DA says his office isn't staffed to investigate Golisano issue
Citing a lack of people and resources, District Attorney Frank J. Clark says he will not probe allegations of election law violations lodged by the Erie County Board of Elections against Buffalo Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano.
Clark emphasized he has not judged the merits of complaints brought by Republican Elections Commissioner Ralph M. Mohr and his Democratic counterpart, Dennis E. Ward. But he also said his experience in investigating a pending election law case involving former West Seneca Supervisor Paul T. Clark has convinced him that his office must pass on the case in view of the extensive investigation involved.
“We are not equipped to handle something like this,” Clark said. “I would have to have a staff of accountants, and I simply don’t have the resources to do it.”
Clark, who will retire Dec. 31, said the request for an investigation could still be handled by his successor, Frank A. Sedita III, should the incoming district attorney choose to pursue the case.
But Sedita said it would not be appropriate to comment on the Golisano situation or any other until he assumes office Jan. 1.
“There can be only one DA right now, and until Jan. 1, the DA is Frank J. Clark,” Sedita said.
Clark’s decision underscores what critics have long maintained about state election law — that even though the Legislature has passed tough laws to protect the integrity of the system, they are largely without teeth because few agencies are willing or able to enforce them.
Blair Horner, lobbyist for the New York Public Interest Research Group, called the laws “shredded with loopholes, unenforceable and unenforced.”
“They are designed by people who benefit from a weak system,” he said of the Legislature. “Albany does not want a sheriff walking this beat.”
Clark, meanwhile, acknowledged the irony of the state’s inability to even contemplate enforcing its election laws.
“If the state is really serious about cleaning up these problems, it should have a task force or some independent unit to do it,” he said.
In the Golisano case, Mohr accused the Rochester billionaire’s Responsible New York independent committee of illegally coordinating with three political action committees controlled by former Erie County Democratic Chairman G. Steven Pigeon in support of Joe Mesi, the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for State Senate.
The commissioner accused Pigeon, a Golisano confidant, of laundering thousands of dollars from Golisano’s political committee in an attempt to conceal the origin and circumvent contribution limits. He wrote to Clark and the district attorneys of Niagara, Monroe and Genesee counties seeking a criminal investigation of his charges.
Monroe County District Attorney Michael C. Green also cited staff limitations when he passed on investigating similar allegations raised after the September primary election by Jeremy C. Toth, a campaign aide to Assemblyman Sam Hoyt.
“The good news is that both the Monroe County and Erie County DAs did not close the door,” Toth said.
Mohr also has asked Golisano to answer questions — under oath — about his dealings with the committees controlled by Pigeon. If he doesn’t, Mohr said, he may issue a subpoena to compel his appearance before the board.
He said this week he still hopes his charges will be investigated.
“Certainly, we feel a number of egregious actions occurred,” Mohr said. “To allow that to go unchecked will only allow it to happen in the future.”
Golisano has denied any wrongdoing, calling Mohr’s allegations “politically motivated.” Pigeon, meanwhile, said Mohr and Ward “selectively” chose the relationship between Responsible New York and his political action committees because they were supporting Mesi in the hotly contested race against Republican Michael H. Ranzenhofer and its ramifications for control of the Senate.
“What they did was a publicity stunt in the midst of a hotly contested race — selectively looking at one election for political reasons,” Pigeon said. “There is nothing to pursue because we have followed the regulations as we were supposed to.”
And Laureen Oliver, the longtime Golisano confidante who served as chairwoman of the state Independence Party during his three runs for governor, said Responsible New York will pursue complaints it has lodged with the governor and state Board of Elections regarding Mohr and Ward.
“This is beyond their scope of authority,” she said. “This was strictly political. It was an abuse of power, and it continues to be an abuse of power.”
