funds. There are so many, even their principals have probably lost track of them all. 

By contrast, Mazurek’s opponent Monica Wallace’s campaign committee is $50,000 in the black. Wallace pledges to go to Albany to fight the sort of corruption and campaign finance irregularities that Mazurek embodies. This past weekend, County Executive Mark Poloncarz endorsed Wallace. Underscoring the import of that endorsement, Mazurek exploded, 

Kristy Mazurek today dismissed Mark Poloncarz’s endorsement of her opponent as predictable and irrelevant. “It is hard to believe that this is newsworthy,” stated Mazurek. “This guy is a career politician, a Democratic Party Boss and he doesn’t even live in the district. Why would anyone in Cheektowaga, Depew, Lancaster or Sloan care who he supports,” noted Mazurek.

*Whom. If it’s irrelevant, why comment on it? If not newsworthy, why issue a press release? Is Poloncarz a “career politician”? Hm, not really. He was a lawyer before he sought elected office. Is he a “party boss”? No. Why would people in the 143rd care whom he supports? Because he is the County Executive; they are all his constituents, and he enjoys widespread support in those communities. 

“The only endorsement I want is from voters,” declared Mazurek. “I find it comical the County Executive claims he cares about the people of the 143rd based on his recent actions,” said Mazurek. “He just slashed ALL funding to Polish Arts and Cultural organizations in the 2016 budget and battled over plans with a local landmark in Lancanster — the dam at Como Lake Park.

The issues at the dam at Como Lake Park are aesthetic in nature; silt has built up behind the dam, and Republican County Legislator Tim Morton has been very vocal in demanding that the county clean it up. To do so, however, would cost $1.5 million out of a $1.6 million parks budget, and there exists no need or political will to spend that kind of money on an issue having nothing to do with health or safety. As for the alleged slashing of “ALL funding” to Polish arts and cultural organizations in 2016, that’s a lie. Poloncarz’s administration recommended that the Polish Arts Club receive a County grant of $6,800. No one knows what Mazurek is talking about with her capitalized, “Polish Arts and Cultural” organizations. 

“Furthermore, this is the same crew that endorsed the previous Assembly member time and time again after knowing of his harassing behavior in Albany. They sent him back to Albany, with their seal of approval, to prey on more victims! They should be ashamed,” declared Mazurek

Mark Poloncarz isn’t a “crew”, and never endorsed Dennis Gabryszak. In fact, when Gabryszak’s behavior came to light, Poloncarz was among the first to demand his resignation. 

“Voters should know that after announcing my candidacy; I opted not to solicit any endorsements from elected officials, labor unions or special interest groups,” explained Mazurek. “For the record I’m a member of several unions, will work with all elected officials to improve our area and am looking forward to telling Albany special interest groups that my only special interest is the people who live in Cheektowaga, Depew, Lancaster and Sloan,” concluded Kristy.

She rejects endorsements from electeds, unions, and “special interest groups”.  She has only accepted the endorsement of shady, non-transparent PACs created by indictee Steve Pigeon with Republican money. 

When you look at Monica Wallace’s disclosure, they’re doing everything by the book. When you look at Mazurek’s, it’s clear that they don’t have the book, and even if they did, it’s doubtful they could read it. 

Primary Day is September 13th. Every vote counts. 

They say a person is known by the company she keeps. With respect to Kristy Mazurek, who is running in the Democratic primary race for the 143th Assembly seat about to be vacated in disgrace by Conservative Angela Wozniak, who replaced Democrat Dennis Gabryszak – who also vacated it in disgrace – the news from her current and former company isn’t good. 

Kristy Mazurek is a close confidant of Steve Pigeon, who is under federal and state investigation and has been indicted on nine state felony charges relating to Pigeon’s relationship with former State Supreme Court Justice John Michalek. For his part, Michalek has already pled guilty to crimes related to the same set of facts, resigned his office, and awaits sentencing in September. 

While Mazurek pulls the Buffalo News’ leg attempting to distance herself from Pigeon, he grants her power of attorney to sell off his condo. As it happens, Pigeon executed the document in San Diego. 

“I am not Steve’s keeper,” she said. “Just because I’m associated with someone. … does that make me a bad person?”

Not necessarily, but when you have power of attorney over someone’s business transactions you are, in a way, their “keeper”; at least for the purpose(s) described. But no one is arguing whether or not Mazurek is a “bad person”. There are plenty of “bad people” who are concomitantly qualified or competent to be elected to public office. Mazurek isn’t one of them. Look, if Mazurek doesn’t have a problem being associated with Pigeon, she shouldn’t crop him out of pictures she uses on her lit. 

I have no idea what Pigeon might be up to in San Diego, but that locale doesn’t seem to be an accident. Pigeon’s erstwhile protege and former State Senator Anthony Nanula lives there, and in 2012 he co-founded American Coastal Properties with Buffalo developer Nick Sinatra. WGRZ recently reported on the appendices to the warrants that enabled law enforcement to enter and search Pigeon’s condo. From Channel 2’s story: 

One of them was the search warrant in question. In it, it states the search is looking for evidence related to “Steve Pigeon’s unlawful lobbying on behalf of Nick Sinatra”.

Sinatra is a former Republican operative who is now head of Sinatra & Company, a growing real estate development company in Buffalo.

When 2 On-Your-Side reached out to Sinatra, this statement was offered on his behalf:

“While Mr. Sinatra has had previous business relationships with Steve Pigeon, he has no knowledge of Steve Pigeon lobbying on his behalf. Mr. Sinatra has no connection to the Western New York Progressive Caucus. He is not part of this investigation and has not been contacted by investigators for many months. Mr. Sinatra has never been under investigation nor does he expect to be under investigation.”  

Then there’s another document the Pigeon defense team would like the jury not to see. It is a report of a police interview with Pigeon from August of 2008. The interview was conducted by investigators from the Erie County District’s office and the FBI. 

According to the report, Pigeon acknowledges he is owner of a business called Landon Associates. Named as his business partner is Roger Stone, who Pigeon reportedly describes at the, “Darth Vader of the Republican Party.”

Seeing “Landon Associates” in a campaign’s filing is like a coded beacon that the Pigeoning of an election is underway. (E.g., here, here, here). Sinatra’s company was somehow caught up in the 2013 financing of the WNY Progressive Caucus (“AwfulPAC”). On August 19, 2013, AwfulPAC reported receiving $4,000 in one lump sum from Frank Max’s Progressive Democrats of WNY. Yet for some reason Max’s group didn’t report it that way, instead showing three separate amounts. AwfulPAC also says that it received money long before Max’s group says it contributed it, which is truly psychic in its prescience. The money orders were supposedly purchased by an employee of Sinatra’s, who denies having done so; his name was allegedly improperly substituted for the actual purchaser, and anyone purchasing a money order for more than $3,000 must show ID. That Nanula/Sinatra venture may explain G. Stephen’s visit to sunny California. 

As for Mazurek’s fitness for public office, her former co-worker, Bill O’Loughlin, deserves a hearing. O’Loughlin took his morning political talk radio program from WECK to Channel 2, and brought on Mazurek as a Democratic foil on the show known as “2Sides”. O’Loughlin quit 2Sides, and reveals on his new radio program that Mazurek was the reason he left; that he could no longer work with her. O’Loughlin spent a good portion of his August 28th program explaining why he thinks Mazurek is not qualified for public office, which he boiled down to, “drunk in Albany, drunk in Georgia, lawyered up.” Mazurek continued 2Sides with co-hosts including current Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw, former Collins Chief of Staff Chris Grant, and political consultant and PR flack Michael Caputo.

These are ringing endorsements indeed. 

Democratic candidate for the 143th Assembly District, Kristy Mazurek, filed her campaign financials almost a week too late. Neither she nor her campaign offered a credible excuse for this delay, which is evidence either of design or negligence. 

You may recall that this person is a cooperating witness into a wide state and federal probe into disgraced political operative Steve Pigeon’s dealings over the years.  This particular Assembly district has seen its last two representatives leave office in a prurient disgrace, and it’s safe to say that ethics and public integrity in Albany are big issues for voters this year. 

The campaign finance illegality of Mazurek’s zombie committee, the “WNY Progressive Caucus” (AwfulPAC), has been well-documented, and it’s safe to say that its record of impropriety was not by accident, but by design. It was set up as the 2013 iteraton of the perennial Pigeoning effort; a shady conduit for Pigeon’s dirty money to be funnelled, sub rosa when possible, against candidates endorsed by Democratic Headquarters. It was the point of entry for the May 2015 Preetsmas raids which led to the MIchalek conviction, the Pigeon indictment, and whatever more might come down that pike. 

Being targeted and interrogated by state and federal law enforcement is enough to spook anyone into modifying their behavior, right? As far as anyone knows, Mazurek remains the treasurer of AwfulPAC. Is it proper or legal for a current candidate for office to also be in charge of a disgraced zombie PAC? 

Let’s take a look at the Mazurek campaign’s filings. 

It bears mentioning here that Mazurek did not set up her campaign committee with the state until July 14th – the day before the first financial disclosure came due. This is illegal. Almost all of it is illegal. 

Election Law §14-100(7) states that you’ve become a candidate when you start circulating nominating petitions or receive contributions/spend money in furtherance of your candidacy. A “contribution” can be anything of value, under Election Law §14-100(9). 

Mazurek started campaigning over a month before she filed as a candidate with the Board of Election. She received and spent money even though she hadn’t registered herself or her committee. She announced her candidacy on Facebook on May 26th,

Political operative Kristy Mazurek officially announces her candidacy for 143 Assembly District on Facebook. pic.twitter.com/GFz1Xw5b6j

— Ryan Whalen (@RyanTWCNews) May 27, 2016

and held a campaign kick-off at a bar on June 8th.

Kristy Mazurek, treasurer of committee at center of AG’s probe of Steve Pigeon, announces press event tonight on campaign letterhead.

— Bob McCarthy (@bobmccarthybn) June 8, 2016

She is seen in photographs circulating petitions and handing out palm cards as early as June 20th. She is seen in images on Facebook marching in a July 4th parade with a banner, campaign shirts, and other items. 

Mazurek herself began collecting petition signatures on June 7th, and it appears from the BOE filings that Frank Max’s Progressive Democrats of WNY paid people to circulate petitions on her behalf in June and July. Shouldn’t her campaign disclose that spending on her behalf as an in-kind contribution? How does a campaign allow another committee to circulate petitions without coordination? 

So, Mazurek has been an active candidate since late May/early June, but didn’t file until July 14th. The image above shows that she collected money from people for a non-existent candidacy in violation of Election Law §14-118(1), which requires that, “No officer, member or agent of any political committee shall receive any receipt, transfer or contribution, or make any expenditure or incur any liability until the committee shall have chosen a treasurer and depository and filed their names in accordance with this subdivision.”

So, it’s perhaps no accident that Mazurek failed and refused to file her financial disclosures until they were five days late – after Democratic Headquarters and the media began asking questions. She received the contributions shown above, but also reported these pre-July 14th in-kind contributions: 

And expenses: 

These, too, are illegal. 

Election Law §4-118 states that “no candidate, political committee, or agent thereof may receive from any one person an aggregate amount greater than one hundred dollars except in the form of a check, draft or other instrument payable to the candidate, political committee or treasurer and signed or endorsed by the donor . . . .” But Mazurek reveals cash contributions in excess of the $100 limit from her father and her campaign manager. She also paid $500 cash to a band to play for her during the July 4th parade.  Under EL §14-118, “no candidate or political committee shall expend an amount in excess of one hundred dollars except by check drawn on the depository and signed by the candidate or person authorized to sign checks by him or in the case of a political committee, the treasurer or a person authorized to sign checks by him.”  

Two late filings. Seven line items; four of them apparently illegal. Hundreds in petition expenses not disclosed. In this scandal-plagued district, in this scandal-plagued state, this is fundamentally irresponsible. 

Monica Wallace is the endorsed Democratic candidate for the 143rd Assembly District. A political novice running her first campaign, she has raised an impressive $60,419, and has $45,800 on hand going into the primary.

Wallace’s primary opponent, Kristy Mazurek, has not filed her financial disclosure with the NYS Board of Elections. It was due on Friday the 15th, and last-minute on-time filings were posted to the website on Monday morning. As of Tuesday morning, Mazurek’s still shows this: 

This is rather funny for a candidate who is known for only a few things: her defunct TV show; her DWI history; and her incompetence or criminality (it’s one or the other – you pick) as treasurer of the WNY Progressive Caucus (AwfulPAC) in 2013. 

An interesting point is that the people who obtained nominating petition signatures for Mazurek appear to have been paid by either the Flaherty for DA campaign or Frank Max’s Progressive Democrats of WNY. Because one committee apparently spent money on behalf of another, be on the lookout for how and whether Mazurek discloses that. You’ll apparently have to wait because Mazurek simply cannot bring herself to follow the law and timely disclose her campaign finances. Somebody paid for that banner, this literature, and those tootsie rolls and shirts. 

Amber Small is the endorsed Democratic candidate for the 60th Senate District. Small is a Parkside community activist, and has also had scant political experience. She has raised an equally impressive $101,136, and has $58,609 going into the primary.

Small’s primary opponent, perennial candidate Al Coppola, raised $163 and has a little over $10,000 on hand, mostly from past electoral efforts. What Coppola has, however, is a lot of time and name recognition, and is being assisted by people with loyalties to indicted alleged felon Steve Pigeon and one-term Senator Marc Panepinto. The former are carrying out the anti-Zellner vendetta, and the latter are carrying out a similar battle against Small, whom they want to hurt because she announced her candidacy long before Panepinto suddenly withdrew from the race. 

On the other hand, the Republicans’ pick, County Clerk Chris Jacobs, has raised almost $200,000, and has $463,000 on hand thanks in part to a $200,000 loan Jacobs made to his campaign fund, and $100,000 Jacobs transferred in from his “Jacobs for Clerk” committee. That money helps make up for his enrollment disadvantage, which is also counteracted by his name recognition. So far, though, Jacobs’ major policy initiative has been to join the hue and cry over Lyft and Uber in upstate New York.

As for the competitive Democratic primary for District Attorney, interim DA Flaherty has just under $250,000 on hand, with $21,500 in contributions since January, and endorsed Democrat John Flynn has raised $188,000 with $151,600 on hand. Flaherty benefits here from $140,000 in loans from family and friends, such as Pigeonista James Eagan. Flynn has no similar influx of cash, but is racking up party and union endorsements that Flaherty can’t match. 

As for the quality and quantity of petitions, look for there to be challenges a-plenty from all sides. Stay tuned. 

 

 

Senate District 60

Is there something in the water in the 60th? After jettisoning smart, brave, and competent Republican Mark Grisanti, the predominately Democratic district elected Marc Panepinto, who will only serve one term. So, it’s an open seat and it’s been a typically turbulent primary race throughout the spring and summer, as the Democrats couldn’t decide what to do after Panepinto quit the race. Although Parkside activist Amber Small has been running for months, Democratic HQ flirted with running someone like Assemblyman Sean Ryan, and others. In the end, Small was the only person left running, mostly because the Republicans are running millionaire developer and county clerk Chris Jacobs as their endorsed candidate. In a normal place, that would be the race: Small vs. Jacobs and let them have at it.

But the 60th Senate District isn’t a normal place. 

Democrat Al Coppola is running for perhaps the millionth time, and careful observers will recall that the turnout two years ago was so anemic that Coppola actually gave Panepinto a run for his money. Coppola reportedly submitted his nominating petitions on Wednesday, and was assisted in that effort by people who have ties to Steve Pigeon and Panepinto. Rumor has it that Panepinto is livid at Small for announcing a primary race against him well before he got caught up in a scandal and decided not to run, and this may be evidence of that. 

The Republicans have their own perennial candidate running a primary, Kevin Stocker, who lost to Panepinto two Novembers ago. Stocker will likely self-fund, and he’ll force Jacobs to spend some money before September. How he does in the primary should, in a normal place, inform Stocker’s decision to carry on in September. But, see above – this isn’t a normal place, and Stocker has already said he’ll run on a minor party line – whether it’s one he wins a slot on, or one he creates as a vanity party. If true, Stocker and Jacobs can split the conservative vote, and Small can benefit from the Democratic enrollment advantage. 

Assembly 144

My Assemblywoman, Jane Corwin, isn’t going back to Albany next year. She’s quitting, and it didn’t come to light until two days before petitions are due. This means that party bosses get to essentially hand-pick (technically, it’s done by a committee). This is all convenient because the Democrats didn’t bother to run anyone against the incumbent in a district with a 60/40 Republican enrollment advantage, but vacant seats are a different animal.

With public integrity and reform so high on people’s minds, the time is ripe for a genuine race in the 144th, but it’s too late for the Democrats to circulate petitions for anyone now. So, while Corwin seeks to score points for “term limiting” herself, she did so in a way that ensures that the democratic process is completely thwarted and the constituency is force-fed a candidate whom one party’s bosses select.  The only option now is a write-in campaign, which is tricky but not impossible. 

Assembly 143

Law Professor and former law clerk to a federal judge, Monica Wallace, is campaigning hard, and she’s had some very successful fundraisers. When mid-July campaign disclosures come out next week, look for her status as front-runner to be further cemented. Given her opponent’s 2013 “experience” as treasurer for the scandalous WNY Progressive Caucus, everyone will be examining the accuracy and timing of those reports.