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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 ...
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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.
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