Free Republic

An upstate village clerk accused of swiping more than $1 million — about the same amount as her town’s annual budget — will give up her pension in a historic New York forfeiture case. Disgraced former Addison employee Ursula Stone, 55, allegedly stole $1,171,362 in village funds over at least 19 years — and is now the first politician to fork over her pension under New York’s anti-corruption law, state and county officials announced late last week. “This case represents the most complete, and to be frank, shocking breach of public trust I have encountered in 30 years as a...

New York is reaping the whirlwind of sky-high cigarette taxes with a wave of smuggling decimating the state’s revenue. New York raised taxes on cigarettes to $4.35 in 2010 from $2.75. In total, cigarette taxes have increased by 190 percent since 2006. The sharp rise has resulted in a raft of unintended consequences which are dealing a significant blow to the state’s finances. New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli reports New York’s revenue from cigarette taxes has plunged by $400 million over the past five years.

N.Y. comptroller trying to force disclosure of political spending by corporations to cut off funding for conservativesNew York state is quickly becoming ground zero in the fight over free speech and corporate political spending as a top state official with ties to left-wing campaign finance reform groups attempts to pressure private companies into making their political contributions public.New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who is the state’s top accountant and is spearheading the campaign, cites the importance of transparency.Observers warn that “shareholder activism” in pursuit of political disclosure represents the first stage of coordinated intimidation campaigns against private companies conducted...

New York State’s Dedicated Highway and Bridge Trust Fund hasn’t been all that dedicated. Since 1991, only 34.9 percent of the money in the fund went directly toward the repair and improvement of the state’s deteriorating roads and bridges. And over the next four years, that will shrink to about one fifth. It’s supposed to be a “locked box,” but apparently the lock wasn’t very strong. If only one-third of the money in the Highway and Bridge Trust Fund has actually been used to pay for highways and bridges, the question, is, where did the money go? The answer is...