News: Adams’ lawyer pick doesn’t want to be Mastro-ed

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Adams’ lawyer pick doesn’t want to be Mastro-ed

Oct 09, 2024

By Nick Reisman, Jeff Coltin and Emily Ngo

Presented by

With Timmy Facciola

A portrait of New York City Acting Corporation Counsel Muriel Goode-Trufant

Muriel Goode-Trufant’s nomination to lead the Law Department will be formally received by the City Council on Thursday. | Jeff Coltin/POLITICO

Mayor Eric Adams’ second pick to be the city’s top lawyer saw how the City Council ripped apart his first pick, Randy Mastro.

Is Muriel Goode-Trufant concerned she’ll get the same treatment?

The acting corporation counsel burst out laughing in an interview with Playbook Tuesday. “I don't wish to speak on his process,” she said, “but I do certainly hope that mine will not repeat.”

Adams is staffing up his administration once again, after an unprecedented series of resignations and firings.

His elevation of Maria Torres-Springer to first deputy mayor — meant to quell questions about his ability to lead the city, POLITICO reports — was greeted warmly by the City Council.

Even progressive members who have called for Adams’ resignation praised her. “Count on me to be in your corner,” Council Member Shahana Hanif posted on X. “We’ve got important work ahead!”

But the council only gets a vote on one major appointment: corporation counsel, which has been empty since Sylvia Hinds-Radix resigned over disagreements with Adams at the end of May.

Goode-Trufant’s nomination to lead the Law Department will be formally received by the City Council on Thursday. They’ll have 30 days to hold a hearing and a vote to approve her.

She’s expected to cruise through. Goode-Trufant has worked in the Law Department for three decades. Unlike Mastro, she doesn’t have a controversial client list and members aren’t worried she’d be Adams’ attack dog.

When Speaker Adrienne Adams’ office was asked over the summer about who they would like as corp counsel, they gave Goode-Trufant as an example.

She hasn’t started outreach with the council yet, she said, but she doesn’t expect to need a long list of validators (James Comey! Muzzy Rosenblatt!) like Mastro had.

“I think that I speak for myself,” Goode-Trufant said.

Investigations, lawsuits and criminal cases are a cloud over the administration, though, and Goode-Trufant is already playing a role, as acting head of the agency.

Should city officials sued for sexual harassment — like Adams and former senior Adviser Tim Pearson — get free legal representation from the city?

“We follow the general municipal law,” she said, “which indicates that we look at whether a person is acting in the scope of their employment and not in violation of any rules or regulations of the agency at the time of the incident.”

That can be reevaluated, however. “As time goes on, you discover new facts. You get to analyze things you may not have known at the time the complaint comes in.”

Pearson is still represented by the city in his harassment lawsuits, she confirmed — and leaving city employment doesn’t change that.

Adams, whose political future is in question, may want to take note. — Jeff Coltin

HAPPY WEDNESDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.

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WHERE’S KATHY? Signs gun safety legislation in Manhattan.

WHERE’S ERIC? Calls into 94.7 The Block’s “Jonesy in the Morning,” delivers remarks at the FDNY’s Annual Memorial Day Ceremony, makes a public safety- and infrastructure-related announcement, speaks at the Cannabis NYC Loan Fund information session and speaks at the Excellence in Customer Service Awards.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “When people come to me and say, you know, ‘Jeff’s writing is a shit show,’ I said, ‘Stop beating up on that guy, man. He tries his best.’” — Mayor Eric Adams, after Playbook’s Jeff Coltin asked about people describing City Hall’s organizational structure as a “shit show.”

ABOVE THE FOLD

Eric Adams is pictured.

Eric Adams has been accused of receiving contributions that came from foreign officials, some of which were matched with a maximum $2,000 from the public coffers. | Yuki Iwamura/AP

STRAW MAN: Despite allegations Adams tried to game the public campaign finance system, good-government advocates and even some Republicans believe there are enough safeguards in place to stop potential fraud.

The system allows candidates and campaigns to match private contributions with public dollars in order to reduce the impact of big donors.

A public financing program has been in place at the city level for 35 years and a statewide system is in effect for the first time this election cycle.

Adams has been accused of receiving contributions that came from foreign officials, some of which were matched with a maximum $2,000 from the public coffers.

The campaign raised $19 million and $10 million came from public matching funds. Adams’ attorney Alex Spiro has said only a fraction of the campaign’s total donations — about $24,000 — are under prosecutors’ scrutiny. Adams has pleaded not guilty.

Ethics watchdogs — including Reinvent Albany, the New York Public Interest Research Group and the League of Women Voters — argued Tuesday that guardrails meant to monitor the system for fraud have worked.

“The bad guys got caught because public matching funds are among the most thoroughly watched and accounted-for tax dollars that exist,” the groups wrote in a joint statement.

The top Republican at the state Public Campaign Finance Board doesn’t think this is a rosy assessment from the goo-goos.

Brian Kolb, the GOP co-chair and former Assembly minority leader, told Playbook in an interview the state-level system has enough “spot checks” like phone calls to donors to verify their identities.

“I haven’t seen anything glaring that jumps out and says, Oh my goodness, we have a major problem here,” Kolb said.

Republicans had been leery of a statewide version of publicly financed elections, concerned about the cost and the potential for graft.

But Kolb has given an early thumbs up to the program — especially since money is not coming directly from taxpayers, but from fees generated by sports gambling and cannabis sales.

“We’re going to have to really wait and get a final opinion about the first year of implementation because there are things you learn or things that could be tightened up,” he said. “But do I think the public financing system generates more competition? My answer would be yes.” — Nick Reisman

CITY HALL: THE LATEST

Anthony Miranda looking through boxes full of illicit cannabis products.

On Sept. 17, when asked if the Sheriff’s Office ever seized cash during investigations, Miranda said, “I don’t believe so.” | Rich Mendez/POLITICO

FINAL ANSWER?: City Council members Gale Brewer and Justin Brannan sent a letter on Monday to Sheriff Anthony Miranda demanding he clarify his answers regarding cash seizures and workload capacity at a recent hearing about his office’s raids on unlicensed cannabis shops.

“Testimony from the public and recent reports in the press have raised serious questions about your testimony,” the letter says. “It is imperative you immediately clarify and provide additional information.”

On Sept. 17, when asked if the Sheriff’s Office ever seized cash during investigations, Miranda said, “I don’t believe so.”

Days later, POLITICO obtained security footage of law enforcement officers confiscating cash from registers in four separate raids. It’s not clear from the footage whether those officers were with the Sheriff’s Office or New York City Police Department.

Miranda did not respond to a request for comment.

“We are going to go through our standard response process,” City Hall spokesperson Liz Garcia told Playbook.

Miranda testified that his office was “able to maintain the operations that we are required to operate“ while executing the raids, but as the letter pointed out, his office exceeded the annual overtime budget by nearly $5,000,000 or 542 percent in 2024, according to recent reporting from POLITICO.

Two weeks ago, the city’s Department of Investigation searched the Sheriff’s Office’s Queens facility. Miranda claimed he found roughly $10,000 in cash that had not been properly vouchered, and called DOI, who upon arrival, seized body cam footage and $100,000 worth of cash. — Timmy Facciola

CITY MONEY: Comptroller hopeful Mark Levine tells Playbook he raised more than $100,000 in the last three months, as the Manhattan Borough President aims for a citywide position in 2025.

Candidates will get their first matching funds payment in December if they hit certain fundraising thresholds in a filing due Friday. Levine’s team says he’s in line for nearly $1.5 million in public funds alone.

Council Member Keith Powers wants to succeed Levine at 1 Centre. He says he’s brought in more than 600 contributions and is in line for $400,000 in matching cash.

All the races are in flux right now, but it always helps to have money. Playbook will report more as the numbers roll in. — Jeff Coltin