Most of the misconduct charges involve continuing offenses, cheating the city, ignoring personal debts, failing to file documents, making false and misleading statements, and misrepresenting addresses in order get tax reductions, affordable housing or district residency.
They're not major crimes, but the self-indulgence and lack of professionalism they reveal is completely inappropriate for elected public officials.
One longtime observer of the scene says we should expect nothing less from the city's machine-dominated politics.
What about the Council's own Committee on Standards and Ethics? Well, let's take a look at Inez Dickens, who chairs the committee.
Dickens gets a double lulu of $15,000 a year as assistant majority leader and chair of Standards and Ethics -- on top of her $112,500 salary and her undisclosed income from the buildings she owns in Harlem. So go figure how she could be $100,000 in arrears on the property taxes on her real estate.
She's been cited in numerous building and housing court complaints, and has allegedly hidden income on property she inherited from her late father, former Assemblyman and New York State Supreme Court Justice Lloyd E. Dickens.
It's been three years since the Slush Fund Scandal of 2008, in which Council leaders allocated millions of dollars to fictitious organizations that Speaker Christine Quinn called placeholders, and lawyered up when the news hit the tabs.
Tens of millions of dollars a year go into "member items", which the Council is supposed to give to nonprofit, community based, grassroots social services organizations. "Member items" have become the speaker's patronage pot, ladled out to pet organizations, council members who play ball with the speaker, favored relatives, and pay-to-play "partners".
Member items keep the troops in line, rewarding the "good" ones with big money and the "bad" ones with none.
All links are to the Daily News:
SUNDAY, MARCH 20
- Dirty little secrets: City Council members have skirted laws, bent rules and abused their power by Erin Einhorn, Robert Gearty, Benjamin Lesser, Tina Moore, Barbara Ross and Greg B. Smith
- Queens city councilman Ruben Wills acknowledges outstanding arrest warrants by Greg B. Smith
MONDAY, MARCH 21
- Queens Councilman Ruben Wills surfaces in Manhattan court to face criminal charges in 1996 case by Jose Martinez and Greg B. Smith
- Some City Council members cutting corners to obtain affordable housing by Erin Einhorn, Robert Gearty, Benjamin Lesser, Tina Moore Barbara Ross and Greg B. Smith
- City Councilwoman Inez Dickens' properties have been subject of numerous complaints by Barbara Ross and Tina Moore
- City Council Speaker Quinn moving to Chelsea pad after pressuring city to clean nearby garbage by Erin Einhorn
- Miscreants abound on New York’s City Council, a hard-hitting Daily News series shows by NY Daily News Editorial Board
- City Council members are either lying about their taxes or residencies, and neither is acceptable by Michael Daly
- City to probe how B'klyn Dem Erik Dilan got cheap apartment when income was over the limit by Benjamin Lesser
- Several City Council members struggle with own finances, high debt, home foreclosure by Barbara Ross, Robert Gearty and Benjamin Lesser
- Councilman must pay back tax break after News exposes residency claim fraud by Erin Einhorn and Greg B. Smith
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