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United States News Title: Republican Operative In NY Accused Of Stealing $1M NEW YORK (AP) -- A Republican operative was indicted Monday on charges he exploited his political reputation to swindle $1.1 million from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, claiming he'd use funds to help guard against fraud during last fall's election but instead buying a house, prosecutors said. John Haggerty duped Bloomberg and his political advisers into giving the money to the state Independence Party to help with ballot security during the mayor's campaign for a third term, according to District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. Haggerty then laundered the money and used it for personal expenses in the months after the election, Vance said. Haggerty, who now works for Carl Paladino, the Buffalo businessman running for governor, was indicted by a grand jury on charges of grand larceny, money laundering and falsifying business records. He was awaiting arraignment Monday afternoon. Haggerty's company, Special Elections Operations, formed shortly after the election last year, also was indicted. Haggerty has previously declined to comment; his attorney could not immediately be reached Monday. Bloomberg said the DA asked him not to discuss the case and declined to comment. The mayor has been cooperating with investigators, Vance said. "You may be asking yourselves how John Haggerty managed to dupe Mayor Michael Bloomberg, his staff and his advisers. A group of highly educated, sophisticated people," Vance said. "To put it simply: They trusted him." Haggerty worked on Bloomberg's election campaign in 2005 and for former Gov. George Pataki as well as the former Westchester district attorney, Jeanine Pirro. The money - two wire transfers for $600,000 each - came from Bloomberg's personal fortune, not campaign contributions, and went to the Independence Party, the state's third-largest political party. Vance said the bulk of the money was then transferred either to Haggerty himself or his corporation, which was a sham. Haggerty used none of the money for the polling operation, the DA said. The house he bought was his late father's home in Forest Hills, an upscale section of New York City's Queens borough, he also spent money on JetBlue tickets and lawyer's fees, prosecutors said. Some of the money is still with the party. Prosecutors have asked for it to be returned. The mayor included in the funds a $100,000 donation, which is not part of the investigation. The party has not been charged criminally in the case but the investigation is continuing and the DA's office said the party has not been cooperative. Haggerty was hired to do ballot security for Bloomberg's re-election campaign last year. A term-limit law had barred Bloomberg from seeking a third, consecutive term, but he orchestrated a last-minute law change that let him run again in 2009. Bloomberg wired money in October and November 2009 to the party, which turned most of it over to Haggerty for several tasks, including setting up an office to encourage Queens residents to vote for the mayor. It contributed to more than 36,000 Independence votes for Bloomberg. In an effort to show he had used the money legitimately, Haggerty wrote three phony checks from his company to political workers, Vance said. The checks were not cashed, and the workers were not charged. Paladino, who is attempting to petition his way to a Republican primary for governor, said Haggerty will continue to be a strategist for his campaign. "Like all Americans, John Haggerty enters this investigation with the presumption of innocence," said a statement issued by Paladino's spokesman, Michael Caputo. "Unlike a typical career politician, Carl Paladino doesn't throw his friends under the bus," it said. "John joined our campaign just 45 days ago and he quickly became a part of our family. He's a loyal and straightforward man of character." Independence Party Chairman Frank MacKay said Monday that he had not seen the indictment and therefore had no immediate comment.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
Sounds like he could be a Senate candidate or a governor of a Southern state.
#67. To: war (#48) Keep hiding behind the bozo, bozo. (laughing) You've always been a world class pussy. Badeye posted on 2010-01-14 16:12:48 ET Reply Trace I'm biased, obviously, given the shit I'm subjected to daily here from the anti groupie. Badeye posted on 2010-06-10 11:34:31 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
If its true, he should go to jail. Guess Bloomberg and Pataki should be more careful who they hire, eh?
Just 10 days prior to the explosion, the Obama administration’s regulators gave the oil rig a pass, and last year the Obama administration granted BP a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) exemption for its drilling operation.
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