More corruption arrests tied to Christine Quinn slush fund

Head of Huntley-linked charity surrenders in 88G ‘scam’ : "Van Holmes, president of the Young Leaders Institute in Laurelton, was arrested as he walked up Austin Street towards the 112th Precinct in Queens at 5:50 a.m.," Sally Goldenberg of The New York Post reported this morning. "Charges by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman are expected to include grand larceny, forgery and falsifying business records. He faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty, sources said. Holmes allegedly stole money directly from his nonprofit — funds that were allocated by Huntley and City Council members." Christine Quinn continues to insist that her slush fund is being used for community empowerment, but every time that City Council discretionary funds make the news, those funds are tied to corruption arrests. Meanwhile, there are very worthy community groups that go unfunded. If we want to empower the community through discretionary funds, then the allocation of those funds should be determined by the community, and not by corrupt politicians.

We already know from press reports that Christine Quinn funnels discretionary funds to nonprofit groups, who then bundle contributions to her mayoral campaign. How much longer can Quinn keep up these shady acts before prosecutors catch up with her ?

Another Christine Quinn Corruption Connection : First Dan Halloran, Then Ruben Wills

One of the publicly-elected officials, who State Sen. Shirley Huntley was asked to wiretap and photograph by the FBI, was Queens Councilmember Ruben Wills, according to Politicker.

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn endorsed Council Member Ruben Wills for re-election in 2011, one day after he appeared in court to face a misdemeanor stealing charge. Councilmember Wills won a special election in southeast Queens in 2010 to succeed Thomas White, who died in August in 2010, and Councilmember Wills was re-elected in 2011 continue to serve the remainder of White’s four-year term. Wills appeared in court in March 2011 on charges in connection with a 1996 incident. He’s accused of damaging a wall and removing a fan and track lighting at a downtown business. (The Wall Street Journal)

After his March 2011 court appearance, Speaker Quinn defended Councilmember Wills. "I'm extraordinarily proud of my City Council and proud of the members that I get to serve with every day on behalf of the people of the City of New York," she told The Daily News.

Speaker Quinn awarded Councilmember Wills $584,000 in discretionary funding in 2012. (The New York Daily News)

New York City Councilmember Daniel J. Halloran suggested to an undercover FBI agent that Mr. Halloran could increase the size of the discretionary funds he was using as a bribe by calling in favours from other councilmembers. * In The Criminal Complaint, Dan Halloran Demonstrates How Slush Funds Are Used For Fraud

Malcolm Smith, Dan Halloran Arrested In Election Fraud Attempt

2013 03 29 Complaint Against Smith Malcolm Dan Halloran Et Al

State Sen. Malcolm Smith and New York City Councilman Dan Halloran arrested in 'bribery plot' to rig mayor race * Dem Smith schemed to run as a Republican * Faces corruption rap with Republican Halloran (NYPost)

State Sen. Malcolm Smith and city Councilman Dan Halloran were arrested this morning on charges they plotted to rig this year’s mayoral election through fraud and bribes.

The pols allegedly formed an alliance built on cash payments and fraud to get Smith — one of the state’s top Democrats — placed on the GOP mayoral ballot, sources said.

FBI agents arrested them both at their Queens homes shortly after 6 a.m.

Read more : True News From Change

When will the feds investigate the many alleged ethics violations by @chriscquinn ? #slushfunds #campaignfinance #paytoplay

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) April 2, 2013

Quinn Walters Bronx Connection ?

Is Christine Quinn connected to Wendell Walters's Department of Housing Preservation and Development Bribery-Kickbacks-Racketeering Scandal ?

Last Thursday, Wendell Walters, an assistant commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, was arrested and charged with accepting approximately $600,000 in known bribes. His arrest was part of a sting operation that also resulted in the arrest of six real estate developers.

Mr. Walters was charged with demanding bribes and kickbacks from developers, who had been awarded contracts, by Department of Housing Preservation and Development, to building about $22 million in moderately priced housing in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn.

The racketeering conspiracy, extortion, bribery, wire fraud, and money laundering charges against Mr. Walters once again raises questions about the integrity of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ill-fated and karhmically-doomed third term. The Bloomberg administration had launched a hugely expensive $8.5 billion affordable housing program, and nobody knows how much of that massive budget is being wasted on bribes and other forms of corruption. Authorities in Mr. Wendell's bribery case told The New York Times that the developers and contractors, who were paying Mr. Wendell bribes and kickbacks, inflated their invoices to New York City in order to cover the costs of their racketeering operation.

Already, the blogger and political commentator Suzannah B. Troy has called into question the shady dealings of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development in the Bronx, one of the areas where Mr. Wendell operated his bribery scheme. After the New York Community Bank foreclosed on eight Bronx rent-regulated apartment buildings in the Bronx, tenants sued the bank for money to repair the slummy apartments, and naturally the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn were trying to get into the action because of the real estate development contracts that would be ordered to make costly repairs.

According to The New York Times, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development is the largest municipal developer of affordable housing in the United States. Separately, The New York Daily News reported that, ''One of Walters' codefendants is Sergio Benitez, a developer who is currently at the heart of an ongoing corruption probe involving City Councilman Erik Dilan.''