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February 10, 2012
Yonkers pol Nick Spano to plead guilty to tax evasion; brother Mike, now mayor, served as FCR agent on Ridge Hill; did Nick have a Ridge Hill connection?
Atlantic Yards Report
In an article today headlined Former State Senator From Westchester Is to Plead Guilty on a Federal Tax Charge, the New York Times reported:
Nicholas A. Spano, a former state senator who doled out millions of dollars in state grants in his Westchester County district during his lengthy tenure in office, is set to plead guilty to a federal tax charge, his lawyer confirmed on Thursday.
Mr. Spano’s lawyer, Richard W. Levitt, said Mr. Spano would appear in Federal District Court in White Plains on Friday and admit to failing to report more than $45,000 in income from 2000 to 2008....
Mr. Spano, 58, a Republican, began representing the 35th Senate District in 1987. In 2006, he was defeated by Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat, despite the $3.74 million in “member items,” also known as legislative earmarks, that he had brought to the district the year before.
Curious timing: Ridge Hill trial
What the Times didn't report is the curious timing, as pointed out by the Journal News:
Spano’s appearance in federal court comes on the eve of the trial of former Democratic Yonkers City Councilwoman Sandy Annabi and former Yonkers Republican Party leader Zehy Jereis, which is expected to begin Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan.
They are accused of conspiring to sell Annabi’s votes on two development projects in the city, including the controversial $630 million Ridge Hill development.
It could go deeper or, as New York Times columnist Michael Powell tweeted, "rumors of shoes, many shoes, to drop." As Journal News columnist Phil Reisman wrote 11/3/11, "Jereis was also a longtime crony and factotum for Nick Spano, the former state senator and older brother of Mike Spano."
After all, as has been alleged by less than fully transparent sources, Nick Spano, whose lobbyist brother was a agent for Forest City and is now the city's mayor, was indeed involved in the Ridge Hill case.
Related coverage...
The New York Times, Former State Senator From Westchester Is to Plead Guilty on a Federal Tax Charge
The Journal-News, Ex-Sen. Nick Spano to plead guilty to tax charges, could face up to 3 years in prison
Posted by eric at February 10, 2012 10:44 AM