LaVallee: Pigeon Case needs Special Investigator

[kernwatch]

LaVallee is on the money here.

DA Frank J Clarke III has repeatedly protected political corruption instead of prosecuting it. It has created a climate in Erie County where citizens accept political corruption as a 'given'.

A special prosecutor examining one of the chief perpetrators of local political misconduct would be a good place to start in the post-Clark era. "Equal justice under law" has never been a Clark motto, making him a bad choice to invetigate one of WNY's most unethical & destructive politicians.

It has also long been rumored that Clark wants to be a judge in his twilight years. I fear that his conduct in this high profile case would be heavily colored by that dynamic.

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregio...ry/474513.html

10/26/08 06:42 AM
ELECTIONS
Pigeon case requires special investigator, LaVallee says
By Matthew Spina NEWS STAFF REPORTER

An Erie County elections commissioner says the district attorney’s office should investigate the G. Steven Pigeon-B. Thomas Golisano pipeline delivering thousands of dollars to their favorite candidates.

But Diane LaVallee thinks Frank Clark’s district attorney’s office should recuse itself and refer the matter to a special prosecutor.

LaVallee is the Republican candidate for Erie County district attorney running against Democrat Frank A. Sedita III, a recipient of Pigeon-Golisano cash and Clark’s chosen successor.

A Pigeon-run political action committee, Citizens for Fiscal Integrity, has given Sedita $500; Golisano has given Sedita $5,000; and their mutual friend, Hormoz Mansouri, gave $7,500 to the Sedita campaign fund.

“A lawyer is obliged to avoid even a semblance of impropriety,” LaVallee said. “It is not fair to the public, it is not fair to the people who are making the accusations and it is not fair to the people who are being accused if the referee of the battle is one of those being paid off by the accused,” she said.

Clark has said he will review the allegations against Pigeon and Golisano, but could not be reached to comment on whether he should recuse himself. Sedita refused to say he would recuse himself if he became district attorney and inherited an investigation of a case against Pigeon and Golisano.

“If I felt there was a legitimate question as to my objectivity, I would not hesitate to ask the court to appoint a special prosecutor,” he said. But he doesn’t think it’s necessary. “Every time some political operative or political partisan makes an allegation, it doesn’t trigger a special prosecutor,” he said.

Pigeon is the former Erie County Democratic Party chairman who supports political challengers of his choosing and has provided strategic guidance to the Sedita campaign.

Golisano is the billionaire owner of the Buffalo Sabres who with Pigeon set up a fund, Responsible New York, to replace entrenched incumbents with candidates he likes.

Erie County’s Republican elections commissioner, Ralph Mohr, alleges Pigeon laundered thousands of dollars from Golisano’s committee and others to conceal the origin and avoid state contribution limits.

With a focus on the State Senate race involving the Pigeon-supported Democrat Joe Mesi against Republican Michael Ranzenhofer, Mohr sent a letter documenting his evidence to district attorneys in Erie, Niagara and Genesee counties.

mspina@buffnews.com

[PickOranges]

LaVallee is on the money here.

DA Frank J Clarke III has repeatedly protected political corruption instead of prosecuting it. It has created a climate in Erie County where citizens accept political corruption as a 'given'.

A special prosecutor examining one of the chief perpetrators of local political misconduct would be a good place to start in the post-Clark era. "Equal justice under law" has never been a Clark motto, making him a bad choice to invetigate one of WNY's most unethical & destructive politicians.

It has also long been rumored that Clark wants to be a judge in his twilight years. I fear that his conduct in this high profile case would be heavily colored by that dynamic.

I couldn't believe my eyes when Sedita announced...How all the politicians scrambled to endorse him. They knew if they didn't, he would seek revenge later with some sort of investigation on them..

LaValle seems to be the only independent here. As we can see all the politicians are in bed together. It's all about power and money again. The Seditas have been in power with their connections for generations..

I know LaValle will make a better District Attorney that will be independent and use her office professionally..

[dtwarren]

I think a special prosecutor is needed on this. Not only for the reasons stated in the article but also because it is my understanding that Mr. Pigeon also assisted Mr. Clark and if that is the case I beleive that an appearance of impropriety will definitely exist even more so than it does based on what is in the article.

[PickOranges]

I think a special prosecutor is needed on this. Not only for the reasons stated in the article but also because it is my understanding that Mr. Pigeon also assisted Mr. Clark and if that is the case I beleive that an appearance of impropriety will definitely exist even more so than it does based on what is in the article.

I agree.. I believe they quashed this investigation until after the general election. They want to keep the blinders on the voters and hope they forget so they can control treasury & influence.

Clark had all the Friends of Giambra in his campaign and Pigeon was always in the background.

[kernwatch]

This report by Donn Esmonde brings up another yet-unreported story.

Reliable sources allege that the Republican Party has given LaVallee NO support in her campaign against Clark-annointed Frank Sedita.

LaVallee also tried to run 4 years ago & no political party would touch her effort to unseat Clark.

I know up close how dangerous it is to take on political corruption. Frank J Clark III made my life hell for exposing public misconduct. I finally left Bflo for my safety, as deeply corrupt & dangerous former-IP Chair Charles Flynn has finally left the BMHA Board & gone on to work for FEMA.

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/474496.html

Updated: 10/26/08 09:18 AM

Donn Esmonde: DiPietro glad he’s out of politics
Dave DiPietro feels he is better off without politics. I can hardly blame him. DiPietro, dark-haired and plain-spoken, made the mistake of taking on Albany institution Dale Volker in the recent Republican primary for State Senate.

The former East Aurora mayor knew it would be an uphill run. Forcing fellow Republican Volker to spend time and money on a primary in a year when Republicans cling to a one-seat majority in the State Senate angered Republican Party bosses all the way to Albany.

Still, DiPietro did not expect the threats and abuse he said he and his supporters got from Volker’s people. “I got the crap kicked out of me,” said DiPietro, 48. DiPietro lost the September primary to Volker, 68, who now faces Democrat Kathy Konst. But DiPietro wants people to know how slimy politics can get. He hoped that the law would come down on the people behind the threats.

According to DiPietro:

• Republican Party boss Jim Domagalski warned DiPietro that Volker’s people would “come after him.”

“I told [Domagalski] I’m a big boy, I can take it,” said DiPietro. “I had no idea how nasty it would get.”

• Dave Gunner, a political novice running for Aurora highway superintendent, said Republicans pulled their endorsement of him after he ignored warnings about supporting DiPietro.

“Harry Wahl [Volker’s chief of staff] told me, ‘You don’t mess with Dale Volker, and you don’t mess with the state [Republican] Party,” Gunner confirmed. “He told my wife, ‘If you want to help Di- Pietro, get him some moving boxes, because he will lose his house, his business and his marriage.’ ”

• DiPietro’s wife got e-mails about women he dated before they married. “It was not anything I cared about,” Theresa DiPietro said. “But they were obviously trying to upset me.”

• Wahl told village Trustee Kevin Biggs that they would get government agencies to go after DiPietro. Said Biggs, a Buffalo police detective: “Wahl told me, ‘We’ll have [DiPietro] out of his house, out of his business and his wife will be leaving him. If you don’t believe me, ask Lenny Roberto.’ ”

Roberto is head of Primary Challenge, which backs challengers trying to unseat incumbents. Roberto said that, after taking on a Republican for Assembly in the mid-’90s, his business was targeted by various government agencies, including the state taxation department. “They tried to put me out of business, and I have no doubt that it was politically motivated,” said Roberto. “If Wahl said those things, it was no idle threat.”

Wahl denied making threats. “It’s all revisionist history,” said Wahl, a longtime political operative. “It’s sour grapes and political maneuvering. The whole thing is preposterous. I never had those conversations.”

• A taped call to voters from an unidentified female on Primary Day said “David DiPietro is abusive.” The reference was to a June 1 incident, when Di- Pietro cussed at a female Volker supporter who “coincidentally” came to Village Hall minutes before his term expired. “I’m not proud of it,” said DiPietro. “But I was set up.”

Konst has complained about the same sort of bare-knuckle tactics — including serving subpoenas on her petition- signers — in her current race against Volker.

DiPietro, Gunner and others filed complaints with District Attorney Frank Clark, who did not bring charges.
DiPietro has no reason to lie. about any of this. He lost the election, is out of public office and may never run again. His story is another example of why smart, community-minded people would sooner jump into a flaming pit than get involved in politics.

desmonde@buffnews.com

[sneakers77]

Even though she's a registered Dem, and endorsed by the Republican Party I think she could be labeled as a "MAVERICK"

She's got my vote.....................