During 16 years in Albany, he took a state car, funded by taxpayers even though his house is only 30 minutes away. On top of that, he billed taxpayers for $27,000 more in travel expenses.
1987-2002: Faso Represented New York’s 102nd State Assembly District. “With Schoharie native Pete Lopez out of the race to succeed U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, in Congress, the Schoharie County Republican and Conservative parties have thrown their support behind former state Assemblyman John Faso. … Faso, a resident of Kinderhook, served in the state Assembly from 1987 until 2002. He ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign against Democrat Eliot Spitzer in 2006.” [The Daily Gazette, 1/25/16]
2000: Faso Received Taxpayer-Funded Vehicle. “Albany Many lawmakers, top aides and commissioners get cars at taxpayer expense, a perk one group denounces[.] Not only are they among the highest paid, New York’s top governmental leaders also drive in style -- at taxpayers’ expense. From Gov. George Pataki and his top staff to more than two dozen members of the Legislature, taxpayers provide hundreds of thousands of dollars for wheels, and sometimes chauffeurs. … Fifteen other Assembly members are assigned state cars, including Minority Leader John Faso, R-Kinderhook, who uses a 1998 Buick Park Avenue[.] … ‘It’s an unnecessary perk,’ said Brian Backstrom, vice president of Change-NY, a conservative anti-tax group. ‘If exceptions had to be made, the clear candidates would be Bruno and Silver, maybe Faso and Connor as well. Anyone else in the Legislature who has a car ... (has) one because they’ve been re-elected enough times. And that’s not a basis for spending taxpayer dollars.’” [Times Union, 3/05/00] – SEE ARTICLE 1
Faso Only Lived 30 Minutes From The New York State Assembly. During his years in the New York State Assembly, from 1987 to 2002, Faso lived 30 minutes from New York’s State Capitol in Albany. [Google Maps, accessed 8/29/16]
1996-2002: Faso Charged Taxpayers More Than $27K For Travel Expenditures. Between 1996 and 2002, as a New York State Assemblyman, Faso charged taxpayers $27,375 for travel expenditures. [Expenditure Reports, New York State Assembly, accessed 8/30/16]
ARTICLE 1: “Many Big Wheels Get Free Rides” Albany Times Union // March 5, 2000 By James M. Odato
Not only are they among the highest paid, New York's top governmental leaders also drive in style -- at taxpayers' expense. From Gov. George Pataki and his top staff to more than two dozen members of the Legislature, taxpayers provide hundreds of thousands of dollars for wheels, and sometimes chauffeurs.
Some of the top leaders get two cars -- one for their upstate driving, the other for the New York City metropolitan area.
For instance, Pataki, the highest-paid governor in the nation, is driven by a State Police officer in two sport-utility vehicles, a 1997 Chevy Suburban and a 1998 Lincoln Navigator. His chief of staff, Bradford Race, has a set of 1996 Chevrolet Caprices.
In the Republican-controlled Senate, Majority Leader Joseph Bruno is chauffeured in Chryslers, a 1997 Concorde and a 1999 LHS.
Senate Minority Leader Martin Connor, D-Brooklyn, also has a 1994 Ford Crown Victoria and a 1997 Dodge Intrepid.
Other senators have leadership posts that come with the amenity of a state-provided car.
They include Olga Mendez, D-Manhattan; Nicholas Spano, R-Yonkers; James Lack, R-Hauppauge; Guy Vellela, R-Bronx; John J. Marchi, R-Staten Island; David Paterson, D-Manhattan; Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County; William Stachowski, D-Buffalo; and Ronald Stafford, R-Plattsburgh. Most of them drive 1997 Dodge Intrepids.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, cruises in a 1999 Buick Park Avenue that he drives himself.
Fifteen other Assembly members are assigned state cars, including Minority Leader John Faso, R-Kinderhook, who uses a 1998 Buick Park Avenue and a driver, and George Winner, R-Elmira, who travels in a 1997 Chevrolet Blazer.
Others are Arthur Eve, D-Buffalo; Edward Griffith, D-Manhattan; Paul Harenberg, D-Suffolk County; Ivan Lafayette, D-Queens; Harold Brown, R-Camillus; Craig Doran, R-Geneva; Charles Nesbitt, R-Brockport; G. Christian Ortloff, R-Plattsburgh; John Ravitz, R-Manhattan; Robert Straniere, R-Staten Island; Robert Wertz, R- Suffolk County; Herman Farrell, D-Manhattan; and John Flanagan, R-Suffolk County.
Legislators and their representatives say the cars are necessary to carry out state business and that leadership posts require frequent visits to Albany.
''To assist them with their leadership responsibilities,'' is how Charles Carrier, Silver's spokesman puts it.
Flanagan, ranking minority member on the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, said he put 30,000 miles on his 1997 Dodge Intrepid over a 15-month period spanning parts of 1998 and 1999, almost all of it commuting between his Long Island district and Albany. A small portion of the travel was for personal use, he said.
Legislators are supposed to document their personal miles to compute the taxable income of the perk of a vehicle's use.
Some government watchdogs see the cars as excessive.
''It's an unnecessary perk,'' said Brian Backstrom, vice president of Change-NY, a conservative anti-tax group. ''If exceptions had to be made, the clear candidates would be Bruno and Silver, maybe Faso and Connor as well. Anyone else in the Legislature who has a car ... (has) one because they've been re-elected enough times. And that's not a basis for spending taxpayer dollars.''
''Clearly, a reasonable case can be made for statewide elected officials who do a lot of traveling,'' Backstrom said.
He said legislators know what is involved when they sign up for the job of lawmaker and shouldn't expect cars to cover their districts.
''They already get their travel expenses reimbursed. It makes no sense that taxpayers are on the hook for whatever kind of car a politician seems to want,'' he said.
The cars are on top of $ 110 collected as expenses for each day of work in the Capitol and on top of an average legislative pay in the $ 80,000 range.
The governor's staff, he said, also shouldn't be getting taxpayer-funded perks such as cars.
Others, however, support providing cars.
''It is not unusual that a leader (or) leadership ... would be provided a car, maybe a driver, a security person,'' said William Pound, executive director of the National Conference of State Legislatures. He said the entire membership of the California and Pennsylvania legislatures receive either cars or an allowance to pay for leased automobiles. ''It's a security issue and the fact that they travel a great deal on state business, official functions, formal functions,'' he said.
Most commissioners and many deputy commissioners get cars, as do Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and some of his top aides; Comptroller H. Carl McCall (who has two vehicles and a driver) and his first deputy, Carl Carlucci, and several executives at public authorities.
Pataki's top 14 aides, including Zenia Mucha, communications director (1999 Ford Crown Victoria); James Natoli, director of operations (1996 Chevrolet Blazer); and Maryanne Gridley (1999 Ford Crown Victoria) also get cars.