Ex-State Senator Shirley Huntley. (Photo: Facebook)

The names caught up in ex-State Sen. Shirley Huntley's wire-tapping efforts were revealed Wednesday afternoon, leaving elected officials and staffers scrambling to respond to news that they were most likely the subjects of ongoing federal investigations.

The U.S. Attorney's office had revealed that eight of the nine individuals secretly recorded by Ms. Huntley in an effort to minimize her sentence on embezzlement charges "remain the subjects of ongoing criminal investigations." And while some offices appeared to be prepared for the news, others seemed completely caught-off-guard. Others still have yet to comment.

The list includes a slew of Democratic lawmakers, including City Councilman Ruben Wills, State Sen. Eric Adams, who is running for Brooklyn borough president, Sen. Jose Peralta, who is running for Queens borough president, and Sen. John Sampson, who was arrested earlier this week on unrelated embezzlement charges.

Also named were Melvin Lowe, somewhat questionably identified by Ms. Huntley's lawyer as a "former political consultant and associate of New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman" and Curtis Taylor, a former staffer to Sen. Malcolm Smith, who was also named.

Ruben Wills' campaign was the first to jump to his defense, insisting that he was the one innocent lawmaker of the bunch.

“My attorney has been in contact with federal law enforcement authorities and he has been informed that I am NOT the target of any investigation arising from proceedings involving Shirley Huntley,” the councilman said in a statement sent out by his campaign. “I have personally not been contacted by any law enforcement officials to date and I look forward to continuing the work of the people of southeast Queens that elected me.”

Mr. Adams issued his response, also via a campaign spokesman, around 4:30 p.m., two-and-a-half hours after the names were unsealed. In it, he said that he had not been contacted by prosecutors about any investigation.

"I believe deeply in transparency and the pursuit of justice—and that is why I committed 20 years of my life to law enforcement,” he said, adding: “I am more than willing to help with any investigation.”

Of the few who have responded, only Queens State Sen. Jose Peralta appeared to acknowledge the possibility that he was the subject of an investigation--but said he believed his name would be cleared in the end.

“I am confident that the authorities will find, if they have not already done so, that I have engaged in no wrongdoing whatsoever," his campaign spokesman said in a statement, issued nearly three hours after the release.

In a statement, a spokesman for Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who once indicted Ms. Huntley, also tried to distance himself from Mr. Lowe, one of the two non-electeds named.

“Throughout his career, Attorney General Schneiderman has demonstrated a commitment to rooting out political corruption. He was the first prosecutor to indict Shirley Huntley last summer," he said in a statement. "Shirley Huntley’s reference to him in her sentencing statement appears to be an attempt at retaliation against Attorney General Schneiderman, who has never hired Melvin Lowe or used his services. He will continue to use every tool at his disposal to ensure New Yorkers have the open and honest government they deserve.”

A source in Mr. Schneiderman's office also pointed to work Mr. Lowe has done for other officials, adding: “The notion that Schneiderman had a business relationship with Lowe is ridiculous."

The senate office of Velmanette Montgomery still has yet to comment despite multiple inquiries. Mr. Smith and Mr. Sampson have maintained their innocence.

Update (7:35 p.m.):

In a statement, State Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson said she was "perplexed" to learn that she had been included on the list and said she was confident her name would be cleared.

“Having devoted my entire life to public service, with integrity and purpose, I was perplexed to learn my name was mentioned in the sentencing memorandum submitted by counsel for Shirley Huntley," she said.  "To be sure, Shirley Huntley invited me to lunch in 2012. We met and spoke, in general, about matters including our health and our families. At no time--past or present--did we discuss anything inappropriate, improper or illegal. My record is above reproach. I am certain, as are my colleagues and my constituents, that the government's investigation has already cleared my name and affirmed my credibility."

Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. (Photo John Moore/Getty Images)

In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday the country’s interpretation of the Constitution will “have to change” to allow for greater security to stave off future attacks.

“The people who are worried about privacy have a legitimate worry,” Mr. Bloomberg said during a press conference in Midtown. “But we live in a complex world where you’re going to have to have a level of security greater than you did back in the olden days, if you will. And our laws and our interpretation of the Constitution, I think, have to change.”

Mr. Bloomberg, who has come under fire for the N.Y.P.D.’s monitoring of Muslim communities and other aggressive tactics, said the rest of the country needs to learn from the attacks.

“Look, we live in a very dangerous world. We know there are people who want to take away our freedoms. New Yorkers probably know that as much if not more than anybody else after the terrible tragedy of 9/11,” he said.

“We have to understand that in the world going forward, we’re going to have more cameras and that kind of stuff. That’s good in some sense, but it’s different from what we are used to," he said.

The mayor pointed to the gun debate and noted the courts have allowed for increasingly stringent regulations in response to ever-more powerful weapons.

“Clearly the  Supreme Court has recognized that you have to have different interpretations of the Second Amendment and what it applies to and reasonable gun laws … Here we’re going to to have to live with reasonable levels of security,” he said, pointing to the use of magnetometers to catch weapons in city schools.

“It really says something bad about us that we have to do it. But our obligation first and foremost is to keep our kids safe in the schools; first and foremost, to keep you safe if you go to a sporting event; first and foremost is to keep you safe if you walk down the streets or go into our parks," he said. "We cannot let the terrorists put us in a situation where we can’t do those things. And the ways to do that is to provide what we think is an appropriate level of protection."

Still, Mr. Bloomberg argued the attacks shouldn't be used as an excuse to persecute certain religions or groups.

“What we cant do is let the protection get in the way of us enjoying our freedoms," he said.  "You still want to let people practice their religion, no matter what that religion is. And I think one of the great dangers here is going and categorizing anybody from one religion as a terrorist. That’s not true … That would let the terrorists win. That’s what they want us to do.”

Governor Cuomo speaking at the press conference.

After a series of New York officials were arrested and charged with corruption last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo says he has the solution--or at least the first step. Accordingly, at press conference earlier this afternoon, Mr. Cuomo unveiled a legislative package aimed at curbing the problem.

"Over the past few days, there have been several charges brought against public officials; they span city and state government," he began. "And they paint a truly ugly picture of our political landscape. I'd like to say that this is an unprecedented situation, that public corruption is a new problem. But it isn't and, in many ways, that's what makes it worse."

Mr. Cuomo's bill, "The Public Trust Act," mostly focuses on law-and-order deterrence, including loosening the legal standards necessary to prove bribery, toughening the penalty for those convicted and criminalizing failure to report bribery. Additionally, he is pushing to give state prosecutors the ability to prosecute grand jury witnesses if evidence--independent of their testimony--emerges of criminal wrongdoing.

Of course, there is no way to completely eliminate corruption from government, as Dean Skelos, the leader of the State Senate's Republican conference, pointed out in statement reacting to Mr. Cuomo's announcement. Mr. Skelos vowed to take action but declared "no legislation can prevent someone from committing a corrupt act."

For his part, Mr. Cuomo agreed, and reiterated several times that official misconduct is inevitable.

"There has been a long list of public officials who get into trouble--by the way, not just in this state, but in every state across the country," he said at one point. "You have a bad combination of chemicals. You have power, you have money, you have ambition, you have greed. You put all those chemicals in one test tube, you shake it up and bad things happen."

Additional reporting by Ross Barkan.

A photo of Senator Smith meeting Bronx GOP Chair Savino when Politicker staked-out a steakhouse last year.

Two of the most colorful characters in New York City politics, Democratic State Senator Malcolm Smith and GOP Councilman Dan Halloran, were arrested earlier this morning, according to multiple news outlets. They were among six people reportedly charged, including Bronx GOP chair Jay Savino and Queens GOP vice-chair Vince Tabone, in an alleged bribery plot to secure Mr. Smith a slot to run in the Republican mayoral primary.

Mr. Halloran is known for many things in city politics, including his outspoken embrace of libertarian philosophy, disputed reports of an intentional snowplow slowdown after 2010's infamous blizzard, and his pagan religion. Meanwhile, Mr. Smith might be best known for his zoot suits complete with suspenders and pinstripes, picking strange political battles like a press conference denouncing the rapper Dwayne "Lil Wayne" Carter, and his somewhat surprising decision to seek City Hall's top job on the other side of the partisan aisle without actually changing his voter registration. He would have needed the support of three GOP county leaders to do so, which federal prosecutors are alleging is at the heart of today's case.

“I have no idea,” Mr. Halloran, wearing handcuffs, told a New York Post reporter when asked if he knew why he was being arrested. “I’m sure the truth will come out once I have an opportunity to find out what’s going on.”

A lawyer for Mr. Smith told The New York Times that his client is innocent of any wrongdoing. “Malcolm Smith is a dedicated and highly respected public servant and he steadfastly denies these charges,” he argued, adding that he would have more to say after the charges are unsealed later this morning.

Mr. Tabone is also a key ally of another GOP mayoral contender, John Catsimatidis.

View the complaint below:

Eric Schneiderman (Photo: Facebook)

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman took to the airwaves today to denounce the Defense of Marriage Act on legal grounds, arguing that it will be ruled unconstitutional because it "discriminates" against New York State's recognition of same-sex marriages. The high-profile case is set to go before the Supreme Court later this week.

"This is something that, without getting too far into the merits of the case, I think the Supreme Court will strike down," Mr. Schneiderman said this morning on The Brian Lehrer Show. "This is an overreach by the federal government, this is inconsistent with our federalist system and I think this one will definitely fall." 

DOMA, which stipulates that marriage is a legal union between one man and one woman, permits states that have outlawed same-sex marriage to disregard same-sex marriages in other states where they are legal, like New York. Several federal appeals courts have ruled DOMA unconstitutional already and the Obama Administration has asked the Supreme Court to declare a crucial part of DOMA unconstitutional.

Mr. Schneiderman, who filed an amicus brief in support of the case--United States vs. Windsor--further contended that it's "a fairly straight forward case" for the court to evaluate and rule upon.

"[DOMA] discriminates against the states that recognize same sex marriage because it says not only the federal government doesn't have to respect our marriages and provide married couples from New York with all the benefits that every other type of marriage gets; it also says that other states don't necessarily have to respect our marriages," Mr. Schneiderman said. "This really runs against hundreds of years of jurisprudence in which the United States government, Congress, kept its hands out of domestic relations matters and that have always traditionally been a matter for the states. The DOMA case is a fairly straight forward case. It's a matter of overreaching by Congress and overreaching by the federal government into an area that should be committed to the states."

Veda Jamoona's mugshot

On Monday, three individuals were arrested and accused of stealing more than $50,000 from a lunch program for senior citizens, including Veda Jamoona, a staffer in Comptroller John Liu's government office. In the wake of her arrest, a spokesperson for Mr. Liu said Ms. Jamoona has been suspended without pay "until further notice."

“We have been informed by the NYC Dept. of Investigation that Ms. Veda Jamoona was arrested yesterday morning for conduct unrelated to her employment at the Comptroller’s office," the spokesperson said in a statement. "Ms. Jamoona has been suspended without pay until further notice. Veda Jamoona has been employed since Jan. 17, 2012 as a public affairs associate at the annual salary of $55,000.”

Ms. Jamoona is not the only Liu staffer dealing with legal woes. In a completely unrelated matter, Jenny Hou, the former treasurer of Mr. Liu's still-unannounced mayoral campaign, was arrested and charged with orchestrating a straw donor scheme in February of last year. Ms. Hou pleaded innocent and her trial is ongoing.

The charges in question against Ms. Jamoona involve "a kickback arrangement" where the owner of Sonny's Roti Shop would submit falsely inflated invoices for lunches served to senior citizens and then share the profits. The two other individuals accused of participating in the scheme are the shop's owner, Steven Rajkumar, and Ms. Jamoona's mother, Chan Jamoona.

"Defendant Veda Jamoona, defendant Chan Jamoona's daughter, served as an Executive Director of United Hindu Cultural Council ('UHCC') from in or around February 2007 to in or around August 2008," the indictment against her stated. "She was appointed to this position after her mother stepped down from the position of Executive Director (defendant Chan Jamoona was also UHCC's Founder). Defendant Veda Jamoona, along with the other defendants, participated in the scheme to steal money from the NYC Department for the Aging ('DFTA') by submitting false Contract Invoice and Service Reports to DFTA. These reports inflated the tally of lunches actually served to seniors at UHCC and incorporated inflated costs of the monthly bills purportedly issued by Sonny's Roti Shop (formerly Singh's Roti Shop), the caterer for the senior lunch program at UHCC."

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn announced the news yesterday in a statement that slammed the defendants' "personal greed."

“By stealing from the senior center lunch program, the defendants put personal greed ahead of the basic needs of New York seniors,” Mr. Schneiderman said. “When it comes to services vital for our seniors, we cannot accept fraud as a cost of doing business. My office will prosecute fraud in critical New York programs to the fullest extent of the law.”

Councilman Lew Fidler at the podium.

Kings County District Attorney Hynes has been battered by negative headlines in recent months, but a large host of elected officials and a packed crowd still stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him today for the formal announcement of his re-election campaign on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall.

"Joe, this is more than a political rally, this is a love-fest. It's really a love-fest between the residents of Brooklyn and you!" Borough President Marty Markowitz declared. "I hereby endorse this year of course, 2013, and 2017! And 2021!"

Whether or not Mr. Hynes makes it to 2021's election cycle remains to be seen, of course, but he certainly has a more difficult road ahead of him than he did in his last election where he ran unopposed. Mr. Hynes, currently serving his sixth term in office, faces two challengers this time around, Ken Thompson and Abe George, who both reported raising solid amounts of campaign funds in the latest filing.

Mr. Thompson, an African-American attorney who's been accumulating cash at the quickest clip, undoubtedly hopes to do well, particularly among Brooklyn's sizable black electorate. But Mr. Hynes' event today was clearly meant to be a show of force in that regard with a multiracial cast of elected officials, clergy and supporters heaping praise upon the incumbent. Additionally, late last night, Mr. Hynes' campaign rolled out the endorsement of the city's only African-American mayor.

Jonathan Yedin, a consultant at the Advance Group working on the Hynes campaign, directly pointed to Mr. Hynes' "diverse and expansive coalition" as evidence of his strength.

"D.A. Hynes' career has been defined by his commitment to improving the quality of life of all Brooklynites," he told Politicker. "As shown by the overwhelming display at today's announcement, D.A. Hynes' distinguished record of service to communities across Brooklyn has afforded him a diverse and expansive coalition of support for his many innovations to the way law enforcement is handled in Brooklyn."

For his part, Mr. Hynes also pointed to the crowd's diversity while reading a speech laden with statistics touting crime reduction and a host of initiatives he's launched during his tenure. He finished by citing a desire to accomplish more as the raison d'être for his campaign.

"I was privileged to become district attorney of this county in 1990. We were in the midst of a crack cocaine-driven crime wave," he said. "There was 765 murders in 1990. There was 792 murders in 1991. One out of every fifteen Brooklynites was the victim of a serious crime. Not only was Brooklyn prepared to be the murder capital of the world, we were beginning to feel we were the crime capital of the world. Last year, we recorded 149 murders, the lowest number since 1960. ... But we're not done, not by a long-shot. That's why I come here today to formally announce my candidacy for reelection."

John Liu. (Photo: Facebook)

The federal case against Comptroller John Liu's fundraising operation has hit a rather intriguing snag.

Oliver Pan, the donor accused of breaking campaign finance laws on Mr. Liu's behalf, was "involuntarily committed with a mental health condition," according to Judge Richard Sullivan, who's overseeing the case. He did not elaborate on the specifics, outside of saying it's unclear when (or if) he will recover.

Thus, at today's pre-trial hearing, Mr. Sullivan established a date--this Friday, at noon--that medical professionals treating Mr. Pan need to report on his status. The judge further set April 15th as the "backup" date for the trial to begin, should Mr. Pan not promptly regain his health.

At a previous hearing, Mr. Pan's lawyers said he had been severely traumatized by the case, although without giving many additional details as to Mr. Pan's condition. It's impossible to tell if his current situation is related to stress from the charges.

However, it's not just Mr. Pan on trial. Jenny Hou, Mr. Liu's former campaign treasurer, is also accused with setting up phony straw donors to benefit Mr. Liu's still-undeclared mayoral campaign. Should Mr. Pan be found unfit to stand trial, it's possible her case would be severed and moved forward on its own. Ms. Hou's attorneys had unsuccessfully asked for their cases to be separated back in November, but federal prosecutors are pushing for the joint trial to continue.

Mr. Sullivan described April 15th as a "firm" date and estimated the trial will last two weeks. Ms. Hou's lawyer, Gerald Lefcourt, estimated two to three weeks.

The ruling is a mixed electoral blessing for Mr. Liu. If Mr. Pan is found to have serious mental issues, the public may not judge Mr. Liu as harshly. On the other hand, with a September primary likely, Mr. Liu undoubtedly would like the case to be over and done with as soon as possible.

(Photo: Facebook)

Councilman Larry Seabrook, who was convicted last July on 9 counts of wire and fraud charges, was sentenced in federal court today to 5 years in prison. Upon his conviction, Mr. Seabrook was immediately expelled from the legislative chamber.

"Councilman Larry Seabrook sacrificed the public trust on the altar of greed," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement. "He was a flagrant and serial abuser of City Council discretionary funds in a far too familiar New York tale of corruption," Mr. Bharara said of Mr. Seabrook. "Today’s sentence finally vindicates the interests of the constituents whose trust he so casually violated by his fraud. We remain committed to making those who are corrupted by power pay the price, and the public can expect more arrests of politicians who have not learned this lesson.”

The evidence against Mr. Seabrook infamously included a receipt for a $7 bagel sandwich that prosecutors said had been doctored to put the cost at $177, enabling him to earn a profit off of the reimbursement.

Additionally, Mr. Seabrook was ordered to pay more than $619,000 in restitution to New York City and to forfeit another $418, 000. He was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment fee.

View the full sentencing statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York below:

Morgan Gliedman (Photo: Facebook)

Occupy Wall Street doesn't want to be associated with the young West Village couple who were allegedly busted over the weekend with a houseful of explosives, weapons and a bomb-making guide. Morgan Gliedman, 27, and Aaron Greene, 31, were arrested Saturday after police reportedly found seven grams of highly explosive HMTD powder, a flare launcher, a shotgun, ammo, rifle magazines and instructions on making bombs, including a printout entitled "The Terrorist Encyclopedia," at their home. An early report from the New York Post identified Mr. Greene as an "Occupy Wall Street activist," but this afternoon the movement's public relations arm said there is no evidence to support links between Mr. Greene and Occupy.

"There is nothing in the news stories to support a link between OWS and the individual arrested; his name is unfamiliar to many OWS activists," the statement posted on the Occupy Wall Street Press Relations Working Group page said. "A very large number of people came through Zuccotti Park, and there are countless Occupy-related groups nationwide, so it is very difficult to ascertain if one person participated in anything related to OWS."

The Occupy Wall Street statement on the arrest of the young bombers described attempts to link the movement to the incident as part of an ongoing police smear campaign.

"Since its beginnings in September 2011, Occupy Wall Street has vigorously used its Constitutional rights to protest Wall Street greed, and is firmly committed to non-violence," said the statement. "Nonetheless, Occupy has been subjected to extensive surveillance and repression, and the NYPD takes every opportunity to link OWS to crime."

Back in July, Occupy Wall Street was publicly linked to a 2004 murder case after unnamed sources said DNA from the scene of the brutal killing of Juilliard student Sarah Fox matched a chain protesters used to hold open the entrance of a subway station to give free rides. The link was soon chalked up to a "laboratory error."

According to the Post, Mr. Greene was also a Harvard alum who also did graduate work at the university's Kennedy School of Government. Mr. Greene reportedly had "five prior run-ins with the police" on charges including assault and weapons possession.

Despite Mr. Greene's troubles with the law cops reportedly arrived at the couple's West Ninth Street home because Ms. Gliedman was wanted for credit card theft. The house is just two blocks from the street where three young activists affiliated with the Weathermen died in 1970 when a bomb exploded in their makeshift townhouse lab.

Politicker hasn't found any public materials linking either Mr. Greene or Ms. Gliebman to Occupy Wall Street. As of this writing, the NYPD has not responded to a request for comment about the couple's connection to the group.

More is known about the background of Ms. Gliedman, who is reportedly nine months pregnant, than the history of her male companion. Her father is Dr. Paul Gliedman, the director of radiation oncology at the Brooklyn Division of Beth Israel Hospital, and her mother is a real estate agent, Susyn Schops Gliedman. Ms. Gliedman graduated from Dalton in 2002. According to a Facebook page for "Morgan Gliedman" that was recently deleted, she went on to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A "Morgan Rose Gliedman" wrote for a monthly journal at that school, F Newsmagazine, in 2009. That January, she penned a piece for the paper with tips for "enjoying life as a starving artist."