Statement of George J. Marlin of Streetcornerconservative.com on Newsday LIPA exposé:

“I call on Attorney General Cuomo to launch an investigation of the shocking disclosure in today’s Newsday by Mark Harrington that LIPA’s prior administration led by Richie Kessel hid $6 billion in private expenditure for which Long Island’s already shell-shocked ratepayers will be responsible over the next 30 years. LIPA bills will be dramatically higher as a result of the amounts which were intentionally hidden from the public. I respectfully request that the AG also investigate whether applicable state and federal civil and criminal laws were complied with and whether the public and LIPA Board were given required disclosures. I also request that an independent forensic audit be conducted that would analyze LIPA’s books and records regarding the matters in the Newsday story. Sadly, I do not feel that Comptroller DiNapoli’s office should conduct that review in light of the fact that a member of his family has worked for many years in a senior position at LIPA and is expected by many to join Richie Kessel at NYPA in another senior position.”

Assemb. Marc Alessi (D-Wading River), a frequent critic of no-bid contracts and political patronage at LIPA in the past, said he hoped federal scrutiny of any LIPA contract would shed more light on the utility’s past practices. “I’m not surprised there are federal subpoenas into former contracts at LIPA,” he said. “It became a disgusting patronage mill over the past 10 years.”

Source: Mark Harrington, Newsday, December 18, 2008

For the record, Richie Kessel, a Democratic appointee of Pataki, ran LIPA over the ten-year period referred to by Democratic Assemblyman Alessi.