State shuns Bruno case
By BRENDAN J. LYONS Senior Writer, Times Union, November 15, 2010
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Former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno talks to the press outside U.S. District Court after his sentencing last May to 24 months in prison. He is free pending appeal. Bruno's trial revealed he had used Senate staffers for his personal affairs but was never charged.

Federal authorities reached out to state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Albany County District Attorney David Soares earlier this year regarding a possible second prosecution of Joseph L. Bruno on state criminal charges. The idea never materialized.

ALBANY -- A proposal by the U.S. Attorney's office to prosecute former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno on state criminal charges related to his use of government workers for his private affairs was rebuffed by the state attorney general's office and the Albany County district attorney.

Three people with knowledge of the matter said federal prosecutors, who had raised the issue of Bruno's use of state workers in their eight-count felony indictment against the once-powerful Republican leader, were poised to offer their evidence, files, trial transcripts and support if the state attorney general or Albany County prosecutors elected to pursue a case. The proposal was to prosecute Bruno on state felony charges similar to those used to convict former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi and former state health Commissioner Antonia Novello, who both pleaded guilty to felony charges for abusing state resources in cases handled by Albany County District Attorney David Soares.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak, who was a co-prosecutor in the Bruno case, declined to discuss his agency's contact with representatives of Soares and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

"The United States attorney's office frequently shares information that it uncovers in investigations with state and local law enforcement authorities, particularly where the information may suggest a violation of state law," Pericak said. "But we do not comment on when such occasions occur and we won't comment in any particular case on whether it did or did not occur."

It was never publicly disclosed that federal prosecutors reached out to representatives of both agencies in the months after Bruno was convicted by a federal jury in Albany last December on two felony counts of theft of honest services. The federal charges centered on Bruno's private consulting work when he was one of New York's most powerful public officials while being paid by companies and individuals who had an interest in state government, especially in Bruno's legislative muscle and connections to state labor unions.

Bruno is appealing his conviction, in part, on the basis of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that a federal honest services prosecution must include evidence of bribery or kickbacks. While there was much testimony at Bruno's trial about his use of state workers and government resources for his private business and personal bidding, the eight-count federal indictment did not level a charge at Bruno on that issue.

Still, there was no impediment to state law enforcement authorities pursuing a separate criminal case against Bruno, 81, of Brunswick, on the allegations of misuse of state resources.

William J. Dreyer, Bruno's criminal defense attorney, said he was not aware that federal prosecutors had contacted state and local prosecutors. He declined further comment.

On Sunday, the state attorney general's office denied that it was ever formally asked to consider a case against Bruno. "The U.S. Attorney's Office never asked the Attorney General's Office to pursue the Bruno matter and any claim otherwise would be inaccurate and absurd," a spokesman said.

Cuomo, the governor-elect, did not respond to a request to be interviewed for this story.

A person familiar with the matter said Cuomo's agency did not meet with federal prosecutors on the issue. A top official with the agency was contacted by the U.S. Attorney's office with details of a proposal to pursue Bruno on state criminal charges. It's unclear under state law whether the attorney general's office would have jurisdiction or authority to prosecute a current or former state legislator on allegations of misuse of government resources.

Soares declined to comment about a meeting earlier this year between federal prosecutors and two Albany County assistant district attorneys, David Rossi and Eric Galarneau, who heads Soares' Public Integrity Unit. The meeting took place at the U.S. Attorney's office in Albany but the county prosecutors did not follow-up with federal authorities, a person briefed on the matter said.

John F. Pikus, special agent in charge of Albany's FBI office, which spearheaded the investigation of Bruno, also declined to comment.

During the multi-week trial of Bruno several of his former staffers, including top Senate lawyers and his longtime secretary, Patricia Stackrow, disclosed they had been deeply involved in Bruno's private affairs while exclusively on the state payroll.

The former Senate lawyers, among other things, said they meticulously vetted Bruno's private consulting contracts and provided him advice on how to set up the private consulting businesses that were at the heart of the federal government's criminal case. Stackrow, who revealed during the trial she had stolen money from Bruno's private accounts, said she routinely handled Bruno's private scheduling, shopping, tax preparation, bookkeeping, personal banking for Bruno and his wife, and other duties that did not involve Bruno's government work.

It was also revealed during the trial that Bruno used Senate letterhead in correspondence that involved his private ventures. Bruno and his staffers also routinely used Senate equipment and resources, including fax machines, telephones and state transportation, to augment Bruno's private affairs and earnings.

Stackrow testified that before she was hired as Bruno's personal secretary 26 years ago her qualifications included a high school diploma and work experience with a car dealership, a bank and some "lobbying organizations." She retired from her $100,042-a-year Senate position 11 months before Bruno's trial and has an annual pension of about $59,905, records show.

Stackrow, who declined a request for an interview last year, said she "did a lot of his personal business" when she testified about her duties as Bruno's "gatekeeper."

"I did a lot of shopping for his wife or family periodically over the years," Stackrow testified.

"Did Senator Bruno pay you for the work that you did on his personal business and things you did for him personally?" Pericak asked Stackrow during the trial.

"No," Stackrow answered.

For Bruno's part, his attorneys and supporters have claimed that Bruno, who was a senator for 32 years, had a reputation as a tireless and energetic legislator and that he devoted so much time to government duties that the line between his private interests had blurred. They said that if his staffers worked 40 hours a week on government business they were free to assist Bruno in his private affairs beyond those hours even if using government offices and equipment during standard work hours.

Trial testimony revealed Senate lawyers negotiated, reviewed and edited some of Bruno's private consulting contracts at their homes and Senate offices. There was no information at the trial showing Bruno sought an opinion from the Legislative Ethics Commission about whether his use of government workers was appropriate. Rules governing the state legislature generally prohibit members and staffers from mixing public resources with their private dealings.

Bruno's private life also spilled into his government-paid travel itineraries and vacationing. Evidence and testimony at the trial showed Bruno scheduled meetings related to his consulting work during trips that relied on campaign funds or the use of State Police helicopters and drivers. In addition, the Times Union reported three years ago that Bruno had used campaign funds to pay for his lodging during a vacation in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Novello, who was health commissioner for seven years, and Hevesi, who pleaded guilty recently to unrelated federal corruption charges, both pleaded guilty to felony charges in Albany County Court. Their cases were prosecuted by the Albany County district attorney's office. Hevesi admitted, among other things, to using a state employee to chauffeur his wife on personal errands.

Novello, whose abuse of state resources was first chronicled in a state inspector general's report, required workers to rack up more than 2,500 hours of overtime for personal matters, including picking up the commissioner's dry cleaning and watering her house plants, during a six-year period beginning in 2000. The report said Novello's illicit practices included ordering state employees to drive the commissioner and her friends on shopping trips and to airports.

Hevesi and Novello were fined and Hevesi cannot run for elected office again.

Brendan J. Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com.

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