Troy's influence on RPI election

THE APPROACH

For years, decades even, Troy has tried to get Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute students into the city to spend some time and, more importantly, spend some money.

For as long, students and the college itself resisted every effort, preferring to stay on the hill and look down The Approach as if it were a nose at the lowly “townies” below. The residents of Troy, not known to overlook a slight, looked back up The Approach at the “rich, spoiled kids” who thought they were too good to rub elbows with those who chose “Troylet” as their home rather than a pit stop enroute to bigger and better things – even the moon. It’s a vicious cycle.

But all amour has a chink, and all rules have exceptions. RPI, directly or indirectly, invested millions into the old Best Western and the Proctors Theater and Chasan buildings. And Trojans have an indescribable yet indisputable endearing quality about them – which is why I spent more awake time in the Collar City than any other place on earth for more than 15 years – and more students are slowly starting to hang out downtown.

The latest incident though is perhaps the most clear cut example of the RPI student body assimilating itself into Collar City ways.

 According to The Rensselaer Polytechnic, the campus newspaper, five members of student government were caught on tape ripping down signs advocating for changes to the Rensselaer Union Constitution that were on the ballot as a referendum. In all, according to the newspaper, some 1,000 signs were ripped down campus wide.

I won’t go into what the Constitutional changes were but safe to say they were controversial enough within the RPI cocoon to motivate those in favor of the changes to start ripping down posters against them. In the end, the university Judicial Board ruled the five candidates involved cannot hold elected or appointed positions and must complete 15 hours of community service. Furthermore, according to The Poly, “all election results for Constitution amendments and alumni vice president, secretary, and treasurer are null and void.”

Obviously, Troy is wearing off on RPI and I’m not just talking about the most recent voter fraud scandal that saw eight indictments and three trials. Messing around with elections goes back to at least 1893 and Bat Shea, a story turned into a book by Troy author Jack Casey that includes ballot stuffing and murder. While I don’t think anyone has committed murder over an election since, I know there have been variations of ballot stuffing, outright forgeries and even dead people voting by absentee – which isn’t that far from the truth but illegal just the same.

JACKSON

However, unlike Bat Shea or the most recent scandal, most of those committing the infractions don’t get caught because they don’t actually break the letter of the law – they’re just bent to fill a particular need. Taking over parties by electing committee members, running shadow candidates and yes even filling out fake absentees are all legal provided they are done within certain parameters.      

Maybe President Shirley Ann Jackson would serve the student body well to have Troy political operatives like Bob Mirch, Tom Connolly, Mark Streb, Tom Mathews, Bill McInerney, John Sweeney, Rich Crist, Steve Bogess, Ed McDonough, Bill Powers or Tom Wade participate in her next Colloquy instead of someone like Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. They may not have the nationwide stature of a Scalia, but they can teach the political neophytes on the hill some practical lessons on how to mess with an election the proper way – or at least not get in too much trouble if the envelope is pushed a bit too far.    

 

 

 

You go after the shooter

COLEMAN

I think attorney Cheryl Coleman summed up voter fraud nicely when on Talk 1300 Sunday she compared it to a hypothetical murder case: “Why would you make a deal with the shooter to get the cab driver who waited outside the bank.”

Given that’s how the whole thing went down – evidenced by the fact former City Clerk Bill McInerney got on the stand and admitted to forging scores of Working Families Party absentee ballot and absentee ballot applications for the 2009 primary – I can see why former Councilman John Brown is upset by the fact he is the only one implicated in the scheme going to jail.

Late last year, Brown appealed his six-month sentence imposed by Judge George Pulver claiming it was harsh and excessive. Thing is, he waived his right to appeal when he pleaded guilty to possessing one forged ballot as part of the deal. Recently the prosecutor in the case, Trey Smith, replied to the appeal and the Appellate Division will rule one way or another.

As a kicker, as nothing is simple when talking about voter fraud, Brown also perjured himself in front of the Grand Jury so six months in jail to satisfy two felonies – plus who knows how many others he could have been charged with – so six months isn’t really harsh or excessive and he agreed to it. I’d be shocked if the court intervened in this one.

Of course, after seeing how everything else unfolded, with everyone who contested the charges getting off and the other three who pleaded guilty not looking at jail time, Brown is having second thoughts. Who can blame him for not wanting to go to jail while others are not?

McInerney admitted to doing far worse things than Brown but as Coleman said, McInerney was the first in line to cut a deal with Smith and Smith needed someone to spill the beans on Board of Elections Commissioner Ed McDonough and her client former Councilman Michael LoPorto.

But McInerney, who as part of his deal had to spend some time working on the Sheriff’s work order program picking up garbage or what not, was hardly the star witness Smith needed to convict McDonough or LoPorto. He admitted to committing the forgeries, but didn’t point the finger at anyone but himself, and he didn’t do that until he was granted a level of immunity that far outweighed the crimes he admitted to committing.

There are all sorts of conspiracy theories kicking around and one includes that Smith engaged in “selective prosecution” by going after McDonough, who is represented by attorney Brian Premo, and LoPorto instead of McInerney and those higher up in the Democratic Party who may or may not told him what to do in order to steal the WFP line for their candidates. It may or may not be true, but believing Smith was in the tank through all that voter fraud encompassed throughout the five-year ordeal is a tough concept to grasp and an even harder to prove. 

That’s the bottom line. I don’t see a grand conspiracy. I see a bunch of guys who desperately wanted to win the election – including Brown who was angling for Council president – wanted the WFP line that was routinely stolen by the GOP, had no idea how to go about it and the one who headed up their campaigns in the hopes of keeping his job or getting a better one – McInerney - ended up forging about everything in sight.

And then there was the less than stellar effort to prosecute them and in the end, McInerney was the proverbial shooter in Coleman’s analogy … and everyone else was driving the cab.

 

DA McNally's curtain call

McNALLY

I supposed I have to weigh in on John Halacy, the Rensselaer guy charged with sexually assaulting two young teenage girls who was sprung from jail because of a procedural error by an assistant in the office of District Attorney Rich McNally.

Some background: A defendant is afforded a right to a speedy trial, which means prosecutors are required to take some sort of action within 90 days unless the defendant waives that right while the two sides try to work out a deal. In Halacy’s case, there was evidently a verbal agreement to waive the provision but it was never formally filed. As such, both felonies were dismissed and they can’t be brought again thanks to double jeopardy. Halacy walked out of jail basically a free man. Yes, he is facing new, but lesser, charges and is looking at a year in jail rather than decades.

It’s not a flattering way for McNally to exit the office he’s held for six years. As you know, he was elected to the Supreme Court and will don the robes on Jan. 1.

A couple things. McNally told The Record it was the first time such an incident has happened and I have no reason to believe the reporter got it wrong so I’m going on the premise McNally said it. But, I know it has happened before and I dare say more than once. To be fair, the exact quote is it’s the first time it has “come up with this particular team in my administration” so technically he might be right, but in reality it’s a misleading statement at best.

He also said the ADA in charge of the case, Laura Kruegler, is a “fairly new” ADA, but I know for a fact she has been there since Patricia DeAngelis’s tenure. Kruegler’s Facebook page says she started in the DA’s office in 2000, a long time for an attorney to work in any DA’s office since private practice is where they make the big bucks.

She has, though, had some health issues to navigate and McNally is correct in saying that the ADA’s are swamped and that he’s been repeatedly denied requested help. That was in response to a letter by the Republican majority on the county Legislature looking for answers regarding what happened in the Halacy case - a legitimate request, and one that is infinitely more substantial than patting the Hoosick Falls volleyball team on the back for coming in third place.

McNally has had a tough go of things as DA, maybe even a tougher than his two Republican predecessors … and that’s saying something.

While nobody suspected it at the time, his 2007 election was brought into question during the 2009 voter fraud scandal. Former City Clerk Bill McInerney testified to forging hundreds of absentee applications and ballots in 2007 and 2009. And McInerney worked for McNally in 2007 when the race went to the absentees.  

Then, once taking office in 2008, he allowed a grand jury hearing evidence regarding political extortion charges against Democratic Party Chairman Tom Wade to expire without finishing the job by issuing an indictment or a no bill. It just expired.

Then, according to court room testimony and his own admission, McNally had a conversation with McInerney (photo to the right) about which attorney the latter should hire after he was charged in the voter fraud scandal. That conversation came after McNally recused himself. It was never pursued but it smacks of a conflict of interest.

Then, McNally failed to recuse himself in a DWI case brought against Wade’s daughter after Wade was instrumental in getting him elected in 2007 and again in 2011. The disposition of the case might not have been out of the norm, but the appearance of impropriety is certainly ugly.

Now, we have a man who skates on charges of sexually assaulting a 13 and a 14-year old girl.

One of the teen’s moms, obviously upset with how things went, said she is out for some street justice. I can’t condone it, but I can’t say I blame her either. She certainly didn’t get any justice here.