Peter King

Rep. Peter King Defends Videotaped Raid

Nick R. Martin, Ryan J. Reilly, Michael Lester | March 14, 2012, 1:00PM

Rep. Peter King (R-NY)

Updated: 3:30PM

First it was edited. Then it was scraped from his YouTube account altogether. But on Wednesday, Rep. Peter King said there was nothing wrong with videotaping an action-packed raid he participated in earlier in the week with federal law enforcement in New York.

Following inquiries from TPM, the US Marshals Service on Tuesday said they were investigating whether the video King (R-NY) posted, which showed agents kicking down doors and chasing after a suspect in Brooklyn while he tagged along, violated federal policy.

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Michael Bloomberg

Bloomberg Defends Legality Of NYPD Spying On Muslims

David Taintor | February 24, 2012, 2:09PM

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday defended the legality of the NYPD's covert monitoring of Muslims in New York and New Jersey.

"Everything the NYPD has done is legal, it is appropriate, it is constitutional," Bloomberg said on WOR radio.

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Michael Grimm

GOP Rep Michael Grimm: I'd Be 'Very Stupid' To Take Cash Near FBI Building

Ryan J. Reilly | February 3, 2012, 4:25PM

House Speaker John Boehner said Friday that he was "not familiar with the details" of the unfolding campaign finance scandal involving Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY). Let's bring him up to speed.

The New York Times reported this week that Grimm worked closely with Ofer Biton (a top aide to the orthodox Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto) back in 2009 to recruit the rabbi's followers to donate to Grimm's campaign. Together, they collected more than $500,000 for his campaign, helping convince Republican leaders Grimm was a viable candidate.

Now Biton is now under investigation by the FBI, which just happens to be Grimm's former employer. Grimm himself is accused of accepting a cash donation of $5,000 "near the FBI building" and three followers of the rabbi told the New York Times that Grimm or Biton said they would find ways for the campaign to accept donations over the legal limit.

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Eric Massa

Long Gone From Congress, 'Tickler' Eric Massa Still Pays Wife With Campaign Cash

Nick R. Martin | February 1, 2012, 12:40PM

Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.)

Eric Massa may be long gone from the US House, but that hasn't stopped the confessed congressional tickler from using leftover campaign cash to pay his wife a nice monthly salary.

The former New York congressman resigned two years ago amid a bizarre scandal in which he admitted to tickling and roughhousing with male staffers while insisting it wasn't sexual.

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Hydrofracking

To Frack Or Not To Frack: New York Enters The Next Round Of The Drilling Debate

Jillian Rayfield | December 29, 2011, 5:55AM

One side points to videos of people setting their tap water on fire. The other looks to an economic boom in Pennsylvania. But New Yorkers in general are mostly split on whether to lift a moratorium on hydrofracking in the state, and the debate over the decision is likely to continue well into 2012.

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William Boyland, Jr.

NY Assemblyman Accused Of Soliciting Bribes To Pay Legal Fees For Corruption Trial

Jillian Rayfield | December 1, 2011, 6:00AM

New York Assemblyman William Boyland, Jr. was arrested this week for allegedly soliciting $250,000 in bribes from undercover FBI agents, just a short time after he was cleared of other corruption charges.

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Michael Bloomberg

NYC Deputy Mayor Reportedly Quit After Domestic Abuse Bust

Jillian Rayfield | September 1, 2011, 4:51PM

NYC Deputy Mayor for Special Operations Stephen Goldsmith

New York City's former Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith's resignation was reportedly the result of an arrest for domestic abuse, according to the New York Post.

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New York

Fifteen Arrested After Police Altercation With Muslims Over Amusement Park Head Scarf Ban

Jillian Rayfield | August 31, 2011, 11:28AM

Rye Playland in Westchester, NY

Fifteen people were arrested at Rye Playland in New York on Tuesday, after a scuffle broke out between police and members of a Muslim-American tour group who had been barred from the rides because of the park's "no head scarf" policy.

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Jim Russell

Ex-House Candidate Caught Trespassing At Paper He Sued Over His Anti-Racial Integration Essay

Jillian Rayfield | August 12, 2011, 4:12PM

A former candidate for the House of Representatives was arrested on harassment and trespassing charges after he was caught on the property of The Journal News -- a newspaper he sued for defamation for publishing stories about an anti-racial integration essay he wrote in 2001.

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Sovereign Citizens

Sovereign Citizen Apologizes After Trillion-Dollar 'Paper Terrorism' Scheme

Jillian Rayfield | May 16, 2011, 12:17PM

A sovereign citizen in upstate New York apologized for harassing government officials with "paper terrorism," which resulted in a sentence of 21 months in federal prison for mail fraud.

Ed Parenteau was sentenced last week and ordered to pay about $8,000 to Ulster County, after he, along with two other sovereign citizens, was convicted of mail fraud after filing fake indictments and sending fake bills, totaling $1.24 trillion, to government officials. "I have learned my lesson and I will never do anything like this again," he told District Judge Thomas McAvoy Friday.

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Islamophobia

New York Man Puts 'Bomb Making Next Driveway' Sign In Mosque-Adjacent Yard

Jillian Rayfield | May 10, 2011, 10:21AM

A man in East Amherst, New York escalated an ongoing feud with a neighboring mosque by placing a sign that reads "Bomb Making Next Driveway" on his lawn, saying his "intent was to catch the eye of the people who I have a problem with."

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Imtiaz Insanally

NY Man Charged With Putting Fake Addresses On Election Petition

Eric Lach | February 8, 2011, 5:21PM

Imtiaz Insanally

Election fraud alert!

An employee of the Nassau County Board of Elections has been accused of writing eight fake addresses on campaign forms in 2009, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice's office announced Tuesday. Imtiaz Insanally, 27, of Valley Stream, is alleged to have used the fake addresses on a petition to add Republican Christian Browne to the ballot on the Tax Revolt Party line. Browne was running for County Legislator in the Fifth Legislative District.

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Mob Bust

TPM's Guide To Mobster Country

Eric Lach and Ryan J. Reilly | January 21, 2011, 2:58PM

More than 120 suspected mobsters were arrested in yesterday's massive mafia bust. And along with the arrests came hundreds of pages of court documents detailing alleged illegal activity taking place across three states: New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island. From allegations of extortion in Midtown Manhattan and murder in Queens, to strip clubs in Providence and gambling on Long Island, allow TPM to take you on a little tour of the underworld:

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David Paterson

NY Gov Fined $62K Over Yankees World Series Tickets

Rachel Slajda | December 20, 2010, 1:03PM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY)

New York Gov. David Paterson has been fined $62,125 for accepting several 2009 World Series tickets from the New York Yankees.

The state Commission on Public Integrity announced today that it found that Paterson (D), who will finish his term at the end of the month, guilty of breaking state ethics law by accepting illegal gifts.

The commission also found that Paterson had lied to the commission about the tickets in February. It's a finding also made by an independent investigator appointed by the state attorney general's office, who said in August that Paterson could be charged with perjury. The case is now in the hands of the Albany County district attorney, who has not yet announced a decision about whether to charge Paterson.

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Pedro Espada Jr.

NY Senate Majority Leader Espada Stole From Non-Profit, Say Feds

Ryan J. Reilly | December 14, 2010, 6:33PM

NY state Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada

New York Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada, Jr. and his son, Pedro Gautier Espada, are facing charges that they stole over half a million dollars from clients of their nonprofit health care network, according to a six-count federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.

A grand jury handed up the indictment of the 57-year-old Bronx Democrat and his 37-year-old son, charging them with five counts of embezzling from their nonprofit, the Soundview HealthCare Network. Since that nonprofit receives over $1 million a year from the Department of Health and Human Services and millions in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, the pair were also charged with one count of conspiring to steal government funds.

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David Paterson

Paterson Aide At Center Of Domestic Violence Scandal Fired

Rachel Slajda | December 13, 2010, 4:32PM

New York Gov. David Paterson and aide David Johnson

David Johnson, the close aide to New York Gov. David Paterson (D) who was at the center of a domestic violence scandal that forced Paterson to drop out of the gubernatorial race, was fired last month.

Johnson, who was placed on unpaid leave when the scandal surfaced in February, was officially taken off the payroll on Nov. 19, the AP and others are reporting.

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New York

A Grand Jury Begins Investigating Potential 2009 Voter Fraud

Rachel Slajda | December 10, 2010, 1:43PM

Troy, New York.

A grand jury in Troy, N.Y., is investigating allegations that city officials blatantly colluded to commit voter fraud by forging ballots in the 2009 Working Families Party primary for local and county elections.

The grand jury has subpoenaed some 14 witnesses, according to local news reports. The witnesses, who testified this week, included residents whose names were used on absentee ballots in the primary but who say they never requested an absentee ballot nor voted.

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Muslims

Two Men Charged With Hate Crimes For Allegedly Assaulting Imam

Rachel Slajda | December 10, 2010, 8:37AM

Two men have been charged with assault and robbery as a hate crime after attacking a Muslim religious leader on a New York City subway platform.

According to prosecutors, the two men, Albert Melendez, 30, and Eddie Crespo, 28, spotted the unidentified imam on the A train in Manhattan at about 3 a.m. Wednesday morning.

"What are you, a camel jockey? I don't like Muslims," Melendez said, according to the criminal complaint.

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J.C. Owsley

An Answer To The Times' Titans Of Industry Mystery

Eric Lach | December 2, 2010, 1:16PM

J.E. Owsley (right) in 1905, when he coached Yale's football team.

Who is J.C. Owsley? Yesterday, we pointed out a terrific infographic in The New York Times, which listed the top salary earners in the country in 1941, and their tax rates. Among the names were well-known titans of industry: Thomas J. Watson, President of IBM; Eugene G. Grace, President of Bethlehem Steel; and Louis B. Mayer, General Manager of MGM. Number one on the list was a gun manufacturer, Carl Swebilius, and his wife Hulda Swebilius. But two of the names on the list, J.C. Owsley and C.S. Woolman, were labeled "unable to identify" by the Times. In a footnote, the paper attributed the lack of information to possible typographical errors in the documents it had received from the National Archives. According to the list, Owsley earned $486,244 and Woolman earned $442,142 in 1941. Could some of the nation's richest individuals really be so obscure? After some research (and the help of some reader tips), we think we've identified both men -- but Owsley's is the trickier case.

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Charlie Rangel

Charlie Rangel: I Can't Say Anything, Well, Except... (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | November 15, 2010, 10:36AM

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)

In an impromptu moving news conference after he walked out of his ethics hearing on Monday, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) told reporters he didn't think there was much he could say about the charges against him.

"I wish I could make a statement... I don't think there's anything that I can say," Rangel said in front of a row of cameras set up just outside the 3rd floor hearing room in the House Longworth Building.

Then he said a lot.

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New York

Mejias Drops NY State Senate Bid After Ex-Girlfriend-Stalking Incident

Jillian Rayfield | September 13, 2010, 1:28PM

David Mejias

David Mejias has dropped his bid for New York State Senate, following an incident in which he was arrested for "second-degree menacing, second-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree stalking" of his ex-girlfriend.

Mejias explained his decision in a press conference last week: "Albany is broken. Dysfunction, corruption, and special interests run rampant. The voters deserve a real debate on the issues. My continued candidacy would replace a meaningful debate about the future of our great state with distraction and sensationalism. Long Island deserves better."

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David Mejias

'Women For Mejias' Event Cancelled After Mejias Arrested For Stalking Ex-Girlfriend

Jillian Rayfield | September 3, 2010, 1:10PM

David Mejias

Democratic candidate for New York State Senate David Mejias was supposed to attend a "Women For Mejias" press conference today, but then he got arrested for stalking, menacing, and reckless endangerment, following an incident with his ex-girlfriend.

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David Mejias

NY State Senate Candidate Charged With Stalking, Menacing Ex-Girlfriend

Jillian Rayfield | September 2, 2010, 1:44PM

David Mejias

David Mejias, a Democratic candidate for New York State Senate and former Nassau county legislator, was charged this morning with "second-degree menacing, second-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree stalking" of his ex-girlfriend.

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'Ground Zero Mosque'

Muslim Group: Cabbie Slashing A Warning On Anti-Muslim Rhetoric

Ryan J. Reilly | August 25, 2010, 6:29PM

Friends and classmates say Michael Enright, the 21-year-old aspiring filmmaker who was arraigned on a hate crimes charges this afternoon for allegedly slashing a NYC cab driver because he was a Muslim, had a serious drinking problem. But a representative of one of the country's predominant Muslim groups told TPMMuckraker that the incident should serve as a warning to those using inflammatory rhetoric about those who practice Islam.

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Bryan Fischer

Social Conservative Bryan Fischer: Paterson Wants To Impose Sharia Law On New York

Jillian Rayfield | August 13, 2010, 3:37PM

Bryan Fischer

Bryan Fischer, the "Director of Issues Analysis" for the American Family Association who said there should be "no more mosques, period," now believes that Gov. David Paterson is attempting to impose sharia law on New York.

Paterson had offered to help the Cordoba House developers get state land for their proposed Muslim community center that's become known as the "Ground Zero mosque." Fischer wrote in a blog post today that Paterson "quite deliberately offered to grant Islam a favored status under New York public policy that is denied to Christian churches."

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Charles Rangel

Rangel Says He Wants To Give His Critics The Finger

Rachel Slajda | August 12, 2010, 11:45AM

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), in a campaign speech today in which he (again) defended himself against charges by the House ethics committee, said a middle finger well represents how he feels about the charges, the press and, indeed, the whole process.

Last night, at Rangel's star-studded birthday party fund-raiser, former New York City Mayor David Dinkins flipped off a protester who was calling for Rangel to resign.

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David Johnson

David Johnson Charged In Domestic Assault Case That Scuttled Paterson's Reelection Bid

Megan Carpentier | August 12, 2010, 10:52AM

New York Gov. David Paterson and aide David Johnson

David Johnson, the aide to New York Governor David Paterson (D) who allegedly assaulted his girlfriend last Halloween and attempted to keep her from calling police, was booked this morning on misdemeanor assault charges related to the attack, and is expected to be formally charged and arraigned later today.

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Charles Rangel

Rangel Says He's Not Quitting

Rachel Slajda | August 10, 2010, 1:38PM

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)

In a long speech on the House floor today, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) vowed to continue fighting House ethics charges and promised he won't resign.

Rangel said he may have been "stupid" and "negligent," but he was never "corrupt."

To applause from some fellow Democrats, Rangel said he won't leave the House over the allegations. He also excoriated the ethics committee for not yet setting a date for his trial.

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Hiram Monserrate

Expelled NY Sen Monserrate Gets On The Ballot

Rachel Slajda | July 30, 2010, 6:25PM

Former State Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D-NY)

Hiram Monserrate, a Democrat who was kicked out of the New York State Senate in February for a domestic violence conviction, got enough signatures to get on the ballot for a state assembly seat.

Monserrate gathered 823 signatures. He'll be on the ballot against Francisco Moya, running for the seat that was vacated by the man who took Monserrate's seat when he was expelled.

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Charles Rangel

Ethics Investigator 'Misspoke' About Reprimand For Rangel

Rachel Slajda | July 30, 2010, 5:30PM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

The lead House ethics investigator in the case against Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) said this afternoon that he misspoke when he said his subcommittee had recommended a reprimand for Rangel.

Rep. Gene Green (D-TX), who lead the investigation subcommittee, told reporters earlier today that the panel had recommended a reprimand for Rangel, who is charged with 13 ethics violations.

Returning a call for clarification from TPMmuckraker, Green's spokesman now says the congressman "misspoke."

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Charles Rangel

Ethics Investigator: We Recommended Reprimand For Rangel

Rachel Slajda | July 30, 2010, 2:00PM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

The House ethics panel's investigatory subcommittee says that they recommended to the full committed that Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) be reprimanded for his 13 alleged violations.

Rep. Gene Green (D-TX), who led the investigation, told reporters today that his committee recommended Rangel be reprimanded instead of the more serious penalties of censure or expulsion.

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'Ground Zero Mosque'

Anti-Defamation League Comes Out Against Ground Zero Mosque

Rachel Slajda | July 30, 2010, 11:54AM

Abraham Foxman, Director, Anti-Defamation League

The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish organization whose programs "counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry," has released a statement excoriating plans to build an Islamic community center and mosque near Ground Zero.

"Proponents of the Islamic Center may have every right to build at this site, and may even have chosen the site to send a positive message about Islam. The bigotry some have expressed in attacking them is unfair, and wrong," the statement reads.

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Charles Rangel

Charlie Rangel's Ethics Trial: How Did He Get Here?

Rachel Slajda | July 30, 2010, 9:54AM

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)

At the beginning of the first House ethics trial since Jim Traficant was kicked out of Congress, lawmakers yesterday rattled off a list of charges against Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY).

Unless Rangel cuts a deal in which he admits wrongdoing -- something his lawyers are reportedly still trying to do, although Rangel has been adamant about professing his innocence -- he will face a very public trial on the 13 alleged violations, just weeks before the midterm elections. The trial could end with a recommendation to expel Rangel from the House.

So how did we get here?

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Charles Rangel

House Ethics Panel Announces 13 Charges Against Rangel

Rachel Slajda | July 29, 2010, 2:21PM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

Despite reports of a deal, the House ethics panel just began its first public meeting on the charges against Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY). And for the first time, we're hearing the charges.

The panel is charging Rangel with 13 violations. They fall into four groups:

One, violations regarding fundraising Rangel did for a City College educational center named after him.

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Charles Rangel

Ethics Hearing Or Not, Rangel Sends Out 'Birthday Gala' Invites (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | July 29, 2010, 12:31PM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

Today may be the day a House ethics panel announced its charges against Rep. Charlie Rangel for alleged ethics violations, but that didn't stop him from sending out invitations this week to a "birthday gala" for his other special day.

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David Paterson

Judge Recommends No Charges For Paterson; Cites 'Errors In Judgment'

Rachel Slajda | July 28, 2010, 1:53PM

New York Gov. David Paterson

A retired judge investigating New York Gov. David Paterson's role in a domestic violence case involving a close aide recommended today that no criminal charges be pressed against the governor. She did say, however, that Paterson had in "errors in judgment" when contacting the alleged victim.

"It is hard to reconcile this conduct with the Governor's expressed commitment to the cause of domestic violence prevention," wrote Judge Judith Kaye in her report. Kaye was asked to conduct the investigation after Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is running for governor, recused himself.

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Charles Rangel

Rangel: Ethics Commitee Investigated 'More Alleged Violations'

Rachel Slajda | July 26, 2010, 12:25PM

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)

At a press conference this morning, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) told reporters that the House ethics committee looked into "more alleged violations" than have been reported in the press.

"They finally have investigated and guess what, they have some more alleged violations so they're going to report this to the full committee," he said, reports Politico's Maggie Haberman.

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House Ethics Committee

Rangel At Press Conference: 'My Lawyers Are Gonna Kill Me'

Rachel Slajda | July 23, 2010, 2:52PM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) held a press conference today in his Harlem office to mostly brush off reporters' questions about the ethics allegations against him.

"My lawyers are gonna kill me," he began, "because they say the best thing in my best interest is not to make any comment. ... I don't know how to say no comment."

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Charles Rangel

Rangel, Asked If He's Worried About Losing His Job: 'That's A Dumb Question' (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | July 23, 2010, 10:09AM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

The House ethics committee announced yesterday that it will charge Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) with unnamed ethics violations. The step to form an adjudicatory subcommittee to try Rangel is a rare step, one last used eight years ago in the case of former Rep. Jim Traficant (D-OH), who was then expelled from the House.

But Rangel isn't worried.

Asked by MSNBC's Luke Russert if he's worried about losing his job, Rangel got defensive.

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Muslims

Mosque Trial Team: More Tales From The Anti-Muslim Front Lines

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 23, 2010, 8:48AM

A mosque in Detroit (protesters decrying a planned Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero in New York inset).

Earlier this week, we delved into the growing anti-Muslim sentiment from conservatives -- often taking the form of outraged opposition to the construction of new mosques and Islamic cultural centers around the country. We offered three examples -- the vitriol aimed cultural centers set to be built in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Riverside County, California, and, of course, New York City -- to show that the real problem conservatives have with new buildings for Muslims to worship in isn't their proximity Ground Zero, but the very idea of new mosques themselves.

In the following days, reader emails poured in offering more examples of anti-mosque protests in all corners of the country. What's particularly interesting is it's not just new mosque construction that angers the right -- even the idea of Muslims reusing existing, non-mosque-looking buildings seems to be a step too far for many Americans.

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