Politicians on two New York state ethics committees raked in nearly a quarter of a million dollars from companies controlled by Glenwood Management — the developer at the center of corruption trialꦡs that ended in convictions for two of Albany’s top power brokers.
More than $227,000 was doled out since 2012 to ethics “watchdogs,” who have served on the state Senate Ethics Committee, including $40,000 to state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Queens),🍒 $25,000 to Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) and $105,000 to Sen. Phil Boyle (R-LI), state campaign finance filings reviewed by The Post revealed.
Current members of the Senate committee who benef🅰ited from Glenwood’s largesse include Sens. Hugh Farley (R-Schenectady), Terrence Murphy (R-Westchester) and Thomas Croci (R-LI), state records show.
Assemblyman Michael Montesano (R-LI) is the only member of the Assembly Ethics Committe💜e who accepted money from a Glenwood-connected LLC, which gave him $250 in February 2012, campaign finance records show.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has taken in $1.2 million over the ye⛄ars from Glenwood, its officials and subsidiaries. And Mayor Bill de Blasio also received $20,200 from the firm and its interests, but recently promised to return some of the money and hand over the rest to the city Campaign Finance Board.
Campaign cash from limited liability corporations — Arwin 88th Street LLC, Columbus 60th Realty LLC and Briar Hill Realty LLC are but a few connected to Glenwood — is now the subject of intense scrutiny as good-government groups demand lawm🌳akers close loopholes that have allowed LLCs to make political contributions with so few constraints.
“If you serve in a position of trust for an ethics watchdog or committee, then you have to lead by example,” said John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany. “The ethical and righ🅺t thing to do would be to return the dirtꩲy LLC money.”
That call comes weeks after the convictions of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, who exchanged legislative action for fav🙈ors f🌄rom Glenwood or companies connected to it.
The convictions prompted lawmak🌌ers who benefited from the LLC cash to call for refor▨m.
More than 7 per꧒cent of the $508,000 Avella collected in the last three years came from Glenwood-linked LLCs.
The member of the breakaway Independent Democratic Caucus sent out a Dec. 11 press release in which the “longtime champion of ethics reform” calls for ♒“real solutions,” including the elimination of the LLC loophole.
“Albany will have a defining legislative session ahead of itself,” he said at the time. “Both the Skelos and Silver trials shed light on exactly the kind of quid-pro-quo environment that i🉐s endemic in Albany. It will be up to the Legislature to denounce the status quo.”
Avella, who testified at Skelos’ trial, did not respond to ca🎃lls. Gianaris declined to comment.
When asked about the $5,000 his campaign received from the Glenwood-connected Columbus 60th Real༒ty LLC, Farley said he would “look into it.”