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Pigeonism is over. No longer can that individual credibly participate in any electoral process, anywhere. He owes more than three Teslas’ worth in unpaid federal taxes, he is under arrest – although free on bond – accused of nine felony counts, including grand larceny by extortion. Right now, two races are testing the scattered Pigeonistas’ ability to continue the patronage gravy train without their depraved guru. In the Assembly 143 race, the former treasurer for the WNY Progressive Caucus (“AwfulPAC”) is running as a Democrat, despite being a major player at the epicenter of the events that led to Pigeon’s downfall. The acting District Attorney, Michael Flaherty, has surrounded himself with Pigeon operatives, and had the nerve to comment on the Michalek conviction Wednesday despite the fact that Flaherty and his predecessor/mentor failed and refused to prosecute the alleged crimes that led to the Pigeon/Michalek bribery counts. 

The word is chutzpah, and we have a glut of it here in western New York. Flaherty has the chutzpah to comment on a conviction his office could have – and should have – prosecuted. Mazurek has the chutzpah to try and make it a scandalous trifecta in the A-143, after the disgraces of Gabryszak and Wozniak. Pigeon and Michalek had the chutzpah not only to devise a jobs-for-fixing-cases arrangement, but were so brazen as to memorialize it all in writing, believing they’d never be seen or caught. Sure, you can tell in some of what’s been released that Pigeon was uncomfortable discussing the ongoing corrupt behavior in emails, but Michalek had no similar qualms. These were two men who were sure this would never be revealed. 

What it says to me is that this was likely how people generally operated with Pigeon. All of it was corrupt horse trading of influence for jobs. It all boils down to how the patronage gets dealt, and to whom.

You scratch my back, I subvert one of the foundations of our pluralist democratic republic – an independent and impartial judiciary. 

Ultimately, this all reveals quite clearly that Steve Pigeon was the strongman of a shadow banana republic that operated quite freely and openly for a couple of decades. Pigeon might have been deposed, but his diehards continue their insurgency in A-143, with Flaherty, and perhaps even with Republican state Senate candidate Kevin Stocker, based on rumors I’ve heard. 

I think that it’s becoming clear that what’s left of the Pigeon faction is not going to find great success this election season. They are rudderless and will find it harder to fund their campaigns without Uncle Steve miraculously coming up with hundreds of thousands of dollars in shadily-sourced, seldom properly disclosed funding. The best Flaherty’s Pigeonista ally Jim Eagan can do is buy a Flynn-sounding URL and redirect it to Flaherty’s own site. Weak sauce, shady, savage, salty, are all terms the kids would use for that idiot tactic, and it does nothing to promote the candidate. It simply demeans the office and the process. 

The Republicans, who so often conspired with Pigeon to screw the Democrats, have been uncharacteristically silent, given the disgraceful fall of two prominent local (nominal) Democrats. You’d expect them to be howling, but in this case, Pigeon was oftentimes the greatest gift they could ever have. For instance, it was Pigeon who engineered the 2010 coup in the County Legislature, that transformed a majority Democratic body into a rubber-stamp for the execrable Chris Collins. Just months earlier, he had manipulated a similar coup to transform a Democratic state Senate Majority into a Republican one. That one earned Pigeon a patronage job under convicted felon Pedro Espada. 

In the Preetsmas series of articles, I coined the phrase, “Pigeoning: pi·geon·ing ˈpi-jən-iŋ: (n) the action of using money and influence, oftentimes pushing the election law envelope, to actively sabotage and undermine the Erie County Democratic Committee.” As you might imagine, this oftentimes required the Republicans, but especially the obsequious fusion parties – “Independence” and “Conservative” alike – to conspire with Pigeon to advance not just candidates, but their committees’ access to patronage jobs.

Nothing that Steve Pigeon ever did brought about real reform or good government. Nothing he touched had anything to do with policy, or helping the community – it was all about enriching Pigeon and the pilot fish who clung to him. Western New Yorkers of every party, of every race, of every nationality, of every class deserve so much better than what Pigeon and his cult offered. 

For many, including me, the Michalek bribery charges were anti-climactic. There’s got to be more. What happened to the election law crimes? Former DA Mark Sacha, who is also running for DA, and was instrumental in pushing the allegations of Pigeon’s criminality to the authorities, says that there remain election law-related felonies that could still be prosecuted. He suggests that they’re being swept under the rug because of politics. I hear rumors of other state court judges who have lawyered up. The FBI confirmed yesterday that a federal investigation is ongoing, and Attorney General Schneiderman made it clear that the state’s own investigation is also “ongoing”. There will no doubt be more. In fact, the FBI called this bribery investigation as only “one prong” of a multi-faceted, ongoing investigation. 

There has to be more. I suspect that the Michalek bribery case is just the amuse bouche – the low-hanging, easy to reach fruit that can be pushed through quickly to reassure an impatient public that progress is being made. All the while, law enforcement continues to build its other cases against Pigeon and others. 

(Bonus: read Ken Kruly’s retrospective and analysis here). 

This is all great for western New York generally, reasserting control over our political process and restoring some integrity to the process. But don’t overlook what a huge victory this is for the Erie County Democratic Committee and its chairman, Jeremy Zellner. Every time he’s been disrespected, dismissed, insulted as “young and inexperienced” by Pigeonistas and pundits, he’s maintained his professionalism. He’s taken his licks, and he’s come out on top. Every time someone disrespects him as a “boy”, he can simply wave a copy of the Pigeon indictment around and silently claim victory. Not victory as in, he’ll win every race he backs, but the victory of being the only chief of a Democratic faction who’s not under arrest facing nine felony counts of bribery and extortion. 

Pass the popcorn, because we’re just watching the trailers. 

Unc Steve, how’d you do with the Gov???? – former Supreme Court Justice John Michalek asking G. Steven Pigeon about his efforts to help Michalek ascend to the Appellate Division, 4th Department

Bombshells fell on Buffalo’s legal and political circles Wednesday when it was announced that Supreme Court Justice Michalek would plead guilty to charges relating to bribery and filing a false instrument, and that former Erie County Democratic Chairman and Pedro Espada patronage hire G. Steven Pigeon would appear in court on similar allegations on Thursday. 

On May 28, 2015, state and federal law enforcement executed search warrants at the homes of Pigeon, former Buffalo Deputy Mayor Steve Casey, and Chris Grant, former chief of staff to Congressman Chris Collins. The raids stemmed from allegations of campaign finance illegalities arising out of a failed political committee run by Assembly candidate Kristy Mazurek in 2013 called the “WNY Progressive Caucus”, or as I call it, “AwfulPAC”. (Click this link to see the complete compendium of Preetsmas/AwfulPAC posts since 2015).

Since then, Western New Yorkers have wondered what was going on with this investigation, especially as the statute of limitations for campaign misdemeanors came and went. We now have part of the answer: The first domino to fall will be Judge Michalek, a well-regarded straight-shooter of a judge. A huge cache of emails from Pigeon’s computers revealed a scheme to engage in bribery: 

State prosecutors will contend that an “understanding” existed between Michalek and Pigeon that the judge would engage in “official misconduct which advanced Pigeon’s interests,” according to the source who is familiar with the felony charges. The charges will accuse Michalek of “accepting and agreeing to accept benefits from Pigeon,” the source said.

In exchange for Pigeon’s help in finding jobs for two of Michalek’s relatives, and Pigeon’s help recommending Michalek for a seat on the Appellate Division of the 4th Department in Rochester, Michalek would make rulings on cases that were favorable to Pigeon’s interests, and went so far as to have Pigeon appointed referee on an Amherst foreclosure, which would have netted Pigeon a few hundred dollars. 

Here, it should be noted that it was Pigeon’s once supposedly tight relationship with Governor Cuomo that likely would have prompted Judge Michalek to reach out for help getting an “App Div” appointment in 2012, and Pigeon responded, “I will start talking u up.”  

According to one of the seized emails, Michalek assigned Pigeon to work on a foreclosure, with more emails between Pigeon and Michalek illustrating the judge’s official misconduct and the benefits that Pigeon provided to the judge and his family members, the source said.

In March 2012, Michalek emailed Pigeon regarding a lawsuit pending before him, providing Pigeon with nonpublic details concerning a motion filed by a nonparty to the litigation seeking a protective order from a subpoena served by one of the parties, the source said.

In a written decision issued about two weeks later, Michalek denied the motion for a protective order, just as Pigeon had requested. Michalek then sent Pigeon an email with a copy of the decision attached and thanked Pigeon for “his efforts” on behalf of his first relative looking for a job, the source said.

Pigeon responded by email a short time later with an offer of additional assistance to the relative.

Small potatoes stuff—this is the political equivalent of nabbing Al Capone on tax evasion. But it’s a start, and we’ll wait and see what’s in the Pigeon indictment, and whether Schneiderman might have more cases still left to unpack. 

Statement on today’s public corruption proceedings in #Buffalo: pic.twitter.com/n3e5n27cVd

— Eric Schneiderman (@AGSchneiderman) June 29, 2016

While at first blush a lot of this seems like just a guy helping his buddy’s relative get a job or two, there are concrete allegations that there was a series of quids pro quo between Michalek and Pigeon—at least enough to get them both disbarred. This is the tip of a massive iceberg—think of all the petty corruption you suspect or know about that never gets reported, much less prosecuted. Michalek has pled guilty, so it’s safe to say that Michalek agreed to manipulate the outcome of cases before him in exchange for the use of whatever influence Steve Pigeon might have had at the time regarding a handful of jobs and patronage appointments. 

A sitting Supreme Court Justice just pled guilty to two felonies related to bribery, and will be sentenced in late September. He is cooperating with law enforcement, and Steve Pigeon is next to appear in court regarding charges arising out of the same set of facts—possibly more. 

Query why then-DA Frank Sedita didn’t pursue the complaints made by his deputy Mark Sacha around 2009, or the AwfulPAC allegations in 2013. 

It looks like Preetsmas is finally here, and that there’s quite obviously much more to come. And it’s been a long time coming. 

Here, courtesy of WGRZ, is the text of the indictment against Michalek. 

Michalek Indictment – From New York State Attorney General’s Office by WGRZ-TV

In the Assembly – in Albany – there is a comfortable, albeit old-fashioned leather swivel chair, and the two people who most recently moistened it will have abandoned it in disgrace. The endorsed Democrat, Monica Piga Wallace, is an accomplished lawyer and the very embodiment of responsibility and accomplishment. Wallace’s new challenger, Kristy Mazurek, is under such a thick cloud of suspicion that, were she already serving as an elected official, she’d be called on to resign. For Democrats, the contrast couldn’t be more stark. 

Dennis Gabryzsak resigned amid a flurry of allegations that he sexually harassed his female staffers. Gabryszak’s behavior was inexcusable, and the timing was fortuitous for people aligned with perennial pseudo-Democratic gadfly, G. Stephen Pigeon and his band of co-dependents. Gabryszak’s fall coincided nicely with the re-election campaign of Senator Tim Kennedy – the A-143 and Kennedy’s district share Cheektowaga and part of Depew – and a competitive Democratic primary for the assembly seat in 2014 would artificially bolster white Cheektowagan turnout for Kennedy, thwarting Betty Jean Grant’s second effort to unseat the incumbent. In 2012, Grant had come excruciatingly close to ousting Kennedy, but Kennedy was prepared in 2014, and won handily. 

Also in 2014, longtime Democratic operative Camille Brandon was running as a Democrat for A-143, and she had the support of both Democratic HQ and breakaway Democrats led by Frank Max.  But helping Tim Kennedy trumped unity, so Pigeon and Mazurek ran a primary using Mazurek’s brother, Mark, who went on to win the September primary. Mazurek’s campaign faltered in November, however, and he lost to current occupant/disgrace Angela Wozniak. Mark’s sister, Kristy ran his campaign effort that year. It wasn’t a failure, though. The larger mission was accomplished in September for Kennedy. 

For her part, Kristy Mazurek is the former host of “2Sides”, a political talk show she co-hosted with a variety of Republican operatives such as Stefan Mychajliw and Michael Caputo. In 2012, Mazurek ran the failed David Shenk for Comptroller campaign against Mychajliw. Throughout her return to WNY, she has been aligned with Steve Pigeon, and at war with Democratic HQ.

In 2013, Mazurek was famously the treasurer for the WNY Progressive Caucus, or “AwfulPAC“. That campaign committee’s campaign finance irregularities led to the May 28, 2015 raids of the homes of Steve Pigeon, Steve Casey, and Chris Grant, (a.k.a. “Preetsmas“), ultimately leading to the recent empaneling of a special Grand Jury to investigate any and all crimes arising out of that commitee and those searches. 

The Buffalo News reported in mid-2015 that investigators had questioned Mazurek, and that her home wasn’t raided because she was cooperating with law enforcement. 

As it stands now, AwfulPAC maintains an outstanding $15,000 campaign debt owed to printing firm Marketing Tech, last reported in its January 2015 disclosure. AwfulPAC also last disclosed over $26,000 cash on hand in that same disclosure, so query why it hasn’t yet satisfied that debt to Marketing Tech. Since then, AwfulPAC has filed, “no activity” statements.  Mark Mazurek’s Assembly campaign committee last reported $900 on hand, and has failed and refused to make mandatory financial disclosures to the Board of Elections in January and July of 2015, and January of 2016. 

The Public revealed the extent and ongoing nature of federal tax liens that the IRS has filed against Steve Pigeon, calling into question his proclamations of financial liquidity to the Buffalo News’ Bob McCarthy, and selective revelation of his tax returns. For a guy who told Bob McCarthy he could easily afford personally to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars into obscure political committees, he found himself facing: 

• March 1, 2012: $26,527 federal tax lien
• October 30, 2013: Lien for unpaid condo fees of $1,123 for 1003 Admiral’s Walk (owned by Dan Humiston, occupied by Steve Pigeon)
• March 31, 2014: $118,650 federal tax lien
• August 18, 2014: Lien for unpaid condo fees of $9,264 for 1003 Admiral’s Walk
• June 2, 2015: $126,259 federal tax lien for the 2011 and 2013 tax years
• November 24, 2015: $65,806 federal tax lien for the 2014 tax year
• December 22, 2015: Lien for unpaid condo fees of $4,486 for 704 Admiral’s Walk (owned by Steve Pigeon)

That’s almost $337,000 in federal tax liens alone. The suspicion is that federal investigators with access to Pigeon’s financial records could see money passing through his accounts for political activities, which Pigeon perhaps didn’t report as income. 

Similarly, Mazurek finds herself the subject of federal tax liens as follows: 

• June 19, 2014: $16,432 federal tax lien for the 2007 tax year 
• October 8, 2014: $4,125 federal tax lien for the 2012 tax year
• October 27, 2014: $7,785 federal tax lien for the 2010 and 2013 tax years

Could it be that at least some of these liens are the fruit of the Preetsmas raids? Could law enforcement with access to banking records have revealed monies flowing through Mazurek and Pigeon’s accounts for political purposes from other sources? Money that should have been declared as income, but wasn’t? 

Mazurek’s candidacy has been rumored for some time, and a post on a particularly irresponsible local blog announced/press released it thusly: 

Kristy Mazurek, the local socialite and muckraking journalist whose pioneering career spanned decades in a half dozen American media markets, intends to wage an aggressive campaign for New York State State Assembly against a little known candidate recruited by Erie County Democrat Party headquarters.

Socialite: ‘sōSHəˌlīt/ (n) “a person who is well known in fashionable society and is fond of social activities and entertainment.” “A socially prominent person”. I am not aware of the qualities and qualificiations that being a “socialite” might lend to someone running for office, but it seems to be a euphemism for “unemployed”. 

In this, the year of anti-corruption sentiment, it seems an odd choice to elect to the Assembly a person so close to an ongoing federal and state investigation. As for the “little known candidate”, that’s Monica Piga Wallace, a law professor at UB with over a decade’s experience as the confidential law clerk for a federal court judge. She’s a wife and mother with an adorable family, and any party chairman, regardless of political affiliation, would count himself lucky to have such an excellent outsider/newcomer candidate run for elected office. 

Mazurek is a formidable political contender with fundraising prowess and a well placed network of supporters. The consummate activist, Mazurek has been involved in local politics since she was a child and her father represented the Polonia neighborhood on the County Legislature. Mazurek is a Cheektowaga resident and Chairperson of the town’s Polish Heritage Festival.

Mazurek is almost $30,000 in arrears to the federal government for unpaid income taxes, her activities as treasurer for AwfulPAC find her in the center of an ongoing criminal investigation, the campaigns she has been most closely affiliated with (Shenk, Moore, and Mazurek) were all failures, and her fundraising “prowess” amounted to $38,500 for her brother, not including thousands in family loans. By contrast, Conservative fusion Party candidate Angela Wozniak – who defeated Mazurek’s candidate in 2014 – quickly raised close to $60,000 in a traditionally Democratic district, not counting $30,000 in Republican PAC money. 

Jeremy Zellner, beleaguered by controversy relating to a 2014 incident in which he was perceived to be extorting bribes from judicial candidates, is backing Mazurek’s opponent. Zellner’s leadership of the Democrat Party has attracted much scrutiny. The chairman’s ouster is expected at the next party reorganization meeting later this year.

Translation: some people have an acute, chronic, exhausting case of butthurtitis and sour grapes over Steve Pigeon’s ouster as Erie County Democratic Chairman over a decade ago. Inter-party squabbles like this swing from cold to hot every so often, and Mazurek, who is busy accepting service of legal process for Pigeon at his former apartment, is merely doing her boss’ bidding. 

This is how Mazurek announced her candidacy: 

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

— Ryan Whalen (@RyanTWCNews) May 27, 2016

Nothing about ethics and corruption in Albany. Nothing about public service. Nothing about what she might do differently from her predecessors, or a hint at what her platform might be. Nothing about how she is more qualified or better suited than, say, Monica Wallace. With this Facebook post, Mazurek lays bare her entire reason for running: this isn’t a campaign. It’s a vendetta.

Remember: even though Albany corruption matters, Donald Trump shows us that 2016 is the year of grievance politics, and for that Mazurek has a deep well. 

Mazurek alleges that she reported Gabryszak’s “attacking behavior” to Len Lenihan and Jeremy Zellner, and, I suppose, she’ll say they did nothing about it. But even if true, party bosses aren’t in charge of an Assemblyman’s behavior. An Assembly staffer who is subjected to “attacking behavior” at the hands of her boss has other channels to use. There is a grievance procedure spelled out in the Assembly rules, for instance. Had Mazurek followed that, she would have complained to the Counsel to the Majority. If attacked, she could have gone to the police. She could have brought a lawsuit. Complaining to Lenihan and Zellner seems odd, especially if she’s alleging that another party boss, like Pigeon, would have acted differently. Perhaps all of this is prologue to the inevitable, failed attempt to oust Zellner at the party reorganization later this year. 

Mazurek did bring a lawsuit, incidentally. She left Gabryszak’s office in 2009. She was the last of Gabryszak’s accusers to bring a lawsuit, in November 2014. The court dismissed it: 

The court’s dismissal of Mazurek’s complaint against Gabryszak is up on appeal, but why wait over three years to bring suit? Why blow through and past the statute of limitations? Was it because the timing was inopportune before November 2014?  How? Gabryszak resigned in January. Election day was November 4th.

In her complaint, she mentions only complaining to Gabryszak’s chief of staff, Adam Locher. Not to Zellner nor Lenihan. The Cheektowaga electorate may be attracted to Mazurek’s surname and grievances, but on the issue of ethics and accomplishments, Mazurek has a very steep hill to climb.

One thing is for sure, in a year where Albany corruption, ethics, and good government are at the fore; in the year where both Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos were tried, convicted, and sentenced for crimes arising out of their theft of honest services, it seems beyond odd for a key player in an ongoing local political corruption scandal to run for elected office. We have our Preetsmas candidate.

What’s a Grand Jury, Anyway? 

According to multiple sources, and as reported in the Buffalo News, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is expected to convene a “special grand jury” in connection with the allegations of criminality arising out of the raids that took place on May 28, 2015. 

Unless a defendant executes a waiver, any felony accusation must be presented to a grand jury for consideration. The grand jury, made up of 23 regular WNYers (16 are needed for a quorum), hear witnesses, consider evidence, and decide whether or not to indict, or may issue a “grand jury report”. A prosecutor oversees the proceeding – there’s no judge, and no defense attorney unless an accused is giving testimony.

An indictment means the grand jury has determined that (a) there is sufficient evidence – corroborated, if required by law – that the defendant committed the offense; and (b) through the review of competent and admissible evidence, the grand jury concludes that probable cause exists that a crime has been committed. The proceeding is generally held in secret, and a grand jury’s duties are purely investigatory; they do not determine guilt or innocence, but who shall be charged.

A special grand jury is convened to hear evidence regarding a variety of cases involving allegations of widespread illegality and misconduct, such as organized crime, drug activity, or corruption. It is unclear whether the special grand jury being contemplated for the Preetsmas incidents will be asked to indict, or to issue a report. If it issues a report alleging misconduct, nonfeasance or neglect in public office, the court may only accept it for filing if it is based upon facts “supported by a preponderance of credible and legally admissible evidence”, and only if everyone named had an opportunity to testify. 

Since the Attorney General is expected to convene a special grand jury, this will likely take a long time as the grand jury hears witness testimony and reviews reams of other evidence developed over the past year, and possibly more. This entire investigation has been a joint state/federal affair throughout, so query whether there may be some announcement from Bharara’s office. Although western New York is within Hochul’s purview, Bharara’s office has been handling all of the matters arising out of the defunct Moreland Commission. 

Rumor & Speculation

Former Deputy Mayor Steve Casey, one of the targets of the May 28, 2015 Preetsmas Day raids, is allegedly cooperating with law enforcement. Casey left his job at City Hall to head up the Scott Congel megaproject in West Seneca, and rumor has it that his attorney recently, abruptly stopped participating in coordination conference calls with the other lawyers involved in the case. 

It’s also being floated that anywhere from two to as many as five Supreme Court and Buffalo City Court judges may become entangled in this Preetsmas mess. 

Finally, a spy forwards these images of Steve Pigeon’s personal assistant, Kristy Mazurek, checking out of the Buffalo Hyatt this past week.

Mazurek was the former treasurer for the “WNY Progressive Caucus”, or AwfulPAC, whose allegedly improper activities and campaign finance irregularities brought the entire Preetsmas investigation about.

More recently, she accepted service of process of a lawsuit against Pigeon at the Humiston-owned apartment he was using at 1003 Admiral’s Walk.

Caputi v. Pigeon: Affidavit of Service by Alan Bedenko

That lawsuit arose out of Pigeon’s unwillingness or inability to consummate a deal to sell his own apartment in the complex at 704 Admiral’s Walk. Humiston has since sold 1003. 

Take a look at the Complaint, as well as the relevant Exhibits (A, B, C, D, E) and the Notice of Appearance of the U.S. Attorney to protect its interests regarding the almost $300,000 in federal tax liens filed against Mr. Pigeon for unpaid taxes. 

What’s up at the Hyatt? New post-Admiral Walk digs for the Pigeonistas? 

Preetsmas is the Reason for the Season