Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Greeks have no rights and john does nothing

another Greek getting stomped by Andrew Cuomo and Unions such as Teamsters Local 707 that are against work, freedom to work, freedom of religion etc.

Catsimatidis Announces Bid for Mayor

John A. Catsimatidis Runs for Mayor: John A. Catsimatidis, the Greek-born billionaire, said that he will seek the Republican nomination to be the next mayor of New York City.

By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM

Published: January 29, 2013

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John A. Catsimatidis, the billionaire owner of the Gristedes grocery chain, stood on the steps of City Hall on Tuesday and announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for mayor of New York City.

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Damon Winter/The New York Times

John A. Catsimatidis, at City Hall on Tuesday, is seen as a long shot to win the race but is wealthy enough to mount an impressive advertising campaign.

Then he started talking about his suit.

“I think my wife paid $100 for this jacket,” Mr. Catsimatidis, who bills himself a “common billionaire,” said as he gripped the lapel of a plus-size Jos. A. Bank blazer. “I’m not wearing a $5,000 suit.” He warned his daughter, standing nearby, that he would not be buying her an $80 million apartment. Later, he added, “I feel the people’s pain.”

“There were times in the ’80s,” Mr. Catsimatidis, a 64-year-old Upper East Sider, said, “when I was afraid to walk from Fifth Avenue to Madison Avenue.”

It was an unconventional announcement from an unconventional candidate, a corporate dealmaker with no political experience, no natural constituency and little support among the city’s chattering class.

But Mr. Catsimatidis, who appeared to be enjoying himself immensely during Tuesday’s event, does have an estimated $3 billion fortune — more than enough to mount a formidable advertising operation and, at the very least, be a thorn in the side of a crowded Republican field of candidates who are little known to the public.

An immigrant from Greece who made much of his fortune in the oil business, Mr. Catsimatidis (pronounced Cah-tsee-mah-TEE-dees) said he wanted to give back to a city that had served him well. “I’m a visionary; I’m not a maintenance person,” he declared, going on to say he understood the challenges facing small businesses, partly because his grocery trucks often incur thousands of dollars’ worth of ticket fees.

His labor negotiation strategy involves a locked hotel room and frequent deliveries of pizzas. “By 4 in the morning, everybody becomes a little more reasonable,” he said. “After you eat the third pie of pizza, you get more reasonable.”

On paper, Mr. Catsimatidis resembles another wealthy, long-shot mayoral candidate, Michael R. Bloomberg, whose 2001 bid was initially dismissed as a joke. And while Mr. Catsimatidis lacks some of Mr. Bloomberg’s C.E.O. polish, he has a history of rubbing shoulders with top political players, including several years as a top fund-raiser for Bill and Hillary Clinton. Last year, he supported Mitt Romney, flying friends on his private plane to Republican events around the country.

In 2009, Mr. Catsimatidis spent $300,000 exploring a mayoral bid, but opted out after Mr. Bloomberg decided to run again.

On Tuesday, he stood flanked by his family, including a son-in-law who is a grandson of Richard M. Nixon, and two of the city’s five Republican county chairmen, who have offered their support.

A Catsimatidis campaign, he said, would emphasize growing the city’s economy — partly by reviving the World’s Fair, which he adored as a young boy — and by maintaining public safety. “We’re not giving the streets back to the criminals,” Mr. Catsimatidis said, noting later that his cuff links were a gift from Raymond W. Kelly, the police commissioner.

Some civic leaders remain skeptical that Mr. Catsimatidis will pursue a full-throated candidacy. He dismissed those concerns, saying “I’m in it to win it,” although he backed off an earlier pledge to devote $20 million of his own money to the cause. “Whatever you decide to spend on a campaign, you go in increments,” he explained.

On one pecuniary matter, however, Mr. Catsimatidis was quite clear.

“I am going to work cheaper than Mayor Bloomberg,” he said, referring to the mayor’s decision to take a $1 salary. “I was a grocer. I work for 99 cents.”

A version of this article appeared in print on January 30, 2013, on page A22 of the New York edition with the headline: Catsimatidis Announces Republican Run for Mayor.

Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012

Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.

scam artist

Nassau OTB sells Lottery tickets
Nassau OTB cashes Lottery tickets
Nassau OTB must be open to do same
and this guy thinks he is a lawyer? NY State as competent as the USSR?

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Lottery-director-cashes-out-3758723.php

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Albany, NY Overcast

58°F

Lottery director cashes out

Gordon Medenica leaves position after five years

By James M. Odato

Updated 11:53 pm, Thursday, August 2, 2012

Michael Vice, of Ticonderoga, center, smiles and holds the supersized check as he meets with the media with lottery spokesperson Yolanda Vega, left, and the Director of the New York Lottery, Gordon Medenica, right, on Tuesday, March 9, 2010, at New York Lottery Headquarters in Schenectady, NY. The lottery held the press conference to present Vice, who won the "Set for Life" instant game at C&G Petroleum In his hometown of Ticonderoga that guarantees him a minimum of a $5,000,000 jackpot. Vice will receive 20 annual payments to total the $5 million, and if he lives past the 20 years he will net a check of $171,678 for each additional year he survives. The 46 year old is the first in Essex County to win a Lottery Jackpot in 2010. (Luanne M. Ferris / Times Union)

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I don't yet know enough

SCHENECTADY — After five years leading the state Lottery, Gordon Medenica leaves Friday.
His resignation to Director of Operations Howard Glaser, submitted July 25, was accepted and the Cuomo administration is moving Rob Williams, a longtime government racing lawyer, into the vacancy on an interim basis.
As acting director, Williams will work with the state Racing & Wagering Board on a merger to be completed in February.
Medenica was unavailable for comment. He was brought to the job of director of the nation's largest lottery by Gov. Eliot Spitzer in 2007.
Medenica also resigned from the Franchise Oversight Board. Williams will take Medenica's seat on that body, which oversees the New York Racing Association.
"The change is a part of the governor's effort to improve and reform the way the state regulates gaming," said Josh Vlasto, a spokesman for Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Williams has worked for many years for the Racing & Wagering Board but has been part of Cuomo's executive chamber staff more recently, dealing with Native American relations as well as gaming and racing law matters.
Lottery's activities include marketing and collecting revenues from an array of games such as Quick Draw, Mega Million and Powerball as well as proceeds from nine video lottery terminal racinos statewide. The division keeps little of the money, with most going back to prize winners, aid to public education and commissions to lottery agents.
In the fiscal year that ended March 31, the division reported $8.4 billion in revenues, allowing it to remain North America's largest and most profitable lottery, contributing nearly $2.9 billion in school aid, or about 15 percent of total state education funding for school districts.
jodato@timesunion.com • 518-454-5083 • @JamesMOdato

Robert Williams Esq. thinks he can tell bettors

when "Easter Sunday" is and when "Palm Sunday" is. See NY Const. ARt. 1, Sec. 3. NY is bankrupt because bettors can't bet and workers who wish to work can't work.

Lawyers, assault rifles that you load with cash.

Robert Williams, the current director of the New York Lottery who is a former legal counsel for the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, has been appointed as acting director of a new agency combining regulation of all forms of gambling in New York, a racing official with knowledge of the appointment confirmed on Tuesday.
Williams was appointed to the post by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who holds the power to appoint five of the seven commissioners on the New York State Gaming Commission. The commission is scheduled to become active on Feb. 1, with the power to regulate all forms of gambling in New York, including horse racing and casinos.
The appointment was first reported by the Blood-Horse website.
In addition to his position with the state lottery, Williams is currently the head of the New York State Racing Franchise Oversight Board, which holds broad authority to review the operations of the New York Racing Association. From 2005-07, Williams was the executive director of the New York State Committee on the Future of Racing, a job that required Williams to evaluate proposals to take over NYRA’s franchise to operate New York’s three most prominent tracks. NYRA retained the franchise after filing for bankruptcy and handing its deeds over to the state.
The operations of the existing New York State Racing and Wagering Board will be folded into the New York State Gaming Commission. The previous chairman of the racing and wagering board, John Sabini, resigned earlier this year.

I hereby petition the New York State Racing and Wagering Board to obtain a Formal Opinion from New York State Attorney General Eric Schneider man answering the following questions:

1. Is NY ML Sec. 109 (previously Sec 105) constitutionally defensible?
2. Is NY ML Sec 109 violative of the rights of New York State bettors secured by NY Cost. Art. 1, Sec. 3?
3. Is NY ML Sec. 109 vague, indefinite and/or overly broad as the terms "Easter Sunday" and "Palm Sunday" do not define one and only one Sunday in all years. See the Gregorian and Julian Calendars.
4. Does NY ML Sec. 109 apply to my employer Nassau OTB taking bets on races run without the State of New York?

I am simultaneously asking Barbara Jones Esq.(http://www.zuckerman.com/attorneys.html) to represent pro bono myself and/or Refaqat Malik, the owner of the 99 cent Express down the block from the Franklin Square Branch of Nassau OTB, and/or any other New York State bettor and/or Elias Tskerides et al.

The State of New York can ill afford to not avail itself of the FREE FORMAL OPINION of the New York Attorney General on a simple matter that should have been resolved NYC OTB, a public benefit corporation, in 2003.

Sincerely yours,
January 28, 2013

Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012

Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.

Legislation would strengthen state OTB corporations - Franklin Square

www.liherald.com/franklinsquare/franklinsquare/.../Legislation-woul...

Franklin Square's community newspaper, your source for local news, breaking news, school district updates ... Jackie Nash/Herald ... Ed Ra's legislation to allow off-track betting on Palm Sunday is consistent with the United States Constitution.


Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law 
* §  109.  Filing  of pari-mutuel tax returns or reports by electronic
  means. Every corporation or association authorized by  this  chapter  to
  conduct pari-mutuel betting on horse races shall file in a timely manner
  pari-mutuel  tax  returns  or other reports relating to such activity in
  such form and by such means,  including  electronic  means,  as  may  be
  prescribed by the state racing and wagering board or the commissioner of
  taxation  and  finance,  as  the  case  may  be  in  accordance with the
  provisions of this chapter.
    * NB Effective until February 1, 2013
    * §  109.  Supplementary  regulatory   powers   of   the   commission.
  Notwithstanding  any  inconsistent  provision  of  law,  the  commission
  through its rules and regulations or  in  allotting  dates  for  racing,
  simulcasting  or in licensing race meetings at which pari-mutuel betting
  is permitted shall be authorized to:
    1. permit racing at which pari-mutuel betting is conducted on  any  or
  all  dates from the first day of January through the thirty-first day of
  December, inclusive of Sundays but exclusive of  December  twenty-fifth,
  Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday; and
    2. fix minimum and maximum charges for admission at any race meeting.
    * NB Effective February 1, 2013

OTB FACES HAND SLAP OVER PALM - NY Daily News

www.nydailynews.com/.../otb-faces-hand-slap-palm-article-1.667233

Apr 16, 2003 – By Jerry Bossert / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ... Aqueduct was also closed on Palm Sunday, but OTB thrived on action from around the country.

OPEN ON 1ST PALM SUNDAY, OTB RAKES IN $2M - NY Daily News

www.nydailynews.com/.../open-1st-palm-sunday-otb-rakes-2m-articl...

Apr 14, 2003 – New York City Off-Track Betting made history yesterday, taking bets on Palm Sunday. Since 1973, when Sunday racing was made legal in New ...

Crist: New York restrictions defy belief | Daily Racing Form

www.drf.com › News › Columnists › Steven Crist

Nov 25, 2011 – It's only 126 days until Palm Sunday and seven more until Easter, ... Exclusive content available only with a DRF Plus Plan. ... By Steven Crist ...

The Saratogian (saratogian.com), Serving the Saratoga Springs, N.Y. region

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Off Track Betting officials say the plan to push for legislation that would allow them to stay open on Palm Sunday.

State Racing Law prohibits live racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday. By extension, the state Racing and Wagering Board has ruled that OTBs may not conduct business, either.

But OTB leaders say they’re losing several million dollars worth of wagering, a portion of which goes back to the cash-strapped state and county governments.

"It’s going to be part of our legislative agenda this year," Capital Region OTB President John Signor said. "In my view it’s a no-brainer. It’s very competitive out there. By not allowing it you’re driving bettors to out-of-state wagering sites."

Non-New York thoroughbred tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne conduct Palm Sunday racing along with The Meadowlands in New Jersey where harness racing is held. New York bettors should be allowed to wager on those races at OTBs or at New York racetrack simulcast venues, Signor said.

In 2003, New York City Off Track Betting challenged the law and stayed open on Palm Sunday, generating about $1.5 million in handle. However, the Racing and Wagering Board said the entity didn’t obtain approval to alter its plan of operation and imposed a $5,000 fine.

The next year, New York City OTB formally asked for approval to change its plan of operation and was denied.

"We have not tested it since then," President Raymond Casey said. "If you have a specific directive from a regulator you need to obey that."

But with the state facing a projected $15 billion budget deficit, others say it’s time to revisit the matter. "I’ve been an advocate for more than 30 years to have betting on Palm Sunday," Catskill Regional OTB President Donald Groth said. "It would be one small step to increase business."

The Racing and Wagering Board’s makeup has undergone major changes since 2003 including a new chairman, John Sabini, who took office last August. Spokesman Joseph Mahoney said that no one has brought the matter before the board this year.

"There’s been no recent legal analysis about this," he said. "We’re not bound by previous decisions. If the issue was raised, we would conduct a review and decide based upon the relevant information."

The Palm Sunday debate is one more example of the way state leaders are turning to gambling as a way to solve New York’s fiscal woes. In December, Gov. David Paterson proposed putting video lottery terminals at Belmont Park in addition to Aqueduct, where Buffalo-based Delaware North Companies is scheduled to operate a 4,500-machine racino.

In addition to VLTs, the Lottery Division has talked with the governor about expanding gaming to include electronic table games such as poker, blackjack and 21 that are very similar to traditional forms of casino gambling.

Several years ago, Senator Bill Larkin, R-New Windsor, introduced legislation (S-1199) that would have overturned the Palm Sunday provision. However, it got bottled up and died in committee in 2005.

"It kept getting more and more opposition from people who don’t like gambling," spokesman Steve Casscles said.

The current financial crisis could change that, however.

Jackson Leeds is a part-time cashier for Nassau Regional Off Track Betting on Long Island. As a taxpayer advocate, he says it’s incumbent on the state to allow OTBs to stay open on Palm Sunday.

"Nobody has any money," he said. "The state should be glad to allow it. It’s the universal common denominator —cash."

Monday, January 28, 2013

Brought to you by the people who....

have not seen that Nassau OTB is open 365 days of the year so that we can bet and workers can work if they wish before they drop dead or/and their employer goes bankrupt. G...d is G...d and Andrew Cuomo can't tell the people of the State of New York when "Easter Sunday" is and when "Palm Sunday" is.

HI-

Thanks for the help. The item’s below. I’d be happy to mail you a copy, if you give me a mailing address.

Claude Solnik

(631) 913-4244

Long Island Business News

2150 Smithtown Ave.

Ronkonkoma, NY 11779-7348

Home > LI Confidential > Stop scratching on holidays

Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012

NOTIFICATION OF MEETING REVISED CONTACT: KRISTEN M. BUCKLEY

January 28, 2013 (518) 395-5400

In compliance with the Open Meetings Law, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board gives notice that it will conduct a Board Meeting on January 31, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. at the New York State Racing and Wagering Board offices at 1 Broadway Center, Suite 600, Schenectady, New York.

Members of the public who wish to listen to the Racing and Wagering Board’s meetings may dial-in up to 15 minutes prior to the meeting’s start time.

Dial-In: 1-866-394-2346

Code: 6430805412

NOTE: This is a “listen-only” line. Those wishing to submit comments to the Board must appear in person or submit them in writing.

In accordance with Section 103(e) of the Open Meetings Law, which requires the disclosure of records scheduled to be discussed during open meetings of State agencies, such records as applicable will be made available on the Racing and Wagering Board’s Web site (www.racing.ny.gov) in advance of the scheduled public Board meeting.

AGENDA

NEW YORK STATE RACING AND WAGERING BOARD

MEETING OF JANUARY 31, 2013

1:00 P.M.

D. ITEMS TO BE APPROVED, DENIED OR DEFERRED BY THE BOARD

1. CAPITAL DISTRICT REGIONAL OTB – 2013 SIMULCAST LICENSE APPLICATION

2. CATSKILL REGIONAL OTB – 2013 SIMULCAST LICENSE APPLICATION

3. BUFFALO RACEWAY – 2013 TRACK & SIMULCAST LICENSE APPLICATIONS

4. SARATOGA RACEWAY – 2013 TRACK & SIMULCAST LICENSE APPLICATIONS

5. MONTICELLO RACEWAY – 2013 TRACK & SIMULCAST LICENSE APPLICATIONS

6. FINGER LAKES RACETRACK – 2013 TRACK & SIMULCAST LICENSE APPLICATIONS

7. VERNON DOWNS – 2013 TRACK & SIMULCAST LICENSE APPLICATIONS

8. BATAVIA DOWNS – REQUEST TO WITHDRAW $18,383.36 FROM CIF

9. WESTERN REGIONAL OTB – REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF TOTALISATOR AGREEMENT WITH UNITED TOTE

10. ROBERTS COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK – APPROVAL OF NEW YORK CONTRACTS

11. CATSKILL REGIONAL OTB – REQUEST TO RELOCATE ROUTE 44 BRANCH TO 11 RAYMOND AVENUE – POUGHKEEPSIE

12. CATSKILL REGIONAL OTB – REQUEST TO CLOSE TELETHEATRE FACILITY IN SUFFERN AND RELOCATE TO NANUET BRANCH

13. CATSKILL REGIONAL OTB – REQUEST TO INSTALL SELF-ACTIVATED BETTING TERMINALS (STAN) AT WHEELER’S FAMILY RESTAURANT – PINE CITY

14. YONKERS RACEWAY – REQUEST TO AMEND PLAN OF OPERATION – ADD NEW ADVANCE DEPOSIT WAGERING PLATFORM

15. NYS TAXATION & FINANCE – CERTIFICATION OF YEAR 2012 RACING DATES/RACES FOR TAX RATE PURPOSES

16. NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING – PLASMA TESTING FOR ANABOLIC STEROIDS RULE

17. NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING – CELL PHONES IN PADDOCK AREA – HARNESS RACING

18. NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING – VOIDABLE CLAIM FOR HORSES VANNED OFF THE TRACK

19. NOTICE OF EMERGENCY RULEMAKING – VOIDABLE CLAIM FOR HORSES VANNED OFF THE TRACK

20. NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING – EQUINE MEDICATION 2013 RULES

21. NOTICE OF EMERGENCY RULEMAKING – EQUINE MEDICATION 2013 RULES

22. RESOLUTION OF DELEGATION OF THE RESPONSIBILITY TO IMPLEMENT BOARD POLICY

PLEASE NOTE

In order to expedite the delivery of our public notices, we would prefer to send them via e-mail. If you have not already done so, please provide your e-mail address and fax number to Michelle.Martin@racing.ny.gov, and we will be happy to get the notices to you via that address.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at the number above, extension 1806.

###

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Mary Jo and Barbara Jones should both bet horses

and realize that NY State can't pick and chose one Easter Sunday over the other and one Palm Sunday over the other without at least seeing that errand boy Eric Schneiderman issue an Opinion. You don't have to be a lawyer to know that NY PML Sec 105 and Sec 109 don't pass the laugh test.

Lawyers are simply assault rifles that you load with cash.

The Six Degrees of Mary Jo White

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By JEAN EAGLESHAM and LIZ RAPPAPORT

What do seven judges, six U.S. attorneys, two enforcement chiefs and New York's Roosevelt Hotel have in common?
It is no joke. The answer: Mary Jo White, the former prosecutor who has been a big shot at law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP for a decade and was nominated by President Barack Obama on Thursday to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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EPA

President Barack Obama, right, listens as Mary Jo White, his nominee to be the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, delivers remarks on Jan. 24.

If the 65-year-old Ms. White is confirmed by lawmakers, she would become one of the best-connected chairmen in the agency's history.
Supporters see her bulging Rolodex as an asset, while critics are concerned that making her the top U.S. securities regulator would reinforce what they see as a chummy relationship between government and Wall Street.
As the U.S. attorney in Manhattan from 1993 to 2002, Ms. White trained a generation of prosecutors. A roll call of the 350 or so people invited to the annual Mary Jo White Alumni Dinner speaks to her influence.
Scores of the nation's top lawyers attend the dinner, a cocktails-and-buffet soiree held each summer at the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, according to people familiar with the event.

Earlier: SEC Nominee Signals Shift

Guests pay $90 to $130—tickets are cheaper for people working in government jobs—to mingle with fellow protégés of "Mary Jo." (As the only female Manhattan U.S. attorney in more than two centuries, she usually is referred to by her first name).

Second-Term Shakeup

President Barack Obama will need to fill many key posts in his second term. Take a look at top officials, some of whom are expected to leave.

View Interactive

More photos and interactive graphics

The alumni include the enforcement chiefs of the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Robert Khuzami and David Meister, and Mr. Khuzami's deputy at the SEC, George Canellos. Others are senior white-collar defense lawyers, in-house lawyers at top corporations and academics.
Turnout at the Mary Jo White Alumni Dinner, usually more than 150 people, is a sign of the loyalty Ms. White inspires.
"She is as good as it gets—smart, fair, aggressive, tireless, steady and fiercely independent," says Benjamin M. Lawsky, superintendent of New York's Department of Financial Services and the last prosecutor Ms. White hired and swore in as a U.S. attorney.
Steven M. Cohen, who worked for Ms. White as head prosecutor of the gangs unit, recalls an incident that reflects her ability to "steer through very rough waters." After Mr. Cohen's only witness to a triple homicide recanted her story on the Friday before a Monday trial was due to begin, fearing for her life, he called Ms. White for advice on whether to go ahead with the trial.
"Whatever you think is right, just do that," he recalls her saying. Mr. Cohen, a partner at law firm Zuckerman Spaeder LLC and former secretary to New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, decided to proceed with the trial, called the witness and won the case.
Some SEC critics express concerns about choosing Ms. White to lead the agency, including her limited experience in the agency's core tasks such as financial rule writing.
Yet Preet Bharara, the Manhattan U.S. attorney who worked for Ms. White between 2000 and 2002, says if she comes across an unfamiliar issue at the SEC, "she will learn it quickly because she's the quickest study that I've ever known."
A bigger worry for some critics: Will Ms. White's sprawling network of contacts and extensive work in the private sector compromise her ability to police financial firms?
Ms. White has spent the past decade as a leading white-collar defense lawyer at Debevoise & Plimpton. Her husband John White is a partner at law firm Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP.
Gary Aguirre, a former SEC investigator and whistleblower who has sparred with Ms. White in the past, said she has been "Wall Street's protector-in-chief" for the past few years.
As head of the SEC, ethics rules would likely bar Ms. White for two years from working on certain matters—including enforcement actions—that directly affect Debevoise, her clients from the past two years or any of her husband's clients that he is representing before the agency.
"She'd have to recuse all over the place" from SEC votes on policy and enforcement, according to one lawyer who knows her well. Ms. White didn't respond to a request for comment.
An SEC spokesman says she would sign before confirmation "an ethics agreement that includes recusals based on laws and the Obama ethics pledge." She also will consult with the SEC's ethics office on any other potential recusal issues that arise, the spokesman adds.
If Ms. White can't vote on an enforcement action proposed by the SEC's staff, the decision would fall to the other four commissioners, running the risk of a 2-2 impasse. Such splits can undermine or even doom enforcement actions.
Ms. White's supporters play down concerns over her links to Wall Street, saying her track record demonstrates a refusal to be swayed by outside lobbying or pressure. "Any time you have somebody who has…sat at both defense and prosecution tables in a courtroom, it's an immense asset," Mr. Bharara says.
Glenn Colton, who worked as a prosecutor for Ms. White for almost a decade and now leads the white-collar practice at law firm SNR Denton, says Ms. White's many connections "can only aid her ability to do what government is supposed to do, which is to consider all sides of an issue."
—Jessica Holzer contributed to this article. Write to Jean Eaglesham at jean.eaglesham@wsj.com and Liz Rappaport at liz.rappaport@wsj.com
Well-TendedSEC pick has lots of connections

OTB FACES HAND SLAP OVER PALM - NY Daily News

www.nydailynews.com/.../otb-faces-hand-slap-palm-article-1.667233

Apr 16, 2003 – By Jerry Bossert / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ... Aqueduct was also closed on Palm Sunday, but OTB thrived on action from around the country.

OPEN ON 1ST PALM SUNDAY, OTB RAKES IN $2M - NY Daily News

www.nydailynews.com/.../open-1st-palm-sunday-otb-rakes-2m-articl...

Apr 14, 2003 – New York City Off-Track Betting made history yesterday, taking bets on Palm Sunday. Since 1973, when Sunday racing was made legal in New ...

HI-

Thanks for the help. The item’s below. I’d be happy to mail you a copy, if you give me a mailing address.

Claude Solnik

(631) 913-4244

Long Island Business News

2150 Smithtown Ave.

Ronkonkoma, NY 11779-7348

Home > LI Confidential > Stop scratching on holidays

Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012

Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.

thisisNOTnassauotb

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Greeks have no rights and john does nothing

Catsimatidis Announces Bid for Mayor

By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM

Published: January 29, 2013

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Damon Winter/The New York Times

A version of this article appeared in print on January 30, 2013, on page A22 of the New York edition with the headline: Catsimatidis Announces Republican Run for Mayor.

Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012

scam artist