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