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March 15, 2011
Scandal follows top exec
NY Post
by Brendan Scott in Albany and Rich Calder and Dan Mangan in NY
A phone call to scandal-plagued state Sen. Carl Kruger that was caught on an FBI wiretap marked the second time a top executive with the developer of Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards was thrust into an unwanted spotlight.
Forest City Ratner Vice President Bruce Bender had earlier lobbied on behalf of a project that led to another elected official's arrest.
Bender was heard on a December call wiretapped by the FBI asking Kruger for millions of dollars in state funds for two Forest City projects, and for a skating rink at Prospect Park that had no connection to the company. Bender lives near the park, and his wife is on the park's fund-raising board.
When Kruger (D-Brooklyn) -- who last week was charged with taking $1 million in bribes -- told Bender he would have to choose between getting $4 million for a Forest City Ratner project in Mill Basin or for the park's skating rink, Bender said, "I guess the park," a criminal complaint claims.
In 2006, Bender, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing, was the point man for Forest City's efforts to win approval from Yonkers for a $630 million commercial and residential development.
A Yonkers councilwoman, Sandy Annabi, stunningly switched her position on the development, and helped pass it. Last year, Annabi was charged by federal authorities with accepting more than $166,000 in bribes to vote for that deal and another development.
NoLandGrab: These cases are fascinating, because people are receiving bribes, and there are middlemen making the payments, but no entity seems to be originating the bribes. Go figure.
Posted by eric at March 15, 2011 12:28 PM