Monserrate's Campaign Cash
July 14th, 2009
According to recent filings, Sen. Hiram Monserrate has been using cash from his campaign committee to fund his legal defense. Monserrate was indicted earlier this year on a felony count for slashing his girlfriend in the face with a broken glass.
“We think its an outrageous misuse of campaign dollars,” said Blair Horner, of the New York Public Interest Research Group. Horner added that thanks to New York’s “Swiss cheese” campaign finance laws the spending “probably isn’t ilegal.” “We have the radical opinion that campaign dollars should be used to fund campaigns,” concluded Horner.
As Jimmy Vielkind and Liz Benjamin point out, Monserrate’s campaign committee got donations from some interesting places.
New Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr., gave $500 to Monserrate on March 18. Espada’s Soundview Management Enterprise Inc. gave Monserrate $1,000 on the same day.
Espada and Monserrate led the revolt that left the Senate paralyzed for a month until Espada returned to the Democratic caucus. Monserrate returned to the Democrats after only a few days as a member of the “reform coalition.” Espada has a long history of skirting campaign finance rules.
The campaign committee of Carl Kruger, another renegade Democrat, campaign committee gave Monserrate $1,000 in March.
Monserrate raised $42,250 in the last six-month period and spend $86,878. In the last six months, Monserrate has spent over $14,000 to pay legal bills and defense lawyers.
As Vielkind points out, law enforcement and correctional officer unions gave Monserrate, a onetime police officer, $2,450 over the past six months. Monserrate’s critics find the notion that members of law enforcement are funding Monserrate’s defense pretty hard to swallow.
“The fact that these police departments would have bureaus or departments that help victims of domestic violence and yet in turn would give money to someone who was indicted for such a crime is such a contradiction and such hypocrisy,” Marcia Papas, the president of the New York chapter of National Organization for Women told Vielkind.
By David King on July 14, 2009, 4:22 pmIn category: Albany, Eye on Albany | 1 Comment »


July 14th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Ms. Papas should consider lobbying other democrats in state government to be more vocal about Monserrate and his situation. Where are the voices condemning a man who believes marriage is between one man, one woman and one bottle? There is no “proven innocent” rhetoric with this… it’s caught on tape. Why not challenge the Democrats? They are being just as ridiculous as the republicans, if not worse.