 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 11, 2009
Contact: Paul Newell, Communications Director, paul@newellnyc.org, 347-351-7285
GERSONGATE SCANDAL WIDENS: COUNCIL PETITIONS LINKED TO SLUSH FUND, CHARITIES FRAUD, FORGERY
Embattled City Councilman Alan Gerson's ballot woes deepened as slush fund payments to a nonprofit organization on the Lower East Side were linked to Gerson's falsified petitions. The Daily News reported yesterday that a non-profit receiving taxpayer funds from Gerson's discretionary account encouraged employees to campaign for the incumbent councilmember in apparent violation of both election and non-profit law. The charity, United Jewish Council of the East Side (UJCES), is also a major recipient of taxpayer funds from Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
"This kind of pay-to-play politics is exactly why the City Council has failed to stand up for our community in the face of rampant overdevelopment." said Pete Gleason, a Civil Rights Attorney and former FDNY Firefighter challenging Gerson in next month's Democratic primary for the 1st City Council District.
Last month, the Board of Elections removed Gerson's name from the ballot after he failed to adequately respond to a July 22nd letter from the Board of Elections questioning suspicious
alterations made to petitions submitted by the Harry S. Truman Democratic Club. Following Gerson's failure to account for the alterations, the Board voted 10-0 last week that Gerson
did not qualify for ballot access.
According to court documents, Alan Gerson's petitions appear to have been illegally altered after circulation. The Truman Club's president, Jessica Loeser, an election lawyer with close ties to both Silver and Gerson, testified under oath that she directed signature collectors to alter the petitions after the fact. And in a startling courtroom drama, Renee Abramowitz, an employee of a charity run by UJCES that her initials were forged on petitions the Gerson campaign submitted - and that she had been encouraged to do campaign work at her job.
Pete Gleason stated "Alan Gerson appears to be relying on the taxpayer to fund his lackluster operation, just as we have been funding his no-show performance on the City Council for eight years. Gerson's lack of attention to detail is not news to residents of the first council district. But altering of documents and perverting charities to political ends is a very serious matter and a clear violation of the public trust."
In 2003, Gerson challenged Pete Gleason's petitions on frivolous grounds, leaving the Councilmember little room to argue for a relaxed approach to the rules.
Paul Newell, spokesperson for the Gleason campaign, put it another way. "Alan Gerson insulted the voters last year by overturning his own term limits. He has no business being on the 2009 ballot in any event. Now that he appears to be relying on fraud to cover his own ineptitude, it is more clear than ever that Downtowners need a change. Pete Gleason will stand up and fight for a transparent, democratic process just as he will stand up for the good local public schools and affordable housing our neighborhoods deserve."
Pete Gleason has been endorsed by Fernando Ferrer, the Downtown Independent Democrats and The New York Community Council and is widely seen as a frontrunner in the race.
###
| |
|
|
 |
|
