| | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold | Guilty on all counts. A Manhattan jury convicted the Trump Organization in a years-long tax fraud scheme, delivering guilty verdicts on each of 17 criminal charges brought against two units of the former president's company. It took two days of deliberations, and careful consideration by a jury that asked to have several counts and portions of testimony read back to them. The upshot: "The former president's companies now stand convicted of crimes," as Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg told reporters Tuesday after the verdict. "This was a case about lying and cheating, false documents to the end of evading taxes for individuals and corporations." | 
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg exits the courtroom after the jury found the Trump Organization guilty on all counts in a criminal tax fraud case, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, in New York. | AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson |
The company was convicted of giving untaxed perks like apartments, cars and private school tuition to executives, chiefly its former Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg. The jury crucially found that Weisselberg and another executive he schemed with were acting in behalf of the Trump Organization when they carried out the tax dodging, a point hotly disputed by the defense — as was an 11th hour assertion by prosecutors that former President Donald Trump himself knew about the fraud.
The company will appeal, and Trump is, predictably, railing about a witch hunt. The corporation itself can't be jailed, of course, so the maximum penalty is a $1.6 million fine. Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against his employer, is expected to serve five months on Rikers Island. Sentencing for the corporation is set for next month. IT'S WEDNESDAY. Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know ... By email: EDurkin@politico.com and agronewold@politico.com , or on Twitter: @erinmdurkin and @annagronewold WHERE'S KATHY? Giving an update on winter health preparedness efforts and speaking at the New York Building Conference gala. WHERE'S ERIC? Appearing on NY1, Fox 5, Pix 11, and 1010 WINS, speaking at a faith-based affordable housing summit, a New York Building Conference gala, and a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce dinner.
| | | | POLITICO APP USERS: UPGRADE YOUR APP BY DECEMBER 19! We recently upgraded the POLITICO app with a fresh look and improved features for easier access to POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Starting December 19, users will no longer have access to the previous version of the app. Update your app today to stay on top of essential political news, insights, and analysis from the best journalists in the business. UPDATE iOS APP – UPDATE ANDROID APP . | | | | | |  | WHAT CITY HALL IS READING | | Adams appoints two top officials as City Hall faces high-profile departures , by POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg: Mayor Eric Adams introduced two women to helm his administration on Tuesday, rounding out the top ranks of City Hall following news of high-profile departures just one year into his tenure. Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives Sheena Wright, who has established herself firmly in Adams' inner circle, was promoted to the role of first deputy mayor. Wright will replace government veteran Lorraine Grillo when she leaves the $275,000-a-year job overseeing much of city government at year's end. " Mayor Eric Adams, Fined For Rats on His Property, Takes on City Hall ," by The New York Times' William K. Rashbaum and Dana Rubinstein : "They say you can't fight City Hall. But what if you are City Hall? For Mayor Eric Adams, the question is not theoretical. On Tuesday, he found himself in a virtual court hearing, engaged in a detested ritual of New York City life: contesting a summons. That the summons was about the infestation of rats at a property he owns in Brooklyn only made the situation easier to relate to. So shortly after hosting a news conference to introduce his new first deputy mayor and chief of staff, Mr. Adams dialed into a city administrative court to contest the decision by a city health inspector to fine him $300 for allowing rodents to overrun a property he owns in Brooklyn." Federal judge lets city hire outside wardens for Rikers Island , by POLITICO's Erin Durkin: A federal judge issued an order Tuesday allowing the city to go around local laws and hire wardens from outside the Department of Correction to oversee Rikers Island. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain settles a long-running dispute over how to reform the violence-plagued jail complex. The federal monitor overseeing Rikers has been pushing the city to hire wardens from outside the DOC's uniformed ranks, saying the current jail leaders have failed to change a longstanding culture of violence and dysfunction. But state law and civil service rules require the city to choose wardens who have risen through the ranks at DOC. " NYC public agencies face 'severe' staffing shortage: comptroller ," by Pix 11's Aaron Feis: "New York City government agencies are in the midst of a staffing 'vacancy crisis,' creating a 'severe lack of capacity to get things done in mission-critical areas,' according to a report issued Tuesday by the office of city Comptroller Brad Lander. COVID-19's impact on the labor market, a de Blasio-era hiring freeze, and Adams administration policy are all contributing to the shortfall, according to the nine-page report, which found that the vacancy rate has nearly quadrupled from its pre-pandemic level."
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | " DiFiore's Exit Spurs Judicial Ethics Reform Bill In Albany ," by Law360's Frank G. Runyeon: "The chair of the New York Senate Judiciary Committee is planning to introduce legislation to give the state judicial ethics watchdog new powers and boost its transparency, aiming to close a loophole that allowed former Chief Judge Janet DiFiore to evade scrutiny by resigning. The new bill, set to be introduced by Sen. Brad Hoylman this week, would extend the jurisdiction of the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct beyond the resignation date of judges, like DiFiore, facing an investigation or formal charges." " 'A Bill Like This Should Be A No-Brainer': Hochul Yet to Move on Legislation Restoring Comptroller's Contract Review Powers ," by Gotham Gazette's Ethan Geringer-Sameth: "Governor Kathy Hochul has yet to sign a bill that would restore some of the Comptroller's contract oversight powers that had been stripped by her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, putting her at odds with the state's chief fiscal watchdog, members of the State Legislature, and good government advocates. The wait-and-see on the bill, which passed both houses of the Legislature in June, is 'frustrating' some of the main stakeholders, including Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who has pushed for the restoration on and off over the decade." " Hochul administration rejects investments in overdose prevention centers ," by Capitol Pressroom's David Lombardo: "Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration is rejecting a recommendation from a state advisory panel to invest funds obtained from legal settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors into overdose prevention centers, as part of an investment in harm reduction measures to save lives from the opioid epidemic. … When the board held its vote on the plan in late October, the governor's representatives on the board, including Cunningham, did not raise any objections to the investment in overdose prevention centers or harm reduction more broadly." " NY Democrats set hearing to mull ousting NYC Republican Lester Chang ," by New York Post's Zach Williams, Bernadette Hogan and Carl Campanile: "State Assembly Democrats are pushing ahead with trying to block Lester Chang (R-Brooklyn) from taking his seat in January, claiming he didn't meet residency requirements when he shockingly won in November. The Assembly's Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing Dec. 19 at 9:30 a.m. in Albany to weigh the matter ahead of a potential vote by the full chamber in January, according to a letter sent to Chang on Tuesday." SUNY's new chancellor is getting plenty of perks , by POLITICO's Katelyn Cordero: John King is returning to his home state as the new chancellor of the State University of New York. He'll also get up to $4,000 a month to go back to his current home in Maryland, his new contract states. King is set to receive a $960,000 compensation package that includes a $750,000 annual salary along with a lengthy list of perks. #UpstateAmerica: Jamestown is going all in on cannabis: "'We were one of the first cities in New York State to say, "Come look at us, come look at the city of Jamestown, let us be your place to develop,"' said 33-year old Democratic mayor Eddie Sundquist."
| | | | POLITICO AT CES 2023 : We are bringing a special edition of our Digital Future Daily newsletter to Las Vegas to cover CES 2023. The newsletter will take you inside the largest and most influential technology event on the planet, featuring every major and emerging industry in the technology ecosystem gathered in one place. The newsletter runs from Jan. 5-7 and will focus on the public policy related aspects of the event. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of CES 2023. | | | | | | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Mayor Eric Adams redoubled his push to have federal prosecutors take on gun cases involving people with felony convictions. — Five women filed a civil lawsuit against Bill Cosby and television studios for alleged sexual assaults. — SUNY schools are facing deficits that officials warn could drive staff and services cuts. — The New York Civil Liberties Union filed an amicus brief to support the state DOT in its defense against a lawsuit that halted the demolition of I-81. — Lawmakers from both parties want more oversight of the Thruway Authority amid plans for the first toll increase for E-ZPass customers in more than a decade.
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Bloomberg's Bennett Roth … POLITICO's Sam Sutton … Sarah Mucha … ABC's Kathryn McQuade … International Trade Administration's Sam Schofield … KPMG's Priya Dayananda … NYT's Dean Chang … CNN's Ashley Killough … Michael Steinhardt ... Jonathan M. Tisch ... Jeffrey Leb ... Hannah Goldfield ... Jordan Blashek ... Jaime Leiman (h/ts Jewish Insider) MEDIAWATCH — Robert Draper has joined NYT Magazine as a staff writer, "covering politics and political figures, especially Republican officials." He previously was a contributing writer. The announcement MAKING MOVES — Sandhya K. Balaram has been named chief of cardiothoracic surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. Balaram previously spent 19 years as a cardiac surgeon and associate professor at Mount Sinai Morningside in New York City. (h/t POLITICO Pulse)
| | Real Estate | | " Julius' Bar designated as NYC landmark in unanimous vote ," by Gay City News' Matt Tracy: "The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has unanimously designated Julius' Bar — the oldest gay bar in the city and site of the 1966 "sip-in" demonstration — as an official landmark. The 11-0 vote, held during a virtual hearing on December 6, was largely symbolic because the bar was already previously protected by a broader landmark designation in the Greenwich Village Historic District, which is made up of a collection of more than 2,000 buildings across 100 blocks in Manhattan." " With local good cause eviction laws overturned, pressure turns to state pols ," by Crain's New York Business' Eddie Small: "Passing good cause statewide, which would prevent landlords from denying lease renewals to tenants without a specific reason, such as not paying rent, has long been a priority for tenant activists, and these recent rulings have done nothing to change that, according to Cea Weaver, campaign coordinator at Housing Justice for All. They simply clarify that good cause needs to be done at the state level rather than at the local level, she said. ... The controversial proposal did not make it through the Legislature this year, but Weaver is still optimistic about its chances going forward, particularly given the extremely sharp rent increases many New Yorkers have recently faced." | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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