Mug Shots: Alan Hevesi. [Diego Ribadeneira]

Immigration: Schwarzenegger, Bloomberg, Bratton meet Obama. [Michael Memoli]

Immigration: They are "stakeholders" says the White House. [David Jackson]

Birther Documents: Spitzer engages Trump. [CNN]

NY26: Hochul spent $51,000; Crowin spent $600,000; Davis spent $1.47 million. [Jerry Zremeski] 

Investments: Schneiderman put his money in a musical. [Jimmy Vielkind]

Judges: Scrutinizing a Schumer judge. [Mike Masnick]

Deregulated: State Health officials revoke their one-day old regulation about dodge ball and other games. [Nick Reisman]

Real Estate: Hakeem Jeffries wants to regulate neighborhood names. [Christine Haughney]

Media: Rahm, stonewalling local press, says local press. [Andrew Gauthier]

Photos: Biden meets Thabo Mbeki. [Flickr]

Photos: Bloomberg and Vito Lopez. [Flickr]

Humor: Albany's LCA show is May 7. "Fist full of Cuomos." [Celeste Katz]

Libya: Obama's speech in March "seemed to elevate the absence of a doctrine to a doctrine." [Bill Keller]

2013: "Eliot running as an independent would be an asset to a Republican nominee because it would create a division of loyalty in the Democratic base," says Dick Grasso. [Michael Saul]

2013: Christine Quinn juggles business and progressive constituencies. [Daniel Massey]

2012: Trump said he was "a candidate." [Julie Kay and Maureen Callahan]

2012: Rove says Trump is with the "nutty right" and "now an inconsequential candidate...He's so far out there." [Fox]

2012: "I am certain that the president was born in Hawaii," says Trump adviser, Michael Cohen. [Michael Falcone]

2012: On Obama's two books, Trump says "The difference was like chicken salad and chicken s---." Brags, "I have a very high aptitude. I was a great student. I went to the best schools." [Anthony Man]

Jewish Vote: Should women be allowed to vote for leadership of Crown Heights Jewish Community Council, which gets millions in public funding. [Elissa Gootman]

Muslim Violence: Staten Island borough president has strong words. "They are absolute cavemen." [Tom Wrobleski]

Facts: "If Bloomberg News was as 'accurate' as the Bloomberg administration, the company would have gone bankrupt long ago." [New York Post]

Charlie Rangel: Publisher of New York Carib News admits falsifying documents for a trip that helped lead to Rangel's downfall. [Isabel Vincent and Carl Campanile]

Media: Brooke Gladstone in Cairo; state-run news after Mubarak. [On the Media]

Media: "I have never voluntarily posted anything at Huff. But that doesn't mean I haven't been published there." [Gatemouth]

Cuomo's Lieutenant Gov: Duffy keeps popping up in Rochester. [Democrat and Chronicle]

Cuomo's Looks: Not on People's Most Beautiful list. But Sandra Lee is. [Page Six]

NY Attorney General: Schneiderman goes after fake nun. [Brad Hamilton and Georgett Roberts]

US Attorney General: Eric Holder and brother owed $4,146 in NY property taxes. Paid up, with interest. [Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein]

Anniversary: Central Park Jogger incident 22 years ago Tuesday; 5 wrongfully convicted men still awaiting civil case against city. [Daily News]

Alan Hevesi: Inmate number 11-r-1334. [Ken Lovett]

Alan Hevesi: "[M]ost likely isolated from the general public." [Joe Walker and Susannah Cahalan]

Alan Hevesi: Ethics reform should / could be his legacy. [Jay Jochnowitz]

Lobbying: Local governments spend millions lobbying throughout the state. [Jacob Fischler and Tim Henderson]

Leaks: Who handed an internal Inspector General's report to Jacob Gershman? [Jacob Gershman]

Unions: How Bloomberg's psychology clashes with them. [Adam Lisberg]

Court Layoffs: Up to 500 statewide warned. [Rick Karlin]

Cop Probe: 400 could be busted in ticket-fixing scam. NYPD denies it's 400; won't say rival figure.[Reuven Blau and Brad Hamilton]

Cop Probe: Early scoop on this by Murray Weiss. [dna.info]

Cop Quots: White Plains police "issued 212,676 tickets in calendar year 2010 - which works out to a rate of a ticket every 2.5 minutes." [Richard Liebson]

Rent: Assembly Democrats seek "radical expansion" of rent protections, to the rich. [Daily News]

Rent: "Nearly a quarter of rent-regulated households earn more than $70,000 a year, showing how random a process it is." [Nicole Gelinas]

Real Estate: Developers want tax assessments capped; say 10,000 subsidized units could be lost. [David Seifman]

NYC Schools: Chancellor Walcott sells Bloomberg's agenda with a smile. [Sharon Otterman]

Changing Superintendents: Is Buffalo's Jean-Cleaude Brizard staying or going? [Democrat and Chronicle]

Trivia: Youngest NYC Mayor was, most likely, Hugh Grant; 30 years old; served 1889-1892.[Michael Pollak]

Chris Matthews discusses Trump's impact on the 2012 GOP field, and if he's really serious.

NJ Rhetoric: Christie wants media to "take the bat out" against a critic. [AP]

Media: What Trump really meant by "saved" the Daily News. [Michael Calderone]

Albany Reform: Bill Samuels says Spitzer was better than Cuomo. [Liz Benjamin

Raising for Cuomo: Ivanka Trump, Christine Quinn, Cindy Darrison, Sandi Farkas, Karen Mehiel. [Liz Benjamin]

Hevesi Sentencing: DiNapoli calls it "welcome and just." [Ken Lovette]

Lost in DC: Somebody help Rep. Jose Serrano. [Jessica Estepa]

Court Layoffs: Starting soon. [Rick Karlin]

Honors: Rep. King gets the ax, in a good way. [Flickr]

Photos: Garodnick gets intel. [William Alatriste]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/buffalopundit

The state's former comptroller, Alan Hevesi, was sentened today to one to four years in prison.

Hevesi pleaded guilty to trading access to the state's pension fund in exchange for favors and campaign cash. His lawyer pleaded for leniency, citing Hevesi's long record of public service, and declining health. Hevesi was lead out of court in handcuffs.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said: "Hevesi brazenly sold access to New York Pension Fund investments—a betrayal of the public trust that went to the heart of his duties as Comptroller. Today’s sentencing decision will help achieve my office’s principal objective of restoring New Yorkers' faith in their state government."

Governor Andrew Cuomo, who initiated the case against Hevesi while in the attorney general's office, had said Hevesi oversaw a "culture of corruption."

Today, Cuomo added: "Just as you cannot put a price on public integrity, you cannot quantify the harm done to the bond between the government and the People when public integrity is compromised. Hevesi was a statewide elected official who admitted violating his oath for personal and political gain, and we must continue to root out corruption wherever it may be found."

Andrew Cuomo would certainly prefer you to think of him as a bloodhound on Mr. Hevesi's tail. Yesterday, Mr. Cuomo cited his "ongoing investigation" into Mr. Hevesi's former office as one of the primary reasons the Attorney General should have more power to police Albany.

"You have a whole office, you have qualified attorneys, attorneys who have proven themselves to be effective, and they are once again today. Give them the authority and the jurisdiction to actually do the policing of politicians in Albany. Sometimes it's that simple."

Professor Coffee think that Mr. Hevesi is not the only one boxed-in by Mr. Cuomo's high-profile pursuit of the former comptroller.

“It is almost difficult for Cuomo and his staff to justify not going higher,” he said. “The claim will be made in a future election: Why didn’t you go after the Democrat who got that money? You open yourself to some criticism, particularly in an election year.” 

An indictment now would be a well-timed political move for Mr. Cuomo, what with the conviction of former Senate majority leader Joe Bruno stoking outrage over goings-on in Albany.

"You can go create another bureaucracy, and if it was a truly independent bureaucracy, I would support it," Cuomo said on a conference call, in which he announced more companies are working with him to ferret registered sex offenders out of social networking sites. "Or you could do what I proposed three years ago. And two years ago. And one year ago: you could give the attorney general of the state of New York, which is an existing office, subpoena power to do the government corruption work. You have a whole office! Why do you always have to set up another office? You have a whole office, you have qualified attorneys, attorneys who have proven themselves to be effective, and they are once again today. Give them the authority and the jurisdiction to actually do the policing of politicians in Albany. Sometimes it's that simple."

Cuomo touted his own record as a reformer, pointing to his investigation of the state comptroller's office under Alan Hevesi.

"Literally from day one in this office I changed the thrust from an exclusive focus on Wall Street ,or a primary focus on Wall Street, to a primary focus on Wall Street and on State Street and I've probably done more than any attorney general in modern political history to police government corruption and propose all sorts of ethics reform packages--part of which, by the way, is the comptroller reform package which I'm trying to fight now on for reforming the comptroller's office," Cuomo said.

This is interesting: his "predecessor" was of course Eliot Spitzer, who after an abrupt departure from the governor's mansion is now, reportedly, considering a run for comptroller. David Paterson has said Spitzer's skill set might work in that office, where Cuomo might prefer to have someone other than Tom DiNapoli on the 2010 ticket with him. I asked Cuomo about a Spitzer candidacy directly, and he said nothing.

"I have no comment," he said. "Thank you for asking, Jimmy, but as your question suggests, I have no comment."

"This is effectively bribery of state officials. And not just one, but a number of officials in the state comptroller's office," Cuomo told reporters on a conference call just now. Cuomo said Elliott Broidy, paid gifts--including luxury travel and a girlfriend's hospital bills--totaling $1 million between 2002 and 2006 in order to secure a $250 million investment in his firm, Markstone Capital Partners, from the state's common retirement fund. Broidy pleaded guilty to a felony charge of rewarding official misconduct; he will re-pay $18 million of management fees the fund gleaned from the state and his sentence will reflect his cooperation with Cuomo's "ongoing" investigation, Cuomo said. Broidy faces jail time.

Cuomo was asked how this could happen in the office, and used the opportunity to rage at the "systemic corruption issues" present in the comptroller's office. Structurally, the comptroller is the sole trustee of New York's $126 billion common retirement fund; Cuomo has introduced legislation to change this. While the abuses Cuomo spoke about occurred during the tenure of Alan Hevesi, who was forced from office in 2006, other, unrelated, ongoing investigations of pay-to-play practices have tainted the office, and by association current Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. He has also worked to increase transparency.

But Cuomo might prefer the taint. He is quietly working toward a race for governor next year (he publicly insists he isn't) and is reportedly looking to replace DiNapoli on the ticket. (Cuomo's spokesman has denied this.)

Cuomo refused to name three of the "four senior officials" who were bribed, citing an office policy, but did confirm they were still not employed. But when asked how this could happen, he said this:

"Your question is a good one. How did this happen to that extent? Where were the controls? Where were the whistleblowers?" Cuomo said. "That's why I say the office has, these are, systemic corruption issues, and you need fundamental reform of the office to make sure this doesn't happen again."

"And none of that has changed. None of that has changed! That's why I'm working so hard for the reform legislation," Cuomo said later on in the call.

Cuomo has repeatedly denied any semblance of political calculation: when asked if he has political motivations for his actions, he talks about how focused he is on being the best attorney general he can be.

UPDATE:

From DiNapoli spokesman Dennis Tompkins:

"Tom DiNapoli has done more than anyone to clean up the stain of corruption left behind by the Hevesi administration.  Comptroller DiNapoli is the first and only one in the state to ban the use of placement agents in pension fund investments.  He is the first and only one in the state to ban play to play.  He's instituted a series of substantial reforms to way the pension fund does business.  He's implemented a code of conduct for the fund and its advisors.  Comptroller DiNapoli has made the pension fund the most transparent, open and accountable fund in the state, bar none.  And he's brought in a new investment team that's committed to ethics and reform.  Any innuendo suggesting a hint of impropriety in Comptroller DiNapoli's office is baseless and irresponsible. "Attorney General Cuomo has made remarkable progress in ferreting out bad apples in the investment community and bringing them to justice.  We'll continue to cooperate as his investigation moves forward."

Under agreements announced in court today, former Liberal Party chairman Ray Harding pleaded guilty to a felony as well as a misdemeanor, with the understanding that Cuomo's prosecutors could recommend the felony conviction be withdrawn if Harding cooperates with investigators. Saul Meyer, the head of Aldus Equity, entered into a similar plea agreement.

"It is a major development for us, and a very positive step in the case," Cuomo told reporters on a conference call. "His cooperation is very important to us, and his full cooperation is very important to us."

Cuomo called the arrangement "typical;" it automatically disbars Harding, but would permit him to re-gain his law license if the felony plea is withdrawn. (Cuomo said this is ultimately up to the bar association.)

The agreements tighten the noose on Hank Morris and David Loglisci, two top aides to former comptroller Alan Hevesi who are accused of running the pay-to-play scheme. Their indictments in March spawned the investigation.

"Hank Morris inserted me as a placement agent on certain investment transactions with the New York state retirement fund so that I could receive hundreds of thousands in fees to reward me for my political support of Alan Hevesi," Harding said in court, as reported by Bloomberg.

Cuomo did not speculate as to whether this would make a plea deal by Morris more likely. Hevesi has not been charged with anything; Cuomo has in the past said that the investigation is ongoing when asked if he would be charged.

Since the scandal broke earlier this year--it resulted in the indictments of two of Hevesi's top aides and other criminal cases against others--DiNapoli has emphasized the changes he has made to the fund since taking office. Hevesi resigned as comptroller in 2006.

"We're continuing, case by case, to evaluate the fund's options regarding the Hevesi-era investment relationships," DiNapoli said in a statement. "We want to clear the clouds left hanging over the Fund by the prior administration with as much sunlight and transparency as possible."

It's not immediately clear how these funds performed relative to other similar funds over the same period. Both DiNapoli and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, whose office has lead the investigation into wrongdoing, have resisted putting a clear figure on the money potentially lost due to investments tainted by pay-to-play.

Cuomo announced the deal with Riverstone Holding LLC, and said that new code of conduct – which bars the use of placement agents to land business with the pension fund – would help clean up the industry.

“The code is important. It is the systematic reform of the problem,” Cuomo said.

This payout is on top of the $20 million agreement Cuomo struck with the Carlyle Group last month.

Cuomo said the problem with people paying money to win business with the state pension fund lies in the fact that the fund is controlled solely by the state comptroller, rather than a board, as it is in New York City and other states. (Often to suboptimal effect, it should be noted.)

The “structure of the New York State Pension Fund makes it more susceptible to fraud,” said Cuomo.

To bolster his case, Cuomo pointed to Alan Hevesi, who served as comptroller in New York City and New York State, and whose associates are alleged to have received kickbacks from people doing business with the pension fund only when they got to Albany.

“Isn’t it interesting that Mr. Hevesi was the comptroller of New York City and New York State. Mr. Hevesi operated in the city system with a board, and in the state system as the sole trustee. We haven’t found any evidence of Mr. Hevesi, or his team, his associates, Mr. Morris, committing the same type of activities on the city side that they did once they once they got to the state side. Why weren’t Mr. Hevesi’s cronies doing the same thing when he was city comptroller? Why only when he became state comptroller? Maybe they were totally schizophrenic and it never occurred to them to do it as city comptroller.”

Cuomo later reminded reporters that Hevesi has not been charged with any wrongdoing. When asked why, after two years, Hevesi has neither charged, nor cleared, in the pension investigation, Cuomo said the probe is "ongoing."