Speaker Quinn tries to quell Council troops upset over Slushgate probe
by Adam Lisberg, Matthew Lysiak and Elizabeth Benjamin
New York Daily News
Monday, April 14th 2008, 4:00 AM -- City Council Speaker Christine Quinn burned up the phone lines over the weekend, trying to calm an uprising by rank-and-file Council members infuriated by the financial scandal on her watch. Her fellow lawmakers were caught by surprise when Quinn's secret slush fund was exposed, then were blindsided again Friday when she said she would reform the system by limiting their discretionary funds as well. That prompted a series of extraordinary meetings by delegations from Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, Council sources said.
At a weekend rally to oppose the pending rezoning of 125th Street, demonstrators broke into a chant of "Christine Quinn Must Go":
"Charles' Barron, a City Councilman from Brooklyn, took the podium and led a chant of 'Harlem is not for Sale.'
"Mr. Barron cited the political tumult in Zimbabwe, and then talked about the influence that local Councilwoman Inez Dickens could have on the City Council's final vote on the rezoning, which is expected this week.
Slush Probers Eye Fraud Rap for Quinn
By Brad Hamilton, Angela Montefinise and Melissa Klein
New York Post
April 13, 2008 -- Feds probing the City Council budget scandal are weighing wire- and mail-fraud charges against those who helped send millions into a secret slush fund, The Post has learned.
"If you pick up a phone and tell someone to do something illegal, that's wire fraud," said a law-enforcement source familiar with the probe. "If you send a check, that's mail fraud."
Sources said prosecutors are considering several targets, including council Speaker Christine Quinn, though it was unclear whether they had found any evidence against her.
by Ray Rivera and Russ Buettner
New York Times
April 12, 2008 -- Christine C. Quinn, the speaker of the New York City Council, has hired a criminal defense lawyer to represent her in federal and city investigations into Council spending practices, an aide said on Friday.
The move comes a week after disclosures that Ms. Quinn’s office had appropriated millions of dollars to organizations that do not exist, instead routing the money to organizations favored by individual council members.
This $$ is Hers for the Faking
Quinn Office Probed over Bogus Grant Groups
By Frankie Edozien
New York Post
April 3, 2008 -- City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's office hid millions of taxpayer dollars by allocating grants to phantom organizations as a way of holding the funds to dole out political favors later - bogus bookkeeping that is the subject of city and federal probes, The Post has learned.
Among the dozens of fabricated groups that were slated to receive funds were the "Immigration Improvement Project of New York" ($300,000), the "Coalition for a Strong Special Education" ($400,000) and the "American Association of Concerned Veterans" ($422,763).
The total amount set aside in 2007 and 2008 for the fake organizations - which are each listed by name in the city budget after being inserted at the council's request - was $4.7 million. In the two years, 30 phantom groups were listed, council aides confirmed.
NY1 cable news pundits Curtis Sliwa and Gerson Borrero call for a recall vote for NYC Speaker Christine Quinn. Borrero calls Quinn "worthless."
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