Posted on 10/14/2006 6:12:00 PM PDT by neverdem
If there was a moment when Eliot Spitzer’s ride to fame as New York attorney general was nearly derailed, it came on April 8, 2002.
That was the day Mr. Spitzer stunned Wall Street by using a little-known state law to win a court order requiring Merrill Lynch to disclose potential business conflicts involving its stock analysts. The maneuver brought a secret, long-running investigation into the open, and forced Merrill Lynch — and, later, other big firms — to make concessions they had resisted and helped turn Mr. Spitzer into a political star.
But what few people noticed in those first heady days was that Mr. Spitzer’s action had inadvertently triggered an obscure federal law that could have forced Merrill Lynch to shut down a large part of its multibillion-dollar business. Mr. Spitzer, who had intended to shame and reform, but not cripple, the firm, sent a deputy hurrying back to court to ask the judge to suspend the order, averting possible chaos in the markets.
The episode captured the aggressive, innovative and, critics say, sometimes overreaching ways that Mr. Spitzer, the Democratic candidate for governor, wielded power during his eight-year reign as the state’s top law enforcer.
To supporters, Mr. Spitzer fearlessly took on titans of business, waging a populist-themed war to level the playing fields of investing, insurance and commerce, all to the benefit of middle-income people. He extracted $13 billion in restitution from companies and wealthy individuals, more than...
--snip--
Jacob H. Zamansky, a lawyer who brought the lawsuit against Merrill Lynch that prompted Mr. Spitzer’s investigation, complained that he did not do enough to ensure that small investors were made whole. Short of wringing settlements from embarrassed corporations, Mr. Spitzer seemed to have trouble winning the few cases that actually went to court, Mr. Zamansky asserted.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Gilded Path to Political Stardom, With Detours Part 1 of the 2 part series
Mr. Spitzer ran again in 1998 and repeatedly denied the extent to which he was using his father’s money or that he was violating family contribution limits. But shortly before the election, he conceded that his father actually had lent him millions of dollars to repay the 1994 bank loan.
The family appear to have pressed the limits of elections law. If such loans are not repaid before an election, they are considered contributions, but Bernard Spitzer’s loan was not even made until after the election. Mr. Koppell unsuccessfully sued over the issue. The Board of Elections declined to investigate, partly because the law has a two-year statute of limitations.
Bernard called the whole episode “very painful.”
“In my naïveté, I couldn’t believe that there was any objection, could be any objection, to a father lending money to a son who wants to enter the political world,” he added. “It was just unheard of, to me anyway. I was completely taken aback by that. I couldn’t understand it.”
He is more than anything the biggest slimeball and a fraud. He is the biggest abuser of power........and, he loves himself more than facts.
How about opportunistic piece of crap?
He's going to win, isn't he?
When it comes to ruthlessness and lusting for power, Spitzer is right up there with Senator Hildabeast and the rest of 'em.
Jerk.
It appears that he will. I can wish there were better people in politics, but, as my mother said, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. It gets discouraging sometimes, but one just can't give up.
Right.
I pity anyone who lives in NY, but also fear for the rest of us as his antics have cost many of us $$$ already and I have no doubt that he has National Ambitions. God Forbid!!!
I'm a little surprised that the Times is even questioning Spitzer. I thought he was their little golden boy.
But not the New York real estate business... now why was that again? Oh yeah, that's the Spitzer family business, that's right!
As phony and creepy as they come... soon to be Governor, with the even creepier Andrew Cuomo as his Attorney General. God help us.
What is a populist? Is it just another word for left,socialist, welfare state politician.... I've hear Buchannan called a populist. What is it?????
The good thing about Spitzer is that he is completely unelectable nationally. He's the kind of candidate you hope gets nominated for President by the Dems someday, guaranteeing the GOP a 40-state sweep.
Spot on!
Here's a WP piece on New York State politics. Can somebody post it here on FR?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/12/AR2006101201666.html
BTW it's by Dionne the metrosexual.
I did, however, read the article and it is dopey. What has killed N.Y.'s GOP is Pataki. And also the fact that conservatives and GOPers have/are leaving the state in droves and have done so for the 30 odd years.
Where's the barf alert. It's like something that Sarah Brady would write about gun control. He's hoping the pubbies will become demoralized.
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