John Haggerty Convicted in NY Ballot Security Scam

HAGGERTY TRIAL

• After Conviction, Haggerty Posts Bail (WALL STREET JOURNAL/ Metropolis, By Michael Howard Saul) The judge said he was unconvinced the e-mail about the Irish passport was a joke and lashed out at Haggerty for misrepresenting himself on his passport application. On the application, Haggerty was asked to list an emergency-contact person; he listed a friend and incorrectly described that person as his uncle.
• Jury Convicts Consultant of Stealing Campaign Money From Bloomberg (By JOHN ELIGON, NY Times) The jury determined that although Mr. Bloomberg had lost legal control of the money, the party was technically acting as the mayor’s agent, authorized to spend the money on his behalf, one juror, Mr. Conroy, said. So it was the party that was duped, Mr. Conroy said, because its leaders gave money to Mr. Haggerty that he said he would use for ballot security, but did not. Asked about Mr. Conroy’s suggestion that the Independence Party was an agent of the mayor, Mr. Vacco laughed. 
• Consultant convicted of stealing from mayor Bloomberg (By Joseph Ax, Reuters) Several jurors told Reuters it was actually the money trail that caused them to convict, citing two instances in which Haggerty received payments of $83,000 and $50,000 from the Independence Party for alleged Election Day expenses, only to wire the money that same day as payments on the house.
• 'Volunteer' day: What is the meaning of Haggerty's guilt, and Bloomberg's independence? (BY HARRY SIEGEL, Capital New York) The Independence Party, which has traditionally profited from the confusion of actually “independent” or unaffiliated voters, still has about $100,000 of Bloomberg’s stolen “gift” that it’s never been asked to return, the defense noted. (Presumably, that loose change was the "wash in" that Haggerty referred to in an email to then-deputy mayor Sheekey discussing the transfer). For years, Bloomberg also funneled campaign and “charitable” money to the New York City branch of the party controlled by Lenora Fulani, the lunatic longtime acolyte of recently deceased psychiatrist-cultist Fred Newman. The pair dominated the city party until 2006, and Fulani continues to control its Manhattan branch. Their rented party line proved crucial to Bloomberg’s tight wins in both 2001 and 2009.

Mayor Bloomberg Testifies in Political Operative John Haggerty Trial Over Ballot Security Operation Payment

HAGGERTY TRIAL

• NYC mayor testifies in trial of political operative (By Hussein Saddique, CNN) "I understood that if anyone was denied access to the ballots, that a trained lawyer was to be there to help that individual," Bloomberg told the court when asked to describe the "ballot security" operation.
• Bloomberg Testifies in Political Operative’s Trial (By Michael Howard Saul, Wall Street Journal/ Metropolis) “I did not view it as a campaign expenditure,” the mayor testified, explaining why the campaign did not include this financial transaction on its public disclosure reports. The mayor said the money for the ballot security operation was intended to benefit all candidates running on the Independence Party line.
• Bloomberg Testifies in Consultant’s Trial (By THE NEW YORK TIMES/ City Room) Throughout the cross-examination, Mr. Castello repeatedly tried to suggest that what Mr. Bloomberg described as an agreement to provide ballot security was something much more nebulous: a political donation that he could not exert further control over.
• NYC mayor endures hours of cross-examination; ex-operative accused of bilking him out of $1M (By Associated Press, Washington Post) “Until you had all the documentation, nobody in their right mind would send a check,” said the businessman-turned-politician, who told jurors the lost money mattered to him: “We could have done a lot of good in society” with it, he said. “It’s a lot of money.”