SMOKING OUT THE FAT

Bronx state Sen. Efrain Gonzalez Jr. goes under the “pork” microscope

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www.nypress.com/19/51/news&columns/JohnDeSio.cfm

By John DeSio

The often discussed culture of corruption that engulfs Albany’s body politic reared its very ugly head last week, when for the second time in less than a year Bronx state Sen. Efrain Gonzalez Jr., was indicted on corruption charges. To be specific, Gonzalez has been charged, along with three others, with funneling more than $400,000 worth of taxpayer money through a network of not-for-profit organizations and then back to his own pocket.

Going after an elected official is a great way for an attorney to make his or her career, and United States Attorney Michael Garcia, following in the footsteps of those before him, has made it clear that he will be relentless with Gonzalez. Just days earlier, Garcia dropped the hint that such funding, commonly known as “pork,” would be subject to new scrutiny in an interview with the New York Post. “You have this pool of nearly $200 million a year. Where there is that type of stream of money, it’s going to create opportunities …,” Garcia said. “The federal government has a responsibility here. When we smell something, we’ll follow it.”

And Gonzalez smells pretty bad. The indictment charges that the Bronx Democrat used the money to pay rent, college tuition, membership dues in a vacation club in the Dominican Republic and, most notoriously, for the design of bands for cigars for his private, Dominican-based business, Gonzalez y Rojas Cigars, named for both his parents. Ironically enough, the names of those cigars held legislative names. Once they finally kicked production into high gear, consumers would be able to purchase “Senator,” “Assembly,” “Speaker” and “Council” varieties of cigars from Gonzalez y Rojas.

Just moments before the rumor of Gonzalez’s impending indictment began to swirl through political circles (about 15 minutes, to be exact), his colleague, state Sen. Jose M. Serrano, a fellow Democrat representing both Manhattan and The Bronx, spoke about the culture of “pork” funding and just what criteria he uses to fund groups in his own district. Serrano has been brutally honest about his own member items, even going as far as publishing a full list on the Room Eight political blog. Having been in the state Senate a short time and also serving in the Democratic minority, Serrano gets just $150,000 to distribute each year. But that small amount is subject to rigorous background checks.

“I’m not accusing anyone of anything, but this funding should not be used as an electoral tool, as a way to get brownie points,” said Serrano, adding that he would never fund any organization that would bring him or anyone else close to him a profit. “I only fund well-established programs.”

During his long career in the State Senate, Gonzalez has only faced a primary challenge once. He has no real public profile outside of the recent indictments, which he attributes to a desire to stay behind the scenes and out of the media spotlight. Few press releases have ever been issued from his office, all of which have contributed to his reputation in many Bronx political circles as a do-nothing legislator. That he has again been indicted for abusing his “pork” privileges surprises few, if any, and Bronxites saw a harbinger of his future problems in August, just before his first indictment, when a local Bronx newspaper asked several legislators to produce a list of each of their member items. Only Gonzalez refused.

Had that list been made public during the past few years, local media and others would have likely picked up on exactly what Garcia has found, and Gonzalez might not have been able to hold on to his seat for as long as he has. But the media and other activists might be alone in calling for Gonzalez’s head at this point, since Bronx elected officials, all Democrats, have been reluctant to say anything critical of their fellow traveler. Several legislators have publicly taken a “wait and see” attitude, refusing to even entertain the idea that these charges might be true (Gonzalez claims he’s innocent). No one has returned his contributions, and Bronx Assemblyman Peter Rivera, a Gonzalez ally, even charged that Garcia’s indictment was politically motivated, part of an effort to hurt the legislature as they returned to Albany last week to reportedly consider a pay increase. No such goodwill was extended to another Bronx legislator, Guy Velella, when he was indicted on corruption charges in 2004, despite having a considerably greater legislative and community resume than Gonzalez ever had. But Velella was a Republican and apparently not worthy of such consideration.

Many feel that Gonzalez and Queens assemblyman and labor leader Brian McLaughlin, who was indicted in October on similar charges, are just the tip of the iceberg. A cursory look at “pork” requests for the past few years indicates that while they might not be criminal, many other items are certainly questionable. As long as such business continues in Albany, it is unlikely that legislators would ever be able to push through a raise of any kind without significant backlash, with or without any perfectly timed indictment.

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/December06/gonzalezs2indictmentpr.pdf