NAUGHTY NORMAN IS GUILTY 2ND TIME
By JIM HINCH , NY POST

LINK

The smooth-talking former king of politics in Brooklyn was convicted on all counts in his latest political corruption trial yesterday and now faces more than a decade in prison.

Already dealt one felony conviction in September, Clarence Norman abruptly sat back, then slumped forward as an implacable juror read out the verdict: Guilty of stealing a $5,000 contribution check to his re-election committee in 2001.

The three-count conviction for grand larceny, falsifying business records and filing a false instrument leaves Norman facing up to 15 years in the slammer , seven years for this crime and eight more for his other conviction. He had previously been found guilty of taking and hiding an illegally large campaign contribution.

Already stripped of his state Assembly seat and his post as Brooklyn Democratic Party leader, he was reduced yesterday to confinement in the courthouse while his family tried to pay his $100,000 bail.

They eventually put up his father's $500,000 New Jersey house as bond collateral, and Norman walked out free until his Jan. 10 sentencing in Brooklyn Supreme Court.

"God is good all the time," he said as he emerged from the courtroom. "I rest on my faith in the Lord."

According to 33-year-old juror Michael McGrath of Fort Greene, Norman did himself in by failing to produce a single witness who could corroborate his story that the $5,000 check he stole was really "reimbursement" for a loan.

"He had no one speaking for him on his side," McGrath said. "It was a very weak defense."

That's because every witness Norman sought to produce went sour on him.

Assemblywoman Diane Gordon, the supposed recipient of the $5,000 "loan," abruptly refused to testify in the middle of the trial when it emerged that she could be prosecuted if she admitted taking the money.

Her lawyer also wiggled out of testifying. And the judge struck down the testimony of another witness on grounds that all she had to offer was hearsay.

In the end, Norman's fate hung on his believability on the stand. And he didn't measure up.

"I thought he was very well spoken," said McGrath. "But underneath the charm, if everything you say is just contradicted [by evidence], what's the use?"

Norman now faces intense pressure to wave the white flag and tell prosecutors all he knows about Brooklyn's allegedly widespread judgeships-for-sale scandal.

Prosecutors say they suspect Norman was at the center of a circle of dirty jurists who allegedly paid to get on the bench.

A DA spokesman declined to comment on the possibility of a testimony deal. But a source close to the case said that with two convictions under his belt and two more felony trials approaching, Norman's hand is weak.

His lawyer, Edward Rappaport, said Norman wouldn't talk.

"It's not that he doesn't want to cooperate with them. It's that he doesn't have the facts they're looking for," said Rappaport.

By the end of the trial, Norman's only support apart from his family was a small squadron of gray-haired ladies who showed up each day from his father's church to root for their favorite son and lob insults at prosecutors.

One called prosecutor Mike Vecchione an "ol' chipmunk-lookin' thing." Another sighed, "Thank you, Jesus," when Norman scored a point on the witness stand.

But when the verdict was read, the ladies were silent.

Clarence Norman, scapegoat
by J. ZAMGBA BROWNE, Amsterdam News,
10/9/2003

LINK

Several big names in Kings County s Democratic Party were joined on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall Tuesday by supporters in a dramatic show of unity and to shed crocodile tears for their leader, Assemblyman Clarence Norman.

The deputy Assembly speaker, who serves as county leader, faces imminent indictment on a variety of allegations ranging from the sale of judgeships to the shaking down of candidates for elected office.

Led by veteran lawmaker Rep. Major Owens, the group wasted no time in sharply accusing District Attorney Charles J. Hynes of waging a so-called "witch hunt," using Norman as a scapegoat.

New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com
Boss Norman's on ice
By NANCIE L. KATZ
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, November 18th, 2003

Brooklyn Democratic party boss Clarence Norman and his top aide surrendered last night on charges they made $100,000 the going rate for a Brooklyn judgeship.
Norman, who was indicted last month on separate grand larceny charges, carried buttermilk cookies and joked with reporters about spending his second night on a cot in Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes' office.

"Since I've been here before, I knew to bring my cookies and magazines," said Norman, who arrived on foot just after 9 p.m. with a half-dozen friends and supporters. "Why should I be angry? How many times do you have a second chance to spend the night in the district attorney's office?

"We all know this is nothing more than a bunch of nonsense."

Norman and Jeffrey Feldman, the party's executive director, are expected to be arraigned today on charges they shook down three judges up for reelection in 2002 after the party had endorsed them.

They were indicted on 22 counts Friday. The indictment was set to be unsealed today.

Each faces up to seven years in prison, if convicted on the top count of grand larceny.

Feldman arrived about 15 minutes before Norman, accompanied by his attorney, Ronald Aiello. "We are at a loss - a total loss - as to what crimes could have been committed by Mr. Feldman," said Aiello.

A source said Feldman allegedly told Civil Court judges Karen Yellen, Marcia Sikowitz and Margaret Cammer they each had "to come up with 100 grand or we're going to take this away from you."

The indictment also charges the pair warned Yellen in a separate incident that she would be thrown off the ticket if she did not pay certain favored consultants, another sources said.

Sources close to the case said all three women as well as a Brooklyn district leader are expected to testify against Feldman and Norman, who also is a longtime state assemblyman and controls judgeships in the heavily Democratic borough.

The dual surrender came a month after another grand jury declined to issue a formal charge on the alleged scheme to sell seats on the bench.

It also came a month after Norman was indicted for allegedly putting $5,000 in campaign funds into his own checking account, taking more than $5,000 in gas reimbursements for travel to Albany and for an elections law violation.

He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted of those charges.

Norman contends Hynes has been on a witch hunt for the leaders of the same party that helped him get into office - and that making judicial candidates spend money on their campaigns is not tantamount to selling judgeships.

Hynes' office refused to comment yesterday.

Here Comes Clarence
Remember that old Flip Wilson comedy routine...?

LINK

Here comes the judge. Here comes the judge. The judge is coming. The judge is coming."

Well... Here comes Clarence Norman. Trial number two.

New York Times covered it:

The trial is Mr. Norman's second within two months. He was convicted in September of accepting illegal campaign contributions and faces up to four years in prison at his sentencing later this month. He also awaits trial on yet two more felony corruption charges.

Mr. Norman, 54, makes an impressive quarry for prosecutors: he was, until his first conviction, the deputy speaker of the State Assembly and the longtime leader of the largest county Democratic Party east of Chicago. But the Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes, has his eye on a bigger target: a judicial selection system he says is rotten to the core.

The prosecution of Mr. Norman grew out of Mr. Hynes's investigation into claims that Democratic leaders in Brooklyn sold judgeship nominations for $50,000. While Mr. Hynes has yet to bring any cases of judgeships for sale, he did turn up enough evidence to indict Mr. Norman on a small raft of largely unrelated felony charges.

Mr. Hynes has said he hoped that with one trial lost and another staring him in the face, Mr. Norman might be moved to cooperate, but so far Mr. Norman has not blinked.

You expecting him to blink?

This is the Democratic Party.

Clarence Norman might turn out to be the most "bought and paid for" individual in the history of the free world. The party bosses will see to it that he doesn't talk. It's really that simple, though we admire how Hynes is finally shaking down this party fiefdom.

Judith Memblatt at It Takes a Blogger gathered other coverage on Norman's second trial:

Sheldon Silver and Eliot Spitzer must be getting nervous.

Great opportunity for Brooklyn Republicans, if they have the candidates to capitalize on what should gradually deconstruct into another exposure of Democratic Party corruption.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 at 04:35 PM
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Next Shoe To Drop

Nearly a month ago, Tom Robbins of The Village Voice ran the following story on Kings County Democratic "Leader" Vito Lopez:

Does Vito Lopez Have a Norman Problem?

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes is gradually deconstructing his borough's machine politics with an investigation that doesn't seem to have any end in sight, at least not in the reasonably near future.

Democrats have a lot of questions to answer, as "pending investigations" reveal even more about how business is done in the party.

Lopez Tapped As Dem Boss: The Daily News

Lopez is known as a shrewd operator and he is expected to re-tool the existing machine, though some Democrats won't like it.

Freddy Ferrer, for example.

Another story on Lopez by Tom Robbins noted how he reluctant the newly elected party leader had been to say the name of his party's mayoral candidate,

Brooklyn's New Top Dem: Freddy Who?

In a press conference following the vote, Lopez twice stated that the party's leaders had also voted to endorse "all of the Democratic candidates" on next month's ballot. But Lopez, who has a history of personally backing Republicans, managed to avoid mentioning the name of Democratic Party mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer out loud.

Fred Mogul of WNYC noted the following about Lopez:

He called for regular outside audits, greater fiscal transparency, and a "blue ribbon panel" to vet judicial candidates, whose road to the Brooklyn bench traditionally goes through the party leader's office. He assumes the scandal-tainted office amid allegations that he has improperly billed the Assembly for travel expenses, something he vigorously denies.

Mogul added that "the one-time ally of Republican Al D'Amato" has set two immediate priorities; getting voters to the polls on November 8th to elect Democrats and then try to ensure the next Council speaker comes from Brooklyn.

... More to come.

Thursday, November 03, 2005
It Takes a Blogger

News Copy has followed the criminal trial of Clarence Norman but the best source in New York State for information on the ongoing scandal in Brooklyn is coming from the bog It Takes A Blogger.

This has gradually become one of the most reliable and cutting edge news blogs out of New York City.

Also called Maybe It Takes a Blogger to Change a Court System, this is also becoming one of the biggest stories out of the five boroughs.

Norman's Attempt To Stall Trial Fails

Despite a torrent of negative publicity, former Brooklyn Democratic boss Clarence Norman must face trial Monday for felony larceny for allegedly pocketing a $5,000 campaign check, a judge ruled yesterday.

Norman already faces up to four years in prison on his conviction for illegally soliciting excessive campaign contributions. Yesterday, his lawyer, Edward Rappaport, asked to delay trial for four months on a second indictment, one of four filed against Norman . . .

News Copy expects the Norman trial will finally uncover decades of abuse by New York City Democrats with not only the judicial system but far worse forms of corruption.

Kings County Democratic chair Vito Lopez is next.

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Monday, October 10, 2005
Corrupt Tradition

The Daily News laments that the Brooklyn Democratic Party has learned nothing from the fall of Clarence Norman:

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

The new Brooklyn Democratic leader is apparently as flawed as the prior boss.

Now I understand why New York State's solution to Tammany Hall corruption in the 1920s and 1930s was to bypass all the political parties with a Commission (they would pick Fiorello La Guardia, a Congressman, to run for Mayor in a special election). There only seems to be layers upon layers of corrupt types being groomed to replace soon-to-be-indicted or imprisoned politicians. It's become a cottage industry.

The Special Election for Clarence Norman's now vacant Assembly seat will be held on Election Day, November 8, reports The Associated Press.

Do they really expect a fair election or any reasonable change?

Monday, October 10, 2005 at 03:19 PM

New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss
NY Daily News, Sunday, October 9th, 2005

LINK

You'd think the felony corruption convictions of Brooklyn Democratic Party boss and Assemblyman Clarence Norman, who is facing prison time and three more trials for allegedly stealing money and extorting from judges, would be a wakeup call to the district leaders who run the Brooklyn Democratic Party. You'd think the party barons, who are set to pick a successor to Norman, possibly as soon as Tuesday, would hasten to select a new boss untainted by any hint of the financial double-dipping and manipulation of judicial elections that constantly haunted Norman and finally destroyed him.
You'd be wrong.

We hold no illusions about banishing patronage and mutual back-scratching from politics. But the front-runner for Norman's old job is another assemblyman, Vito Lopez, who has a history of actively battling judicial reform in a borough that desperately needs it.

When Margarita Lopez-Torres, a duly elected Civil Court judge with a decade of honorable service under her belt, refused to put Lopez's daughter on the court payroll, he joined with Norman in a disgraceful, and ultimately unsuccessful, push to get her voted off the bench.

Lopez also recently engaged in some unseemly meddling by championing a Civil Court judicial candidate, Richard Velasquez, despite the fact Velasquez was rated as unqualified for the bench by the city and Brooklyn bar associations. Velasquez won the Democratic primary last month and has already apparently run afoul of court rules that bar judges and judicial candidates from involvement in politics.

It seems Velasquez has been down at the Brooklyn Board of Elections, joining a claque of party regulars who are restlessly combing and recounting absentee and affidavit ballots, hellbent on blocking a reform candidate - Margarita Lopez-Torres again - who appears to have won last month's primary for Brooklyn surrogate.

Velasquez can expect a call from the Commission on Judicial Conduct about that. But we are more concerned about Lopez's insistence on promoting an unqualified clubhouse candidate. Naming Lopez as Brooklyn's Democratic boss would be tantamount to announcing to everyone - candidates for judge, the public and the district attorney, who is still pursuing allegations of illegal party interference in judicial elections - that the party intends to resume business as usual.

Which raises a question for the party's district leaders: Have you learned nothing from the fall of Clarence Norman?

Judgeships for Sale Then and Now?

LINK

In "Getting judgeship a (50) grand thing," New York Daily News columnist Denis Hamill writes,
The good news is that inflation has not affected the price of a judgeship in the outer boroughs.

Back in July, 1971, it was common knowledge on Queens Blvd. that a certain Republican district leader paid Queens Democratic boss Matty Troy $50,000 for a Civil Court seat.

To pull this off, Troy timed the resignations of two Civil Court judges so that they occurred after the deadline for filing designating petitions for the Sept. 14 primary. That allowed the wanna-be judge to run unopposed . . .

Flash-forward 34 years and in Brooklyn we have a judge named Francois Rivera famous for being a nobody before it was suggested he paid Democratic boss Clarence Norman $50,000 for his state Supreme Court judgeship. No wonder Norman is in trouble. First, in his recent corruption trial, where he was convicted, he hired as his defense attorney one Eddie Rappaport Esq., perhaps the most unpopular judge ever to warm the Brooklyn bench.

Worse, Norman failed to follow the best job-referral advice ever given to future machine bosses by the boss of all machine bosses, William Marcy Tweed: "This man understands addition, subtraction and silence. Hire him."

. . . How can a modern machine boss not even know how to calculate the price of a judgeship according to the rate of inflation?

. . . Shouldn't the cost of a slice of the judicial pie over three decades rise commensurately with the cost of a slice of pizza, which has gone from 25 cents to $2?

. . . Is this any way to balance the scales of justice? Fifty grand is what it costs to keep a prisoner like Clarence Norman behind bars for a year. Norman is already facing four years on his first conviction. If he gets convicted of selling any of the 10 judgeships under investigation by Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes' office, he could get a consecutive sentence of 20 years, costing taxpayers a cool million bucks.

Hey, fair's fair, shouldn't the price of a judgeship at least equal the annual $50,000 cost of your jail bit?

Have we sunk so low that a judgeship now costs less than a New York City taxi medallion?

More astounding is how cheap it is to buy a judge once he buys his judgeship. Take Judge Gerald Garson. Okay, here was a judge who allegedly was bought off on matrimonial cases for less money than an hour with Natalia the Hooker. Garson - if we are to believe the alarming videotapes and the charges leveled against him - sold his gavel for boxes of cigars and daily lunches at the Queen restaurant and in the restaurant in the Brooklyn Marriott. Which only happens to be in the same complex as the office of Hynes, who handed Garson an indictment along with his dessert menu.

This is what you get for selling judgeships in a 99-cent store. You peddle judgeships to riffraff for chump change on eBay, and when the pinch comes, these guys jam the waiting room of the Brooklyn DA's office and start singing like it's an audition for "American Idol."

posted by JM at 9:44 AM