Free Republic

Roske/APHiram Monserrate vows to fight his expulsion from the state Senate. ALBANY - The state Senate voted to boot embattled Sen. Hiram Monserrate on Tuesday night, citing the lawmaker's conviction in the assault on his girlfriend. The vote was 53 to 8 with one abstention. The dramatic vote came after hours of impassioned closed-door debate - the only question seemed to be just when Monserrate would be expelled. Senate Democratic leader John Sampson, wanted to make the ouster effective on June 30, giving Monserrate time to appeal his conviction of misdemeanor assault against his girlfriend. But with Republican support, there...

State Senator Is Found Guilty of Misdemeanor Assault John Marshall Mantel for The New York Times Hiram Monserrate arrives at the Queens County Criminal Courts building to hear the verdict in his assault trial. October 15, 2009 State Senator Hiram Monserrate, a freshman Democrat and former police officer and city councilman, was found guilty on Thursday of misdemeanor assault, but escaped a felony conviction for slicing his companion’s face during a bitter argument in his Queens apartment on Dec. 19, 2008. Justice William M. Erlbaum, who tried the case without a jury in State Supreme Court in Queens, found Mr....

ACORN, a social justice organization with roots in [New Orleans], battles a string of scandals. The announcement stuck to a wall outside the entrance to ACORN's local office in the 2600 block of Canal Street quietly signals the trouble afoot. In English and Spanish, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now tells walk-up clients that ACORN's housing office has shut itself down for two weeks to immerse itself "in an intensive training program." The sign is a symptom of a tumultuous week in the history of a controversial poor people's social justice movement -- one founded by a New...

<p>Rob Bennett for The New York Times; Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times Two state senators — Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx and Hiram Monserrate of Queens — moved to defect to the Republican side, which would end Democratic control of the chamber.</p>

State Senator John D. Sabini, a Queens Democrat, may find himself in the unusual position of losing the support of the Democratic organization in his borough in his bid for re-election, with leaders of the party likely to back City Councilman Hiram Monserrate instead. Democratic leaders in Queens are scheduled to meet on Monday to determine whether to endorse Mr. Sabini, who was first elected to the Senate in 2002. Normally, party organizations support incumbents, and Mr. Sabini is a former Democratic chairman in Queens. But Mr. Monserrate has put intense pressure on the party officials to gain their support...