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February 24, 2010
What Role Did Bruce Ratner's Company Play in the Ridge Hill Indictments?
The Huffington Post
by Daniel Goldstein
In early January the Southern District US Attorney's Office indicted former Yonkers City Councilwoman Sandy Annabi, former Yonkers GOP Leader (and Annabi cousin) Zehy Jereis and Westchester County attorney Anthony Mangone for conspiracy, bribery, extortion, false statement and tax crimes.
The Annabi and Jereis indictments revolve around developer Forest City Ratner's Ridge Hill development project and the Councilwoman's approval the developer sought for the project.
...In a nutshell, Annabi was indicted for taking bribes to flip her crucial nay to a yea on the project's approval vote in 2006.
To be clear, none of Ratner's representatives (aka Developer No. 2 in the indictment) have been indicted or accused. But the facts alleged in the indictments speak for themselves and do not shine a positive light on the developer. The implications are unsavory and enormous.
...I've spoken with many confounded Brooklynites familiar with the indictments who wonder why nobody from Forest City Ratner has been indicted in the Yonkers public corruption case along with the others now facing criminal charges. By not holding Forest City Ratner accountable for the actions alleged in the indictment there is, yet again, an appearance of favoritism, which appears thus far to have let Ratner's company escape prosecution for what may well be very serious crimes.
When is Attorney General Cuomo going to investigate the wrongdoing in Yonkers and Forest City Ratner's role in it? A first step for the yet-to-be-officially-announced gubernatorial candidate would be to return the $5,000 donation Bruce Ratner gave him because of the clear implications of the Ridge Hill indictments.
Posted by eric at February 24, 2010 6:14 PM