Perdido 03

Perdido 03

Monday, July 29, 2013

Cuomo's Moreland Commission Executive Director Sued 17 Times For Election Violations

On the plus side, I guess she knows what the criminals are doing because she's a criminal herself:

The executive director of Gov. Cuomo’s anti-corruption commission was sued 17 times by the state Board of Elections — an agency her panel is now charged with investigating.

Cuomo’s commission is set to focus on the influence of campaign contributions on government and compliance with election and lobbying laws.

From 2001 to 2009, commission executive director Regina Calcaterra was treasurer of Women PAC, which gave money to city candidates who supported women’s issues.

In 2002, Calcaterra was first sued twice in her role as the political action committee’s treasurer by the Board of Elections for failing to file two required financial disclosures. She received a $144 fine that she paid.

She subsequently was sued another 15 times for missing additional filing deadlines, with a judge backing the state at least nine times. The other cases were dropped because the state couldn’t serve her papers informing her of the lawsuits.

Calcaterra sources say she was unaware of the judgments until 2009 because the legal papers were not delivered to her directly--instead going to people and addresses with no associations to her.

They say she had believed the PAC was closed in 2003. A letter sent to the Board of Elections seems to back up the contention.

But Board of Elections spokesman John Conklin said the needed paperwork to close the PAC campaign account was never filed, which meant Calcaterra was required to make the filings. He also said Calcaterra filed notice that the PAC would not be raising or spending money in the 2004 election cycle — an odd move if she thought the PAC had been closed.

Conklin said that Calcaterra also called the Board of Elections in 2006 to talk about closing down the PAC — proof she knew it was still open — but never followed up.

Calcaterra next contacted the board in 2009, a year before she tried to run for state Senate as a Democrat in Suffolk County. A deal was quickly cut in which the state waived close to $5,400 in fines after she agreed to make up the PAC’s missed filings. The PAC account was then closed.

“This PAC had penalties levied against it, which were later waived, because the (Board of Elections) was not aware that we had filed to shut it down years earlier and that it was completely dormant with a near zero account balance,” Calcaterra said. “As soon as I became aware of administrative issues with the PAC I rectified them and the PAC paid a $100 fine.”

Conklin replied that “there were misunderstandings on both sides.”


This isn't the first time members of the Moreland Anti-Corruption Commission put together by Sheriff Cuomo have been accused of corruption themselves. 

Cuomo has put at least five people on this 25 member commission who have broken election laws.

Cuomo put this commission together to "restore public confidence" in state government by rooting out corruption and election violations.

Anybody with any hope that this commission will expose wrongdoing and corruption should disabuse themselves of that.

Cuomo hired crooks to mete out "justice".

2 comments:

  1. Well she's obviously no Dick Parsons, but then again neither is Dick Parsons.

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    Replies
    1. Nothing like a bank crook to run an education commission looking to sell public education out to the crooked banksters and hedge fundies...

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