I'm a little perplexed that the Acting Superintendent of the State Police, Preston L. Felton, has literally been untouched in all of this. He was the one who had to approve the use of troopers to spy on Bruno. Cuomo recommended he be disciplined, but Spitzer said he wouldn't touch him. I'm sure Spitzer's motive was to retain Felton's silence on the scandal. Preston stands to become the first black Superintendent of the State Police. Spitzer appointed him Acting Supt. when he took office earlier this year. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he slipped through the cracks. I worked for NY State Corrections, in uniform for 23+ years. I saw many people fired for less than what Preston is guilty of. As we used to say in the prison system: "It's not who you know, it's who you blow." I'm sure whatever standing this guy once had with his fellow troopers has now been permanently damaged. I can't imagine the remainder of his career being very fulfilling. He'd be better off retiring while he's still ahead.
EXCERPT NYP OP-ED: Under the Real ID Act of 2005, all states must soon adopt rules for driver’s licenses similar to New York’s (pre-Spitzer) requirements. But now New York itself may be violating the federal law. It’s hard to see how Spitzer’s verification plans can meet the national-security goals of the Real ID Act:
After all, it’s also easier to falsify foreign records - say, to bribe a clerk in Mexico to give you a legal ID in someone else’s name. Spitzer is right to criticize the federal government for America’s incoherent and inefficient immigration system. But his rewriting of New York’s DMV rules doesn’t fix that - it just adds to the whole mess.