Errol Louis
Thursday, December 10th 2009, 4:00 AM
Joe Bruno, the ex-boss of the state Senate convicted on corruption charges this week, earned every bit of the legal troubles and disgrace that will consume his remaining days on Earth.
His crimes - taking $280,000 from a pal seeking favors from government - are grimy enough. Bruno, facing up to 40 years behind bars, could end up spending the rest of his life in prison.
But this is about more than one pol's tumble from power, even one who spent many long years as a symbol and sustainer of a low culture of hustle that is rotting Albany from the inside out.
Far more important than Bruno's fate is the future of his most important aiders and abettors: the millions of New Yorkers who have ignored warnings from good-government groups, editorial pages and other reform voices about how badly state government has gone off the rails.
With New York facing billions of dollars in punishing fee and tax hikes, along with cuts to every conceivable public agency and service, voters had better get serious about chasing the thieves from the temple of state government.
Consider this: During the 14 years he served as Senate majority leader and president, Bruno controlled state budgets totaling more than $1.3 trillion.
And for much of that time, he was secretly collecting fees to sign up labor unions - including some with business before the Senate - with a Connecticut-based investment firm.
The fact that there was any question of whether Bruno's self-serving business sideline was legal is the problem. State lawmakers are considered part-time employees, free to ply various trades on the side.
But disclosure rules - written by the Legislature - make it extraordinarily difficult to determine who they represent, what those clients are purchasing and whether it creates a conflict of interest.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, for instance, is part of a well-known personal injury law firm. Who he represents at the firm and how much he earns from whatever work he's doing remains secret.
Allowing legislators to control a trillion dollars worth of budgets without disclosing their true clients and paymasters is an open invitation to the double-dealing that brought about Bruno's downfall.
Power in the capitol is tightly and personally held by three men: the governor and the leaders of the Senate and Assembly. They control the salaries, staff, physical offices and discretionary budgets of the other 210 legislators.
Members of the Senate and Assembly go about the business of holding hearings and drafting legislation, but it's often a sham. Legislation, no matter how important to the public - even when co-sponsored by a majority of lawmakers - will never see the light of open debate or a floor vote if one of the bosses decides to kill it or trade it away in a back room.
Congestion pricing for New York City, a West Side stadium, a law to give farmworkers basic rights like overtime - all have perished in Albany back rooms.
Year after year, Bruno used his power as majority leader to block floor votes to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour.
In 2002, shortly after the 9/11 attacks, when six new state Enterprise Zones were created to foster faltering business, Bruno made sure all of them were in his upstate power base.
Reformers howled that Chinatown, crippled economically by the attacks, needed a zone designation. Bruno called them "cry babies" and refused to budge.
And all the while, he was taking bribes.
But Bruno is not alone. Others in Albany have followed his shabby lead. The parade of recently convicted legislative felons is, literally, too long to list here.
Reforms currently on the table include term limits for state officials and mandatory disclosure of side clients and fees. Either reform would do a world of good.
But there is no substitute for sustained, focused voter action.
To any and all honest men and women considering a run for office: get off the fence and make your move in 2010. Our state needs you more than ever.
elouis@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/12/10/2009-12-10_joe_brunos_conviction_proves_that_in_albany_it_takes_a_thief.html#ixzz0ZP5aX9Ge
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