"I think if it came to the floor for a vote, the vote will be expulsion," Skelos told Fred Dicker on WGDJ. "They have not indicated when it will come for a vote, but the sooner the better."

Dicker asked what his conference would do if a recommendation were made for some form of censure that falls short of expulsion, whether Republicans would offer another resolution. Brian Foley, a Long Island Democrat, has indicated he would support such a resolution and might introduce it.

"I think that's something that our conference would have to discuss, and I think it's a real possibility," Skelos said. "I believe it can be done, but again, the head of the Senate does have tremendous power in terms of what will come to the floor and what will not come to the floor."

A special committee is considering a draft report on the incident that led to Monserrate's arrest, and should issue its findings in the next few weeks. Senate action on its recommendations--which will likely include expulsion--will follow.

"We need to come out of the box in January and start to really pass some progressive and positive legislation because people have one characterization of us," Sampson, the leader of the chamber's Democratic conference, told reporters during an informal chat in his Capitol office. "We need to change that. Basically, we need a makeover. Hopefully, the legislative action in the coming months will help us in the making over."

In a wide-ranging 25-minute conversation with reporters, Sampson signaled his support for raising the cap on charter schools, said it was premature to try and eject Hiram Monserrate from the chamber, contended that school districts should expect to see their state funding cut next year and, notably (if unsurprisingly), said that he doesn't anticipate making any changes to the conference's "leadership team."

"We have a leadership team," Sampson said.

He was asked the question several times. "It is comprised of Senator Smith and Senator Espada, Senator Jeff Klein and myself. I run the day-to-day operations, the administrative and legislative agendas of the State Senate, and that is the leadership team. At this point in time, as indicated, we have a legislative team. We will be talking to members of the conference just making sure that we are all on the same page and getting ready to do some great things in 2010. No more surprises. We want a pretty boring 2010."

"I think people are not really concerned about the leadership so much, I think people are really concerned about the results or the things that arise out of the leadership and the issues that are really pushed forth to help the people of the state," he continued. "Sometimes it's like, people are not concerned about who is the pilot of the plane, but as long as the plane gets landed."

Regarding Senator Hiram Monserrate, who Senator Brian Foley is working to expel from the chamber after his conviction for misdemeanor assault, Sampson said, "I'm still waiting for a decision from the committee, and once we get those recommendations I will make the appropriate decisions." He said this will happen "within the next couple of weeks."

Sampson said that in the next budget cycle, "everything is on the table," and that cuts to school aid are now "appropriate."

"We stopped the mid-year school cuts, but the school boards and everybody needs to know that everything is on the table," Sampson said. "Cuts are appropriate, so you need to come to the table with a mindset knowing that there are going to be cuts, and you're going to need to figure out a way that you can deal with them."

At the end of the session, I asked Sampson what the biggest obstacle was that his conference faced this year.

"Managing the expectations of the advocates, that was the biggest obstacle," he replied. "If we knew how to manage our expectations a little better, I think we could have managed our conference a little better, especially dealing with the one-vote majority."

The answer came after a 30-second pause in which some other reporters suggested an attempted coup and month-long stalemate as a larger obstacle. Sampson was asked how managing expectations led to the coup, if at all.

"Dealing with a lot of the issues that members of our conference wanted to deal with, some of the advocates, some of the issues that they believed in and worked with other groups. I think if we managed that expectation better and dealing with that, I think we might have been able to prevent the coup from occurring," Sampson said. "Sometimes you have to listen to the cries or the cries of your members and the issues that they have, because instead of always thinking you know what the agenda is, sometimes you need to sit back and listen to people and see what their agenda is, and see if you can incorporate into the whole and work toward it. Especially when you're operating with a fragile majority. And everybody knows in our conference that we don't have the discipline that they have in the other conference but we're getting to that point. It's going to take a while, but we are a lot more disciplined than people expected. A perfect example is during the coup and the ability for us--our democratic members--to sit together. Because I bet that everyone sitting at this table and on the phone never thought our senate Democrats would stick together. That we would just go: a faction would go here, a faction would go there. And if you were betting, I bet you bet against it. I would have bet against it too."

I called Diaz to ask him about a column this morning by Juan Gonzalez which said Peralta had steered over $500,000 to a dubious non-profit organization with ties to his family. Peralta is running in a primary against Hiram Monserrate, who like Diaz is a member of the "amigos" faction in the State Senate.

"When the FBI gets that, he's going to have a lot of explaining to do," Diaz continued. "I believe that to give money to an organization that is not functioning, to give money to an orgnization where you parents are related and to give money in this way is not helping the community. Assemblyman Peralta was accusing Monserrate of not helping his community, I think that he has to look upon himself to see how he is."

Wait a minute...funneling state money into a non-profit you control? I've heard this story before somewhere. Oh right! State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., another "amigo" of Monserrate and Diaz, has been doing it for years!

"You asked me about if I read the paper this morning about Assemblyman Peralta," Diaz said when I pointed this out. "And I'm telling you that my message for Assemblyman Peralta is that if you have glass windows, don't throw stones."

Peralta has the support of several elected officials in and around the Queens district as well as the Empire State Pride Agenda, which endorsed him this week after Monserrate voted against same-sex marriage, along with Diaz and six other Democrats.

Monserrate was sentenced to probation last week for manhandling his girlfriend and faces an Inquisition Panel that could pave the way for his expulsion to the Senate.

Monserrate went on NY1 to defend himself and attack the Inquisition Panel. This morning, Peralta told Liz he was "appalled and disgusted by what I heard."

The ruling was made by Queens Supreme Court Justice William Erlbaum. Earlier, prosecutors had made a request that Monserrate be sentenced to sixty days in jail in addition to the probation. Monserrate will be required to perform 250 hours of community service, according to NY1. An order of protection keeping him from contacting--or marrying--the woman he is accused of assaulting remains in place, according to NY1.

Mike Nieves, an aide to Monserrate, said attornies will file a notice they plan to appeal the decision later today.

Monserrate is also facing an inquisition into the incident by a State Senate planel chaired by Senator Eric Schneiderman. After the panel's report, Monserrate could be expelled from the chamber." And already, Queens Democratic leaders are coalescing behind Assemblyman Jose Peralta, who has declared he will make a primary run against Monserrate.

"A court of law has now ruled and we respect the decision rendered by the justice system," said Austin Shafran, spokesman for the Senate Majority Conference. "The Senate's Special Committee of Inquiry will continue to conduct an expeditious review of the facts, past precedent, and all relevant law to establish the proper procedures and identify the remedies available to the Senate. Following the completion of its investigation, the committee will report to the Senate with its recommendations."

The lack of jail time facilitates the business of the Senate, which is due back in session in January. Democrats need Monserrate's vote to maintain a slim majority; this fact, however, has not stopped several Democratic senators from calling for Monserrate's resignation. Still other senators, particularly in the "amigos" faction, have supported Monserrate.

Senator Marty Golden, a Brooklyn Republican who is the go-to Monserrate critic, told me the sentence was a "shame."

"He belongs in jail," Golden said. "The judicial system sent the wrong message to people of Queens, the state of New York, and especially to the women across this state. He brutalized her, he was found guilty, and he should have served time for it."

"Do you really think that if he was not a state senator he would have gotten off with no jail time?" Golden, a retired NYPD officer, added. "This is real thuggery. I'm appalled at the system. I think a regular guy would have done time."

State Senator Eric Schneiderman told me by phone that the meeting, scheduled for 5 p.m., will be organizational and will provide an opportunity to introduce Daniel Alonso, the attorney who will serve as the committee's counsel, to members. Schneiderman also said that Republican on the committee have designated Andrew Lanza, a former prosecutor from Staten Island, as their ranking member.

The panel was formed after Hiram Monserrate was convicted of misdemeanor assault in connection with manhandling his girlfriend. Under the legislative law, it can issue a report that could lead the State Senate to vote for Monserrate's ouster. Several senators--and other outside officials--have called for Monserrate's resignation or removal.

"It's just an organizing meeting," Schneiderman said. "We'll go over the scope of the inquiry and other organizational items."

"Given what has happened, Senator Monserrate is no longer able to effectively serve his constituents, or the people of this state, in the Senate," Espaillat said in a statement. Monserrate was convicted of misdemeanor assault last week. By phone, Espaillat told me that "his leadership is unsustainable."

Then I asked if he thought Monserrate could get a fair hearing from the bi-partisan panel chaired by Eric Schneiderman and tasked with judging him. (Espaillat is Dominican and represents Inwood and Washington Heights.) There are no Hispanic senators on the panel; two Senate sources said that a seat on the panel was discussed both Senators Jose Serrano and Martin Malave Dilan, but they decided not to accept. Along with Schneiderman, Senators Toby Ann Stavisky, Ruth Hassell-Thompson, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Diane Savino, John Flanagan, Jim Alesi, Cathy Young and Andrew Lanza. The lack of Hispanics has been lamented by State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr.

"There should be somebody Hispanic in the commission. I think that's perhaps a point of weakness for the commission," Espaillat said, while noting that they have hired a Hispanic counsel. "I think that Senator Schneiderman will do everything possible to ensure that he has a fair and open process. I think that the senator is someone who has a background of being always fair and equitable and open-minded."

"I agree with him to the degree that there's a double standard, but that other cases have occurred where perhaps the senate should have taken an equally strong stand and they didn't," Espaillat added. "But that doesn't mean that I think what was done in the past was right, but that it was wrong."