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Dem Judge-Makers Under Fire

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Dem Judge-Makers Under Fire DEM JUDGE-MAKERS UNDER FIRE By Patrick Gallahue and Neil Sloane The Brooklyn Papers EDITORIAL The walls began closing in on the executive committee leaders of the Brooklyn Democratic Party this week with the revelation that another Another judge is party-connected judge had been arrested for Hynes wrong for this job courthouse bribery and may have provided evi- dence of corruption by party leaders. As Brooklyn’s latest court- friends with all the wrong people. To make matters worse for Assemblyman Clarence house corruption scandal explod- Norman, chairman of the Kings County Democratic Whatever his public pronounce- busted for graft Committee, and Jeffrey Feldman, the county party’s ex- ed this week, District Attorney ments now, Hynes’ decades-old Charles Hynes appeared shocked allegiance to the sources of our ecutive director, they may have lost their staunchest By Patrick Gallahue The county’s chief administrative judge, ally. Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, a de- — shocked! — that bribery was judiciary’s dark days will taint allegedly committed on his watch, The Brooklyn Papers Ann Pfau, this week implemented a variety fender of both the party executive committee and the his actions. Every prosecution he of operational reforms, and Brooklyn District Brooklyn court system through many scandals, was ap- and he suggested there is some- brings can appear to be both a A Brooklyn Supreme Court judge with Attorney Charles Hynes, who spent much of parently jolted by the evidence obtained through the thing inherently wrong with the cover for the prosecutions he long-standing ties to the county Dem- the last year defending the borough’s judges, Garson investigation. buying and selling of judge- will not bring and a reminder of ocratic Party was arrested this week on has convened a grand jury to investigate the Hynes announced this week that he would convene ships as well as judgements. those he did not bring before. charges that he took gifts from lawyers in process by which they are selected. a grand jury to hear evidence relating to the judicial se- Justice should be blind; a dis- In the interest of blind justice, exchange for fixing divorce cases. Garson, a former treasurer for the Kings lection process in Brooklyn, which he called a “sham” trict attorney, however, may not and “palpably wrong.” Hynes should recuse himself The arrest of Judge Gerald Garson County Democratic Committee, whose And a law enforcement source told the New York be blind to injustice and judicial as prosecutor of Brooklyn’s judi- Wednesday night — the second Brooklyn wife, Robin Garson, and cousin, Michael Times that Garson, confronted with the evidence corruption. Hynes, nursed at the cial mess. Aspecial federal prose- Democratic Party-connected judge arrested Garson, are also state Supreme Court jus- against him, agreed to wear a recording device to se- bosom of the Brooklyn Demo- cutor should take his place. in the past 16 months — has sparked an in- tices in Brooklyn, turned himself in to au- cretly tape conversations with party leaders about how cratic machine, is, in this case, Charles Hynes More Editorial on page 6 vestigation into possible systemic corruption thorities Wednesday night on charges that judges are selected. in the scandal-plagued Brooklyn judiciary. See ANOTHER JUDGE on page 6 The official said those tapes would be played for the grand jury. “Any suggestion that this is a process giving voting rights to the public is nothing less than a BROOKLYN’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER sham,” Hynes said at a press con- ference announcing the investiga- tion. Asked why he chose now to convene such a grand jury when it has been long known that the par- Including The Downtown News, Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill Paper and Fort Greene-Clinton Hill Paper ty had over-arching control over the process, Hynes said, “I have much more specific information Published weekly by Brooklyn Paper Publications Inc, 26 Court St., Brooklyn 11242 Phone 718-834-9350 AD fax 718-834-1713 • NEWS fax 718-834-9278 © 2003 Brooklyn Paper Publications • 14 pages including GO BROOKLYN • Vol.26, No. 18 BWN • May 5, 2003 • FREE today.” Indeed, efforts to open up the process have consistently exposed the control over Brooklyn’s judicial nomination procedures by a select few party leaders through a cir- cuitous screening process. Asked about the Hynes probe this week, Feldman said only, “We Monty Bomber would welcome any review.” On Tuesday, Democratic state committee members, also know as district leaders, who comprise the Kings County Democratic Com- mittee’s executive committee drafted a five-point plan to reform caught on tape the way judges are chosen to run for election. They were also planning to protest outside their own county Cops: He made plans from prison phone party’s annual dinner at the New York Marriott Brooklyn on Thurs- By Patrick Gallahue ing explosive devices in her car in outside the 68 Montague St. home day, May 1. The Brooklyn Papers an effort to make it seem Alster was she shares with her husband, Steven wrongly convicted. Thomas and their two children. Letter to Norman It just keeps getting weirder. Andrasan Scott, 29, who served Scott, of Queens, has been in jail The letter to party boss Norman, A prison pal of Stephen Alster, time on Rikers Island with Alster, five times since 1990 for a litany of requests that an independent the man convicted of attempting to 66, was arrested on April 24 for crimes including weapons posses- screening panel, appointed by state blow up the Brooklyn Heights planting the devices, allegedly at sion and robbery, and has served committee members, rather than home of a female police officer Alster’s request, in a sport utility several prison stints under a number the chairman of the party, have over whom he had a crush, was ar- vehicle belonging to Officer Yensy of different names. rested this week for allegedly plant- greater authority over the endorse- Thomas. The vehicle was parked See BOMBER on page 8 ment process. It was signed by Rep. Nydia Ve- lazquez, Park Slope Assemblyman James Brennan, Brooklyn Heights Assemblywoman Joan Millman, Fort Greene Councilman James Slope zoning to include Davis, Park Slope Councilman Bill DeBlasio, Brooklyn Heights Coun- cilman David Yassky and eight dis- trict leaders. Alan Fleishman and Liz Daly, both state committee low-cost housing perks members for the 52nd Assembly District of Park Slope and Brook- By Patrick Gallahue posal passed, Council Speaker Gif- City Planning, which is the spon- lyn Heights, wrote the letter. The Brooklyn Papers ford Miller applauded the agreement soring agency for the application, “I think the current process has In what could be seen as a win- in a press conference with council appeared before the Zoning and had some unfortunate results,” said members Bill DeBlasio, David Franchises Land Use subcommittee Yassky. “Frankly, the ongoing win situation for Park Slopers the Yassky and Sara Gonzalez, whose with Joseph Rosenberg, deputy problems in the courts speak for City Council on Wednesday districts are directly affected by the commissioner of the city Depart- themselves.” unanimously approved a package rezoning. Miller said the agreement ment of Housing Preservation and Since January of last year, two that included both a neighbor- “represented the best of what the Development, to announce that judges have been charged with cor- hood-wide rezoning proposal and council and the Bloomberg adminis- HPD would utilize a combination ruption, one judge asked to step affordable housing incentives. tration can do together to try to ad- of subsidies, tax credits and low-in- down from the bench and several As the proposal, which seeks to dress the needs of all New Yorkers.” terest loans over the next five years others censured or reassigned, lead- limit building heights nearly every- Since the rezoning was first pre- to encourage development of af- ing some to ask if the current sys- where in Park Slope except Fourth sented to Community Board 6, last fordable housing in Park Slope. tem was selecting sub-par judges Avenue, came before the council’s year, the initiative has been stuck at an The funds will come from May- and whether it was also a system Land Use committee this week the impasse between advocates for af- or Michael Bloomberg’s $3 billion Museum of Art Brooklyn plagued by cronyism and patron- Bloomberg administration pledged fordable housing who argued the proj- New Housing Marketplace Plan, in- age. up to $6 million for affordable ect did not provide enough room for tended to finance the creation of Under the current judicial selec- housing in the neighborhood. low- and middle-income people, and 27,000 new units and preserve 38,000 Brooklyn’s treasures tion system applications for state That was enough to sail the pro- local activists who expressed concern existing ones citywide, which he Supreme Court are obtained through posal right through both the com- that to amend the plan would send it announced late last year. This First-Century gilded mummy mask from the Brooklyn Museum of Art’s collection is on view as the Kings County Democratic mittee and the full council. tumbling back to the beginning. “We’re ready to go. We have part of a massive new installation, “Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity.” Many of the works have not See DEM JUDGES on page 6 Shortly before the rezoning pro- On April 28, the Department of See ZONE on page 3 been seen by the public in decades. See story inside, on the cover of GO Brooklyn. Council adds bunker restrictions Questions over By Patrick Gallahue Planning, to decide whether they Al Vann voted against the applica- staunch opponent of building the Spokesman Frank McCarton said, The Brooklyn Papers are within the scope of the applica- tion.
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