But as Mr. Cuomo gets heat from the left, Eric Schniederman, his sucessor as attorney general, has been actively courting organized labor.

Yesterday, Mr. Schneiderman delivered an address at the annual New York State Pipe Trades convention in  Lake George, and in it he praised labor for their role in reducing inequality in this country and slammed those pols who say they support unions at election time but turn their backs afterwards.

"A lot of folks--and a lot of elected officials who get significant help from unions--seem to forget that the labor movement built the American middle class," Mr. Schneiderman said. "Thanks to you, Americans saw decades of broadly shared prosperity that reached far beyond just union members; access to home ownership; affordable health care; secure retirements for millions and millions of Americans; the most important parts of our safety net, like unemployment insurance and social security. And protections for all workers--like minimum wage, overtime, and prevailing wage laws."

Mr. Cuomo, you may recall, has not yet decided whether or not to support a minimum wage increase. And, allies of Mr. Schneiderman point to his recent push to bring criminal charges against those who violate labor laws, a stark contrast to any of predecessors in office, who only charged those who violated labor laws with civil charges.

To the pipe fitters, Mr. Schneiderman urged them to take to the streets to keep up the fight for labor.

"I believe that this year--2012--is the year the American people rise up and reject the attacks and workers and the dismantling of the social safety net. And I believe that this is the year when we reignite a movement for a more progressive politics and return to the truly American operating principle of shared prosperity, not simply personal gain."

Mr. Schneiderman has been treating the AG's office in many ways as an example for how liberal and progressive politics can succeed during a conservative era.  A year ago, I wrote about how his tenure was serving as a rebuke to some of the centrist tendencies to the administration in Washington.

In his defense, Mr. Cuomo has often called himself "a progressive who is broke," and said that the recession and the state's precarious budget situation has curbed some of his tendencies to increase spending or raise the minimum wage.

Excerpts of Mr. Schneiderman's speech, obtained from his office, are below:

Good morning brothers and sisters. I’m New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today.

I can see by looking out at the crowd that you’ve gathered a distinguished group, including your president, Michael McNally, secretary treasurer, Robert Ambrosetti, international representative James Cahill, and your former president, Larry Bulman. Larry was a very big supporter of mine when I ran for attorney general in 2010. I will never forget the early and enthusiastic support I received from Larry, and from your membership across the state. I thank you for that, and it’s great to see so many familiar faces again here this morning.

What you did for me is a small part of the incredible contribution that all of the union members and leaders who are here this morning make every day. You are the ones on the front line every day fighting to get hard-working families their fair share of the pie--from fighting to get a project labor agreement for the reconstruction of the Tappan Zee Bridge, to working to prevent employers from skirting prevailing wage laws by misclassifying workers.

Today, I'd like to talk about what we've accomplished together, and what's at stake this year for working families in New York and across America.

A lot of folks--and a lot of elected officials who get significant help from unions--seem to forget that the labor movement built the American middle class. Thanks to you, Americans saw decades of broadly shared prosperity that reached far beyond just union members; access to home ownership; affordable health care; secure retirements for millions and millions of Americans; the most important parts of our safety net, like unemployment insurance and social security.

And protections for all workers--like minimum wage, overtime, and prevailing wage laws.

These wage and hour laws are the same laws that enable the labor bureau in my office to do the work it does everyday protecting New York’s workers. Our labor bureau has significantly expanded wage and hour cases. We're going after companies that seek to get an unfair advantage over businesses that play by the rules by refusing to pay prevailing wages, minimum wages or honor project labor agreements—and we’re pursuing both civil and criminal cases.

In just one example, we recently secured a sentence of four months in jail, and $800,000 in restitution for workers, from a contractor who failed to pay prevailing wage. He falsely reported that he was complying with the law, when he was actually lining his own pockets with ill gotten gains.

None of these broader gains --or the laws that allow us to bring these types of cases--would have been possible without a strong labor movement.

Union organizing is an absolutely essential tool in the struggle against inequality. It gives working people a democratic voice in the economy so that millions of families aren’t left at the mercy of whatever corporate or government policy maximizes short term profit.

We are in unprecedented fights for corporate accountability to make sure that big corporations can’t get away with bringing down standards and exploiting workers, from the construction industry, to health care, to manufacturing, where you and your brothers and sisters across the labor movement have worked so long to raise them.

Strong unions give working people the power to demand their fair share of the pie. Without them, we go back to the days of the robber barons.

That belief system allowed for the relentless attack on workers in recent decades; and it’s the same belief system that encouraged disastrous deregulation in the mortgage market and the financial sector over the same time period. That, in turn, allowed for the recklessness and misconduct that caused the housing bubble and the crash / making some people enormously wealthy / while everyone else, including millions of union members,  were left to suffer the consequences.

Brothers and sisters, we cannot let them rewrite history. We have to tell the truth about who blew up the American economy and how they did it. If we don't, they will do it again.

Ladies and gentleman, there is no natural force that favors inequality. There is no divinely established order that favors the astounding wealth and widespread inequality we face today.

I have read exodus. “thou shalt not bargain collectively” is not one of the ten commandments.

In Leviticus we are admonished to refrain from many types of conduct. We are told not to eat shrimp, but it doesn't say we should refrain from regulating financial derivatives or ban secondary boycotts.

We have to expose the fallacy that rising inequality and declining power for working people are somehow natural. We have to stick together—public and private, organized and unorganized—to fight the inequality agenda every step of the way.

Together we can do great things. Together we can make sure all Americans have a fair shot. Together we can make sure everybody does their fair share. Together we can ensure that everyone plays by one set of rules.

I believe that this year--2012--is the year the American people rise up and reject the attacks and workers and the dismantling of the social safety net. And I believe that this is the year when we reignite a movement for a more progressive politics and return to the truly American operating principle of shared prosperity, not simply personal gain.

So thank you for inviting me to join you this week.

Thank you again for all that you do to advance the interests of working people. You make New York a more just, equitable and prosperous state for all of us. And I look forward to working even more closely together in the coming months and years.

Thank you.

“For years, states have been enacting and enforcing laws regulating corporate spending in state and local political campaigns. Applying the Citizens United decision to state and local elections would undermine the principle of accountability, and erode residents’ rights to participate in the electoral process,” Mr. Schneiderman said. “For the integrity of our democracy, it would be a grave mistake for the Court to automatically strike down state campaign finance laws.”

The case before the Supreme Court, American Tradition Partnership v. Bullock, centers around the right of states to write their own campaign finance laws. A state court recently found that Montana's law was constitutional, while Americans Traditions Partnership, a conservative advocacy organization, argues that state bans unfairly restrict the ability of corporations to engage in the political process that also affects them.

According to Mr. Schneiderman's office, their coalition rejects this position, arguing the states have a compelling interest in regulating corporate spending in state and local elections, and noting that unlimited spending could have a far greater impact in relatively low-cost state races.

Joining New York on the friend-of-the-court brief are Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia.

“The Court should reexamine the assertion in Citizens United that independent expenditures, no matter their size or circumstances, rarely cause corruption or the appearance of corruption of federal officeholders, as well as the holding that the federal law at issue in that case could not be supported, in whole or in part, by government interests in preventing distortion of political campaigns and protecting shareholders from the use of corporate funds for political communications they do not support," the brief states.

It has been in many respects a banner year for the rookie AG, with laudatory profiles in a number of national newsmagazines, mostly for something that gets buried in his year-end report--Mr. Schneiderman's unwillingness to go along with the 50-state mortgage settlement in order to get to the root of the financial crisis, much to the consternation of the Obama White House.

Full report is below:

Public Integrity and Taxpayer Protection

- Launched a unique and much-needed Taxpayer Protection Bureau – designed to go after corruption in state contracts, pension fund rip-offs, and large-scale tax cheats – as part of an aggressive plan to root out fraud and return money illegal stolen from New York taxpayers at no additional cost to the state.

- Secured many major Medicaid fraud recoveries, including a record-setting settlement that required Young Adult Institute, the state's largest residential service provider, to pay $18 million in damages.

- Secured over 75 convictions of individuals who defrauded the Medicaid system in New York State, as well as in patient abuse and neglect cases.

- Appointed public integrity officers to serve in each of the Attorney General's regional offices across the state to give taxpayers a place to go to report complaints of government corruption without fear of local politics influencing the outcome.

- Initiated a groundbreaking effort to crackdown on waste and corruption in earmarks, contracts, and other government spending through cooperation with Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

- Brought charges against a former employee of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance who was preying on Spanish-speaking New Yorkers to pocket thousands in taxpayer dollars.

- Exposed a nonprofit set up by a state Senator that funneled member item funds to those associated with it. Four individuals allegedly participating in the scheme have been indicted, including the senator’s aide and an individual who shares a residence with the senator. The investigation was part of a groundbreaking public integrity initiative between the Offices of the Attorney General and State Comptroller.

- In the administration's first False Claims Act case, secured a $16 million settlement with a food service provider for illegally overcharging school districts and other education providers.

- Closed the “Helmsley Loophole” that let tax evaders off the hook. The Attorney General’s program bill, which was signed into law by Governor Cuomo, amends a law that prohibited the state from prosecuting income tax cheats who have been previously prosecuted in federal court for the “same criminal transactions” even if the crimes are distinct.

- Announced the indictment and arrest of the former Town Clerk of Cape Vincent, for stealing up to $50,000 from the town. Jeri Mason was charged with Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, Defrauding the Government, and Official Misconduct.

- Pressed the President and CEO of the New York Power Authority regarding questionable charitable contributions made by NYPA that did not directly relate to the authority’s powers, duties, or purposes in violation of a formal legal opinion previously issued by the Attorney General’s office. The Attorney General advised Richard Kessel to stop making such contributions or explain why he believed such contributions were proper.

Keeping Streets Safe and Communities Strong

In 2011, Attorney General Schneiderman’s Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) brought a number of prosecutions against gang members, major drug traffickers, and other members of organized crime. These prosecutions included:

- Operation Pipeline: 37 individuals were charged with participating in a major drug distribution network that was funneling cocaine from New York City, Georgia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania throughout the Capital Region and elsewhere in New York.

- Operation Bloodtrail: 41 members and associates of the violent “Bloods” street gang were charged in three separate indictments for operating a narcotics distribution ring that sold cocaine, heroin, marijuana and guns throughout the Capital Region and elsewhere in New York. During the investigation, law enforcement seized substantial quantities of controlled substances. In 2011, 11 defendants pled guilty and two were convicted after trial. Trial defendants were sentenced to lengthy prison sentences, well exceeding life terms: one received a total of 170 years; the other was sentenced to a total of 141 years. Additionally, 27 defendants were sentenced, six are awaiting trial and two are awaiting sentencing.

- Operation Horse Trail: In the largest heroin bust in Buffalo history, 15 individuals were charged with running a heroin distribution network in which the traffickers moved their product from the Bronx and funneled it to Buffalo.

- Operation Shamrock: The Attorney General obtained an indictment against 10 individuals for operating a prescription drug and cocaine distribution ring on Buffalo city streets. The investigation focused on the sale and resale of prescription painkillers.

- Operation Snowbird: Announced the arrests of 28 individuals charged with conspiring in a massive drug distribution network that transported cocaine from Florida and New York City to be sold throughout Western New York. The Attorney General office’s seized more than $2.7 million worth of cocaine and $700,000 in cash, and arrested the defendants in a series of raids.

- Operation Beemer: The Attorney General obtained an indictment against 23 individuals accused of operating a drug distribution network that sent cocaine through the United States Postal Service (USPS) from Puerto Rico to various locations in Erie and Niagara Counties for distribution in communities throughout Western New York.

- Operation Rockwell and Operation Re-Do: Announced charges against 38 individuals for their connection to two drug networks responsible for distributing cocaine throughout Central New York. The arrests and seizure of more than $200,000 in cocaine has helped to shut down a drug pipeline running from Georgia to New York City to Syracuse and Auburn for sale throughout the region.

- Collectively, OCTF investigated numerous narcotics networks operated in Cayuga, Monroe and other counties in the Syracuse area, and over the course of the year brought indictments against more than 60 traffickers, seized numerous kilograms of controlled substances and seized more than $700,000 in cash.

- Operation Flatrate: The Attorney General obtained five separate indictments against 37 individuals on charges stemming from the operation of lucrative loan sharking and gambling activities closely controlled by the Gambino crime family.

- Operation Car Wars: The Attorney General obtained an indictment against 21 individuals in a takedown of an extensive automobile theft and resale ring that stole hundreds of cars worth more than $10 million.

In addition, in other actions to keep New York’s communities safer and stronger, Attorney General Schneiderman:

- Unveiled the “Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing Act” that would provide health care practitioners and pharmacists with centralized information to avoid over-prescribing, help shut down prescription drug trafficking, as well as identify and treat patients who seek to abuse prescription drugs

- Conducted an undercover investigation and busted 10 gun sellers from across New York State who jeopardized the public’s safety by violating the state's background check requirement for the sale of firearms at gun shows.

- Following the announcement of the undercover investigation, the Attorney General joined Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in introducing the Gun Trafficking Prevention Act of 2011, a federal measure that will crack down on corrupt gun dealers and eliminate the steady flow of illegal guns into New York.

- Fought against the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act, which would force states like New York to abandon their own gun laws by allowing out-of-state visitors to carry concealed firearms based on their home state's less safe laws, rather than those of the state they are entering.

- Won the conviction of a Bronx resident who forged more than 250 prescriptions for narcotics, including addictive painkillers like OxyContin and Roxicodone. The counterfeit prescriptions – created on paper stolen from New York City-area hospitals – were filled in 20 counties throughout New York State and resulted in the illegal distribution of $200,000 in controlled, addictive substances. At the time of her arrest in March, the offender possessed enough prescription paper to create an additional 1,500 prescriptions.

- Won a major court victory in defense of New York’s gun safety laws and upheld the constitutionality of the state’s handgun licensing statute.

- Announced the arrest of four New York City motor vehicle inspectors who issued more than 7,000 fraudulent inspection certificates to untested vehicles. Each defendant was charged with numerous felony counts for violations of New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, Penal Law and Environmental Law, which could carry millions of dollars in fines and years in prison.

Economic Justice and Consumer Protection

- Protected homeowners as a national leader by fighting for a fair 50-state mortgage settlement that holds banks accountable, brings meaningful relief to New Yorkers and gets the economy moving again.

- Secured a $3.5 million settlement with a financing company that defrauded soldiers from Fort Drum with inflated prices, high hidden fees and exorbitant interest rates for consumer electronics. The settlement will result in hundreds of soldiers being relieved of their financial debt.

-Filed a lawsuit against the Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) for defrauding clients in foreign currency exchange transactions, seeking recovery of nearly $2 Billion.

- Secured a $553 million multi-state settlement with seven major technology corporations alleged to have illegally conspired to artificially inflate prices for liquid crystal display (LCD) screens used in televisions, computer monitors, and laptops. New York State taxpayers may receive upwards of $11 million, in addition to restitution to compensate consumers affected by the scheme.

- Issued a resource guide for veterans and active duty military personnel with information related to educational and housing benefits, as well as consumer protections and other legal issues.

- Secured a $1.3 million settlement with Bank of New York Mellon, in conjunction with the states of Texas and Florida, for manipulative trading of auction rate securities. A subsidiary of BNYM used an intermediary to submit bids that should have been barred as self-dealing transactions, artificially lowering the clearing prices of auctions and harming investors.

- Launched a comprehensive review on the rising cost of gasoline across New York State to compile data on prices being charged in these areas, and seek to determine the causes behind the recent increases where prices have soared to more than $4 per gallon. Attorney General Schneiderman took enforcement action against two downstate stations that gouged customers amidst Tropical Storm Irene.

- Secured a $90.8 million settlement with UBS for fraudulent and anticompetitive conduct in its municipal bond derivative transactions. Of that amount, $63.3 million will go to a multistate restitution fund for governments and nonprofits that entered into municipal derivatives contracts with UBS between 2001 and 2004

- Protected constituents who would be economically harmed by the loss of the Buffalo Bills home games and the canceling of Jets and Giants training camps by investigating whether the National Football League lockout violated state antitrust laws.

- Announced a joint initiative with the State Comptroller to ensure that New Yorkers receive unpaid life insurance benefits.

- Launched a thorough review of AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile for potential anti-competitive impacts on consumers and businesses across New York State. The proposed merger would create the nation’s largest wireless company with a total of 130 million subscribers nationwide, opening the door to a near duopoly shared by the merged firm and Verizon. The Attorney General later joined the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit that led to the dissolution of the acquisition.

- Held statewide “office hours” in communities impacted by Hurricane Irene, assisting consumers with storm-related questions and concerns related to issues such as price gouging, insurance policies and delayed debt payments so that affected New Yorkers can get back on their feet.

- Reached a multi-million dollar agreement with Banco Espírito Santo S.A. (BES) to settle an investigation into the solicitation and sale by BES and its affiliates of securities to BES’s U.S. customers without registering itself or any of its affiliates as a securities broker-dealers or investment advisers, or any of their employees as salesmen, as required under New York’s Martin Act.

- Secured $58.75 million in restitution from Wachovia Bank and Wells Fargo Bank as part of an ongoing national investigation of alleged anticompetitive and fraudulent conduct in the municipal bond derivatives industry.

- Secured sentences ranging from 1 year in jail, to 3 ½ to 10 years in prison, and millions of dollars in fines and restitution for five individuals involved in a mortgage scam that preyed on homeowners in financial distress.

- Secured a $1.8 million settlement with the retail chain Michaels Stores, Inc. for engaging in deceptive advertising practices by misleading consumers into thinking they were receiving steep discounts over a two-year period. The company will change its advertising practices and contribute $1 million in art and craft supplies to public schools throughout New York State, in addition to $800,000 in civil penalties.

- Sued a company known as both C.P. International Security, Inc. (CP.I.) and Gateway Production Security, Inc., that tricked out-of-work consumers into paying for expensive security guard training courses with false promises of employment. The Attorney General’s office has already secured a temporary restraining order freezing any assets the company or owners may have, and temporarily barring them from advertising job openings or selling security guard training courses.

- Announced the takedown of an elaborate criminal network that set up bogus nursing schools throughout New York City and Long Island defrauded hundreds of students of more than $6 million. Eight individuals were arrested for their participation in the scam, and a total of eleven were charged in the indictment.

- Won a decision against Rector Street, LLC and Yair Levy, the developer of the Rector Square Condominium in Battery Park City, finding that they defrauded purchasers of approximately $7.4 million by failing to finance and maintain a legally-required reserve fund to ensure the health and safety of residents. The decision paves the way to recover $7.4 million in restitution for the residents a permanent bar Levy from offering securities for sale in New York State.

- Obtained a $2.2 million settlement with two energy companies, Columbia Utilities LLC and Columbia Utilities Power LLC, that used deceptive marketing tactics to mislead thousands of New Yorkers. In addition, Columbia will observe new restrictions on its marketing practices to prevent future fraud.

- Joined the U.S. Justice Department in filing an antitrust lawsuit challenging the planned acquisition by medical waste services giant, Stericycle, Inc. of its smaller rival, Healthcare Waste Solutions, Inc. (HWS). The acquisition would result in Stericycle controlling 90 percent of the medical waste business in the New York City metropolitan area and price increases for customers.

- Secured a $3.1 million settlement with the major pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, following allegations that it improperly marketed and promoted the antipsychotic drug Seroquel. The agreement is part of a record 37-state settlement totaling $68.5 million – the largest ever multi-state consumer protection-based pharmaceutical agreement.

- Secured a settlement that will refund $1.1 million to more than 5,000 New Yorkers across the state who were defrauded by a deceptive and harmful debt settlement company. Freedom Debt Relief misled debt-saddled consumers about the amount of money they would save and the services it would provide, while reaping large profits in up-front fees. The company will also pay $100,000 in penalties to the state.

- Called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to enact rules that would prevent unauthorized third-party charges on telephone bills or ‘cramming’ – a fraud that a recent U.S. Senate report found costs consumers upwards of $2 billion per year.

- Secured a $2.5 million dollar settlement with the pharmaceutical company Pharmacia Corporation for inflating the cost of drugs sold to state health programs.

- Announced the arrest in Puerto Rico of a fugitive who was wanted for scamming insurance companies out of millions of dollars. The Attorney General’s investigation revealed that Arthur Bogoraz defrauded no-fault insurance providers by using stolen identification information to set up medical practices, sent false bills to no-fault insurance companies, and then laundered more than $4.5 million in fraudulently filed claims.

- Secured $2.5 million for New York State in an agreement with the pharmaceutical manufacturer EMD Serono, Inc., to settle allegations the company caused false or fraudulent claims to be submitted to the Medicaid program. The multi-state settlement agreement totaled $44.3 million, and stems from an investigation into whether the company paid doctors, in part, so that they would prescribe the multiple sclerosis drug Rebif to patients.

Social Justice
Environmental Protection, Civil Rights, Health Care, Labor, Charities

- Led the fight for safety at Indian Point and other nuclear power facilities by challenging a decision by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that allowed the storage of high-level radioactive waste for at least 60 years after their closure without assessing the public and environmental impacts; calling on the NRC to include seismicity in the scope of review for the relicensing of Indian Point, and filing a petition to force Indian Point to comply with fire safety regulations.

- Sued the federal government for failing to commit to a full environmental review of the proposed regulations that would allow natural gas drilling – including the potentially harmful "hydrofracking" technique – in the Delaware River Basin which includes the New York City watershed.

- Cracked down on six website operators that illegally sold cigarettes to New York State residents, part of a disturbing trend that provides teens easy access to tobacco, and encourages a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in state revenues.

- Secured an agreement with the former General Motors Corporation that will dedicate $154 million to the environmental cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated sites in New York.

- Took action to protect the air New Yorkers breathe by filing a lawsuit against Pennsylvania power plant Homer City Station that is emitting dangerous sulfur dioxide in violation of the federal Clean Air Act. The Office of Attorney General led a coalition of attorneys general from Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and Massachusetts, against efforts in the U.S. House of Representatives to remove critical environmental regulations that protect New York communities from toxic pollution; and called on the EPA to protect New York's air by implementing a proposed rule that would slash the amount of air pollution currently allowed to cross state lines.

- Created the Leadership Committee for Nonprofit Revitalization, a task force charged with presenting a series of recommendations to the Attorney General to reduce the regulatory burdens and costs on nonprofits while strengthening nonprofit accountability.

- Launched the Religious Rights Initiative, a project of the Civil Rights Bureau that will address religious rights issues and enforce anti-discrimination laws. The Initiative targets faith-based discrimination and violations of religious rights through public education, outreach and law enforcement, including litigation.

- Released a fundraising report documenting how for-profit “telemarketers” pocket the bulk of contributions New Yorkers give to charities. According to Pennies for Charity, Where Your Money Goes: Telemarketing by Professional Fundraisers, in 2010, an average of just 36.9 cents of every charitable dollar raised by these professional telemarketing companies actually went to charity. The Attorney General also issued a guide for consumers planning on making charitable contributions with important information to ensure that donations go where intended.

- Filed papers defending core provisions of the Voting Rights Act against a constitutional challenge. The brief, filed jointly with Mississippi and California in the D.C. Circuit Court, argues that the court should reject efforts to strike down key parts of the law given the important role that the Voting Rights Act plays in protecting minority voters and preventing discrimination and disenfranchisement.

- Won an important legal victory upholding the state’s law that counts inmates in their home communities, rather than the districts where they are incarcerated, for the purpose of drawing legislative district lines. As a lawmaker, the Attorney General was the leading proponent of the 2010 legislation ending the practice of prison-based gerrymandering.

- Filed a lawsuit against “Coalition Against Breast Cancer,” a sham charity that fraudulently solicited $9.1 million from the public under the guise of fighting breast cancer, only to funnel the money to organization insiders and fundraisers. The Attorney General later secured two guilty pleas in connection with the bogus scheme.

- Challenged the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), arguing that the Act violates same-sex couples’ right to equal protection under the law as required by the U.S. Constitution. This legal action, which follows Attorney General Schneiderman’s pledge to join the court battle over DOMA, follows the historic enactment of the Marriage Equality Act of 2011.

- Filed a brief defending the federal health insurance reform law in court to protect Americans’ right to quality, affordable health care.

- Launched a joint initiative with the NYS Bar Association to match volunteer attorneys with nonprofit organizations in need of legal counsel. The innovative partnership called “Charity Corps” will help improve governance and legal compliance by assisting nonprofits that cannot afford legal counsel.

- Stopped the owner, management company, and rental agent of Shady Lane Apartments, a 444-unit residential apartment complex in Glenville from discriminating against families with children and African-Americans in the renting of apartments. The company is required to implement non-discriminatory rental procedures and policies, notify the public of its non-discrimination policy, require fair housing training for all rental agents, provide periodic reports to the Attorney General’s Office, and pay a $22,500 penalty.

- Secured an agreement with one of the nation's largest housing developers, Trammell Crow Residential, ensuring equal access to housing for people with disabilities.

- Shut down two fraudulent immigration service companies for targeting and defrauding Haitian nationals who were affected by the devastating January 2010 earthquake.

The seven corporations--Chi Mei Innolux Corporation, Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd., Epson Imaging Devices Corporation, HannStar Display Corporation, Hitachi Displays, Ltd., and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.-- agreed to pay $538 million to settle antitrust claims. According to Mr. Schneiderman's office, New York State taxpayers are entitled to receive upwards of $11 million in the settlement.

“This price-fixing scheme manipulated the playing field for businesses that abide by the rules, and left consumers to pay artificially higher costs for televisions, computers and other electronics,” Mr. Schneiderman said. “Protecting the integrity of the marketplace is the only way to ensure the best outcome for New York’s consumers. That is why my office will aggressively police anti-competitive practices and hold accountable those who violate the law.”

According to the complaint, the manufacturers of the LCD panels engineered a conspiracy to fix prices and sold into the state millions of LCD panels at the fixed price.

The new measure, his office says, will target faith-based discrimination and violations of religious rights through public education, outreach and law enforcement, including litigation.

“Our state’s rich history of religious diversity is founded on our nation's Bill of Rights and enshrined by laws that protect New Yorkers’ right to freely practice their faith,” Mr. Schneiderman said. “The Religious Rights Initiative will focus on violations of this fundamental freedom, ensure that religious rights are protected, and work with communities throughout the state to foster and promote religious tolerance.”

Mr. Schneiderman announced the launch of the Religious Rights Initiative in remarks before the Anti-Defamation League.

The new program will include public education and outreach campaign, crack down on violators and hope to increase the number of religious discrimination complaints.

The AG's office says that the number of religious discrimination claims filed with the federal government have more than doubled since 1997.

Mr. Schneiderman's refusal to accept a 50-state settlement negotiated by the  Department of Justice has infuriated even many of his Democratic allies, but the attorney general spoke to Ms. Maddow about the financial crisis in a way that pushed back against much of the Republican rhetoric over the past several years.

"This was a man-made crisis." he said. "It was created by regulatory neglect and greed And I assure you, without telling you any secrets of our investigation, we have not found a trace of evidence that a cop firefighter teacher or sanitation worker was responsible for blowing up the American economy."

He added, "We have to hold accountable the people who caused this disaster."

Mr. Schneiderman also defended President Obama's efforts to right the nation's housing crisis, even though Mr. Schneiderman was kicked off the group leading the negotiations with the major banks.

"It's challenging for the president because the Republicans in Congress have essentially openly declared they will do things that they know hurt the American people just to prevent him from getting a win," he said.

Finally, Mr. Schneiderman seemed to find common cause with the Occupy Wall Street protesters camped across the street from his office, even though he had previously made cautious statements about the demonstrations.

"A lot of folks look at the Occupy Wall Street and the other Occupations and think they are fringe characters," he said. "I hear the same sense that we don't have one set of rules for everyone anymore, that people are not held accountable for misconduct from every  average American you run into anywhere else," he said. "There is a sense that equal justice under law is no longer the rule for this country and we got to get that back."

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The complaint alleges that over a 10-year period, BNY Mellon consistently misrepresented to customers the rates it would give foreign currency transactions. Instead of providing the best interbank rates BNY Mellon allegedly gave the worst or nearly the worst rates of the trading day, making nearly$2 billion from these trades.

Among the victims, Mr. Schneiderman's office says, were the pension funds of New York City Employee Retirement System, the Teachers Retirement System of the City of New York, the New York City Police Pension Fund and the New York City Fire Department Pension Fund and the State University of New York.

This landmark case uncovered a fraud committed against both government and private pension funds,” Executive Deputy Attorney General Karla G. Sanchez said. “This office will continue to commit its full resources to hold those responsible accountable, seek restitution for the victims, ensure that our markets are fair and transparent, and uphold one set of rules for all market participants.”

According to  a release from the AG's office, BNY Mellon  guaranteed customers that they would receive the “best rate of the day” or the “most competitive/attractive FX [foreign exchange] rates available to us" and claimed to monitor exchanges agents “to ensure that the best rate is attained for our clients."

Instead, the bank provided customers the worst or nearly the worst of the pricing rates available that day.

The case began when a whistleblower filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s office.

In the first, Politico's Ben Smith details some of the push back Schneiderman has received from his fellow AG's for refusing to go along with the 50-state settlement.

A private-sector figure closely involved in the talks between the Attorneys General and the banks, though, said the situation has not always been that simple. Miller and the other AGs, he said, were initially “thinking they were doing rough justice: Robo-signing was worth $5 billion. They’d take $15 billion on top plus some pretty progressive reforms, and then you get the market started again.”

“Either the dollar figure goes down or the release is fairly broad,” the person said. “The banks aren’t paying $20 billion for robo-signing.”

Miller says the servicing and foreclosure issues can raise the value of the settlement without preventing Schneiderman or other AGs from investigating the many other aspects of the crisis – issues that, he notes, are already the subject of extensive private securities litigation.

And he casts the settlement as a matter of urgency, one that appears to be shared by his allies in the Obama administration, though spokespeople for the Treasury and the Justice Departments declined to comment on the talks.

“Homeowners are in a very difficult situation right now,” Miller said. If the AGs, as Schneiderman and others have suggested, attach their cases to the lawsuits over securitization, the settlement could be delayed years.

“That’s not a good tradeoff, I don’t think,” he said.

In the second, Salon's Nina Burleigh darkly suggests that Wall Street types are conspiring with the New York Post to bring down the AG:

If, as he says, his time in the New York Assembly taught him that politics was "a contact sport," it was football. The Wall Street game is more extreme, Thai boxing, maybe. I asked him if he thought he had what it might take -- the starch, the fight and the clean trou with which to wade into battle. I asked, or rather told him, his fight was "dangerous."

"Well, we'll find out, won't we?" he shrugged.

As if responding on cue to that taunt, the New York Post reported two days later that one of Schneiderman's staff attorneys had been moonlighting as a dominatrix for hire under the name Alisha Sparks. In her day job, she had negotiated deals with errant bankers, by night she was allegedly taking money to whip submissive men into states of bliss. Schneiderman promptly put her on unpaid leave on the basis of the charge that she had broken the rule against outside employment. His press secretary assured me that Sparks hadn't come anywhere near the current ongoing investigation. But financial bloggers immediately smelled a rat and suggested the outing was just the beginning of a coordinated dirty war on Schneiderman's office as he turns up the heat with bank subpoenas.

"I think the banks are very scared," said Tom Adams, a former securities insurer who now writes about the banking industry fornakedcapitalism.com. Adams says he believes Schneiderman has no shortage of hurt and angry former Wall Street players willing to talk to him about what went down.