Albany County District Attorney David Soares on Thursday said the state Assembly’s handling of sexual harassment allegations against Brooklyn Assemblyman Vito Lopez was problematic and needs to be reevaluated, Gannett’s Haley Viccaro reports. Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan investigated the allegations against Lopez in Brooklyn, calling them “alarming” but… Read More →
New York’s unemployment rate in April fell to its lowest level since 2009 but still trailed the national average, according to the state Department of Labor. Statewide, the rate dipped to 7.8 percent from 8.2 percent in March, just behind the national average of 7.5 percent. In New York City,... Read More →
A revenue-sharing deal with the Oneida Indian Nation has eluded the state for 20 years, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo is set to announce an agreement at 1 p.m. to share profits with the state from the Turning Stone Casino near Syracuse. The Syracuse Post-Standard said the agreement includes more than… Read More →
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is facing increased pressure from good-government and women’s groups after two reports this week alleged sought to protect Assemblyman Vito Lopez from sexual harassment complaints made by Lopez’s aides. The state Republican Committee is calling Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, to resign as speaker, a post he… Read More →
Assemblyman Vito Lopez outlined his defense to a series of sexual harassment claims in a 23-page document sent to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics earlier this year, claiming a series of text messages sent by his female employees—messages they claim they were forced to send—showed they enjoyed their jobs…. Read More →
The FBI yesterday stormed the Town Hall in Ramapo, Rockland County, and seized records in an apparent investigation of bond sales for town projects, the Journal News reported. It’s the latest investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District to root out public corruption. On April… Read More →
Embattled Assemblyman Vito Lopez put out a three-page statement this afternoon and condemned a state investigation that found he had sexually harassed a number of young female aides. “Salacious and sensational claims in the JCOPE report are fallacious,” the Lopez statement says. The statement went on to knock his accusers,... Read More →
Ed Cox, chair of the state Republican party, called for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to resign his post over his office’s handling of a sexual harassment scandal. Meanwhile, the chamber’s Republican leader, Brian Kolb of Canandaigua, Ontario County, stopped short of demanding Silver to step down. Cox said in a… Read More →
A spokesman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver released a statement Wednesday renewing his earlier call for Assemblyman Vito Lopez to resign his seat after sexual harassment allegations against the Brooklyn Democrat were detailed in a chilling report. Silver’s office quielty reached a settlement last year with two of the complainants,... Read More →
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office says a pair of reports on sexual harassment complaints against Vito Lopez show the AG’s office had a “limited” role in settlement talks, but their policy for legal consultations has since been revised. Schneiderman’s office was consulted by aides to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver last… Read More →