New York State, its strange way of distributing funds
December 13, 2006 Sen. Efrain Gonzalez was indicted for mail fraud and theft of federal funds.
In the June 29, 2006 edition of
The Riverdale Press there is a front page article
State grants: helping hand or slush fund? written by Joshua Payne. Here are two paragraphs from the story.
....
In a process shrouded in secrecy and driven by politics, each year state senators and assembly members receive funds, known as "member items," to distribute at their discretion within their districts.
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Sen. Gonzalez -- whose district encompasses parts of Kingsbridge, Kingsbridge Heights, Van Cortlandt Village and Fieldston -- did not return calls seeking to find out what he does with the money.
Note: Sen. Gonzalez is my state senator.
August 25, 2006 - Sen. Efrain Gonzalez was indicted today. The indictment accused him of a scheme to defraud the West Bronx Neighborhood Association.