A federal probe and stinging audits of the state's Thoroughbred racing outfit have not deterred Gov. Pataki and other state lawmakers from holding fund-raisers at Saratoga.
Pataki is set to benefit from a shindig at the upstate track next week. The $250-a-person fund-raiser, organized by his campaign, will be held Aug. 22 at the Paddock Pavilion.
Two days earlier, Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R-Rensselaer) will gather with his supporters at the Reading Room, a private club near the track.
Both gatherings will occur during Travers Week, when the track's biggest race - the Travers Stakes, known as the Midsummer Derby - is run.
And just last week, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee held a $250-a-head event at the Saratoga Springs home of New York Racing Association Chairman Barry Schwartz.
Schwartz, who spent part of last week urging the feds not to indict the racing association, is a longtime pal of Silver.
Silver said he believed Schwartz could fix the not-for-profit racing association, which has an exclusive franchise to run the state's three major tracks and handles about $3 billion a year in wagers.
"I think he needs to make some tough decisions, and he's prepared to make them," Silver said.
The federal probe rises from the convictions of NYRA clerks who shorted their cash drawers to avoid paying income taxes. Prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn are examining whether supervisors knew about the scam and failed to intervene.
The probe has delayed installation of video lottery terminals at Aqueduct that were expected to bring the state $400 million a year.
Pataki and Bruno have told the feds that an indictment would hurt the state economy. Silver agrees and believes making NYRA pay a civil fine, as the association has proposed, would be more prudent.
Suzanne Morris, a Pataki spokeswoman, defended the governor's Aug. 22 fund-raiser, saying it is an annual event "that celebrates the rich history of horse racing and tourism of New York State."
Bruno's spokesman John McArdle said the state senator's upcoming fund-raiser is "separate and apart" from any scrutiny of the racing association.
Bruno, whose district includes Saratoga Springs, is a longtime racing fan. He has two boxes in the Saratoga clubhouse - one purchased through his campaign account and another provided by NYRA. The association also sets aside boxes for the governor and the speaker.
In contrast, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who released a scathing report on NYRA in June, has not held an event in the racing town for the last two years. And state Controller Alan Hevesi held a $250-a-head gathering last month at Saratoga but moved it to a restaurant outside the track. He is making final his own critical NYRA audit.
NYRA has stepped up its damage control efforts, retaining the Manhattan-based Abernathy MacGregor Group to handle inquiries about the scandal. The firm declined to say how much NYRA is paying for the PR.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/108749p-98290c.html
Pataki is set to benefit from a shindig at the upstate track next week. The $250-a-person fund-raiser, organized by his campaign, will be held Aug. 22 at the Paddock Pavilion.
Two days earlier, Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R-Rensselaer) will gather with his supporters at the Reading Room, a private club near the track.
Both gatherings will occur during Travers Week, when the track's biggest race - the Travers Stakes, known as the Midsummer Derby - is run.
And just last week, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee held a $250-a-head event at the Saratoga Springs home of New York Racing Association Chairman Barry Schwartz.
Schwartz, who spent part of last week urging the feds not to indict the racing association, is a longtime pal of Silver.
Silver said he believed Schwartz could fix the not-for-profit racing association, which has an exclusive franchise to run the state's three major tracks and handles about $3 billion a year in wagers.
"I think he needs to make some tough decisions, and he's prepared to make them," Silver said.
The federal probe rises from the convictions of NYRA clerks who shorted their cash drawers to avoid paying income taxes. Prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn are examining whether supervisors knew about the scam and failed to intervene.
The probe has delayed installation of video lottery terminals at Aqueduct that were expected to bring the state $400 million a year.
Pataki and Bruno have told the feds that an indictment would hurt the state economy. Silver agrees and believes making NYRA pay a civil fine, as the association has proposed, would be more prudent.
Suzanne Morris, a Pataki spokeswoman, defended the governor's Aug. 22 fund-raiser, saying it is an annual event "that celebrates the rich history of horse racing and tourism of New York State."
Bruno's spokesman John McArdle said the state senator's upcoming fund-raiser is "separate and apart" from any scrutiny of the racing association.
Bruno, whose district includes Saratoga Springs, is a longtime racing fan. He has two boxes in the Saratoga clubhouse - one purchased through his campaign account and another provided by NYRA. The association also sets aside boxes for the governor and the speaker.
In contrast, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who released a scathing report on NYRA in June, has not held an event in the racing town for the last two years. And state Controller Alan Hevesi held a $250-a-head gathering last month at Saratoga but moved it to a restaurant outside the track. He is making final his own critical NYRA audit.
NYRA has stepped up its damage control efforts, retaining the Manhattan-based Abernathy MacGregor Group to handle inquiries about the scandal. The firm declined to say how much NYRA is paying for the PR.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/108749p-98290c.html
