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Report Faults Suozzi Campaign Funds

Posted on: Thursday, 22 June 2006, 09:00 CDT

By Michael Rothfeld, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Jun. 22--Thomas Suozzi, who is tossing daily grenades against what he calls the insider culture of Albany, found himself on the receiving end of a report linking his campaign contributions to Nassau County contracts.

Citizen Action of New York, a civic group in Albany that has endorsed Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Suozzi's Democratic opponent for governor, said yesterday its "pay to play" analysis found the Nassau County executive had collected $210,760 from 2002 through 2005 from 55 companies that won $110.7 million in county contracts.

"What does that say about Suozzi's pledge to reform Albany if he's elected governor?" said Richard Kirsch, Citizen Action's executive director, calling the donations "a serious conflict of interest."

Suozzi declined to comment on the substance of the report after a news conference he held in front of the lower Manhattan office of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, whom he says is a leader of Spitzer's "Albany Insider All-Stars."

Instead, Suozzi attacked Citizen Action, saying the group's affiliates had received nearly $200,000 in funding through Spitzer's office. He said the group should investigate that the bulk of Spitzer's contributions are from lobbyists and trial lawyers. Spitzer's campaign disputed that claim.

"My record as a reformer and as an elected official stands for itself," Suozzi said. "I think this is a bogus group. I think that this is a phony charge ... ."

Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson said she is proud of the group's endorsement. She said much of the funding to its affiliates for consumer protection services were allocated by state lawmakers.

Today, Spitzer is expected to appear in Uniondale to receive the endorsement of Nassau Legis. Kevan Abrahams (D-Hempstead), the third Democratic legislator to back him.

Citizen Action said Suozzi received a total of $62,750 from contributors within three months of awarding contracts worth $46.3 million. Deputy County Executive Helena Williams said most contracts are procured through competitive procedures as required.

Several contractors said their donations were unrelated to business. "Cablevision and its executives have a long history of being politically active," said company spokesman Charles Schueler. "We have contributed to County Executive Suozzi, as well as Attorney General Spitzer and Gov. Pataki."

Staff writer Alejandro Lazo contributed to this story.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

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