SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Congressman Anthony Weiner will announce his resignation from his seat in Congress at a press conference later today. We’ve heard that the press conference will take place in Sheepshead Bay, where Weiner first began his career as an elected official when he snagged the City Council seat currently occupied by Michael Nelson.

From Politico:

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) will resign from his seat in Congress, heeding calls from President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and dozens of other congressional Democrats, sources confirm to POLITICO. The resignation ends nearly three weeks of tumultuous political controversy since the New York congressman sent a lewd picture of himself over Twitter which he claimed at first was a result of a hack, and later admitted he had sent himself.

According to two sources, Weiner made up his mind to resign Wednesday night, and shortly after began making calls to inform them of his decision. Weiner called DCCC chair Steve Israel — who had also called for his resignation — on Wednesday night at the White House picnic to inform him and Pelosi that he had decided to resign on Thursday.

House Democrats were set to strip Weiner of his committee assignments on Thursday morning, though they were not officially informed before a meeting in the Capitol Thursday morning with a White House liaison. But the news spread quickly following media reports.

… Weiner’s resignation comes after his wife Huma Abedin, an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, returned from a week-long trip to Africa with her boss. Weiner had said he would wait until Abedin returned before making a final decision on his plans. She returned home early Wednesday.

Source: REUTERS / Brendan McDermid for Ibtimes.com

I, as I am sure most of you are, am emotionally depleted from the mention of Congressman Anthony Weiner’s name, a name that I’ve known of, under more normal, pre-Internet circumstances, since I was in high school. The steady assault of “Weiner” jokes for the past two weeks (it feels like two years!) are old and tired, and a personal adversity is nothing to laugh at. But news is news, and even the not-so-fun stuff’s got to be reported upon… I guess.

So what are you waiting for? Read our report already!

While Congressman Anthony Weiner finally lays low following the revelation of Twitter romances – and the lies that preceded his eventual confession – at least one civic group publicly expressed its support and gratitude for the embattled politician.

Continue Reading »

We found this note posted to the window at Congressman Anthony Weiner’s satellite office at 1800 Sheepshead Bay Road.

The office is used primarily as Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz’s district office, but the congressman has a desk there to meet with constituents on an appointment basis. He hasn’t been there in a while, so he might not have gotten the message. Oh, except the Daily News might have tipped him off (as they did us).

Cymbrowitz’s staff said they didn’t know who posted it or when, just that it wasn’t there when they opened in the morning.

Source: CBSLocal.com

It was the shot seen ’round the world.

As we all know by now, Congressman Anthony Weiner confirmed yesterday during a teary-eyed press conference that the crotch shot published to his Twitter account was not the result of hacking, but of his own virtual trysts with female fans accidentally made public. The questions lingering in the wake of his announcement are whether he’ll resign (he said he won’t), whether he used public funds or government resources in his relationships with these women or in the ensuing cover-up (he said he didn’t), and whether his wife will leave him (he said she won’t).

But enough about what Weiner said about Weiner. What does he know, anyway? What are other people not at all connected to the situation saying?

Well…

Keep reading for reactions from around the web, and to weigh in.

The dust hasn’t come close to settling and reporters are already guessing at who might take State Senator Carl Kruger’s place if he resigns. The New York Observer is saying that City Councilman Lew Fidler is a likely choice, as is Brooklyn Borough President Community Liaison Igor Oberman, and Russian-American defense attorney David Storobin is saying he’s shooting for a spot on the Republican ticket.

Read about the possible contendors

From the Daily News:

Freshman Bronx state Sen. Gustavo Rivera – who ran on an anti-corruption platform when he defeated scandal-scarred Sen. Pedro Espada, Jr. last year – has become the first legislator to announce he’s returning giving away donations from just-indicted Brooklyn Sen. Carl Kruger.

“Sen. Rivera is returning $2,500 that was given to him by Sen. Kruger,” Rivera Communications Director Conchita Cruz told the Daily News. “These accusations cut at the very heart of what New Yorkers hate about Albany — backroom deals, pay-to-play and corruption scandals,” she said.

State Senator Carl Kruger was a Democratic Party heavyweight who political observers say doled out money and influence. He contributed to a number of political campaigns and, allegedly, pulled strings behind the scenes to prevent challengers to his own seat, and to install preferred candidates in other positions.

Will it end at Rivera? Or will those who’ve benefited from Kruger’s alleged corruption also dump the money?

We’ll make it easier for you. If you’re a politician looking to donate funds obtained from Kruger, click here.

UPDATED (2:42 p.m.):

More from the Daily News:

The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee says it won’t give back money it received from Kruger, partly because the money’s already been spent (and, we might note, because they’re already in debt and there’s not much to pay it back with.)

NYPIRG’s Bill Mahoney doped up a spreadsheet of Kruger spending, and Blain counts $475,000 to the DSCC over the past five years. Overall, his campaign shelled out $886,500 in contributions to various groups and candidates during that period.

According to Mahoney, state Sens. Mike Gianaris (the new head of the DSCC, incidentally) and Liz Krueger (who will reportedly replace Kruger as minority ranker on Finance) are the only Senate Democrats who have NOT received any dough from him.

Update: Members of the Senate Independent Democratic Conference say that like Rivera, they will donate any contributions they received from Kruger to charity.

The caucus members — Sens. Jeffrey Klein, Diane Savino, David Valesky, and David Carlucci — received a combined $8,000 from Kruger in the last election cycle.

Bloggers over at the Albany Times Union thought Governor Andrew Cuomo should take more of a common man approach in his reaction to the Kruger news – “calling a Red Room press conference, then walking out and wordlessly throwing up his arms in a ‘See? See?’ gesture and then walking back out again” – but, the governor instead opted for a more conventional approach: a press release.

He wrote:

“Today’s arrests again spotlight the failings of New York State government and highlight the urgent need for the legislature to pass comprehensive ethics reform – now. During the campaign, I made a commitment that we would either pass real ethics reform with real disclosure and real enforcement or I would form a Moreland Commission on public integrity. New Yorkers deserve a clean and transparent government comprised of officials who work for the people, not for the special interests and certainly not for their own corrupt self-interests. Today, I reaffirm my commitment to clean up Albany and state clearly that either ethics legislation will be passed or I will form a Moreland Commission by the end of this legislative session.”

Below is the 53-page criminal complaint against State Senator Carl Kruger and seven other defendants, including other politicians and lobbyists.

Kruger surrendered to federal authorities this morning to face charges that he took a stream of bribes totaling at least $1 million in return for official actions between 2006 and February 2011. The complaint also alleges that he directed hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer dollars to clients of lobbyist Richard Lipsky, who paid him kickbacks.

KrugerComplaint

State Senator Carl Kruger is the most prominent name on a list of political and public leaders to be indicted tomorrow morning on federal corruption charges, according to reports.

The state senator is expected to face charges related to a corruption investigation previously unknown to the public.

That means these new charges are completely unrelated to the existing FBI probe that involved Rasputin nightclub owner Michael Levitis. That probe, dating back to 2007, explored an alleged influence peddling scheme in which Levitis was recorded telling another restaurateur that the state senator would help him with state matters if he held a fundraiser and turned over thousands of dollars for the politician’s campaign. Levitis pleaded guilty to lying to investigators last week, and Kruger’s representatives told Courier-Life that it was evidence his hands were clean.

Not much is known about the current charges and a press conference is expected to be held by federal prosecutors tomorrow. An anonymous source told the Daily News that the charges may include allegations that Kruger used his influence in the Senate to push for approval of a merger of a now-defunct Queens hospital.

State Senator Kruger has been a longtime power-broker in his district, wrangling political support – and, more frequently, silence – by being a patron to many organizations through discretionary funding, grants and other means of financial disbursement for the programs of community groups, religious organizations and civic associations across the neighborhood. Regardless of the extent of the charges, the neighborhood is sure to be rattled by a potential loosened grasp for a political player that brought hundreds of thousands of dollars into the community.

NY Post: B’klyn Sen. Kruger will surrender to face corruption charges
Daily News: State Sen. Carl Kruger to surrender to feds on bribery charges, cashing in on hospital merger
New York Times: Brooklyn Senator to Turn Himself In