Queens assemblyman Brian McLaughlin, the powerful city labor leader who became the target in March of a federal bid-rigging probe, stepped down yesterday as president of the 1 million-member Central Labor Council. McLaughlin was granted a six-month paid leave of absence yesterday from his post at the labor council, the main umbrella group for organized labor. The council's executive board approved the leave during a special meeting yesterday where it also named Ed Ott, the group's current director of public policy, to replace McLaughlin with the title of interim executive director. The move, which many had long expected, comes only...
