NY: REFORM BACKERS BLAST ILLEGAL GIFTS

Source: (Long Island, NY) Newsday
Date: Tuesday, January 8, 2002
Author: J. Jioni Palmer / ALBANY BUREAU
URL: here

It's been two years since Philip Morris Co. was whacked with a $75,000 fine
for falsifying documents, but a coalition of government reform advocates
said yesterday the tobacco giant has not been punished fully for its
"political crimes" because of the state's weak ethics laws.

New York Public Interest Research Group, joined by the state chapters of
Common Cause and the League of Women Voters, said neither the company nor
any lawmakers have been fined for giving or receiving more than $17,000 in
prohibited gifts, mostly expensive dinners above the $75 limit.

"There is no cop walking the beat," said Blair Horner, legislative director
of NYPIRG. "Here's a crime and no one is being taken to task."

The 1999 disclosure of Philip Morris' improper lobbying, which resulted in
the fine for falsifying documents reporting lobbying expenses, prompted the
state to adopt tougher rules on gifts.

While the Temporary State Commission on Lobbying has been lauded by some
for acting against Philip Morris and their lobbyist, Sharon Portnoy, who
was fined $15,000 and banned from lobbying for three years, Horner said no
action has been taken against the company or any lawmakers. . .

Walter Ayres, spokesman for the state Ethics Commission, which oversees the
behavior of state officials, said the Philip Morris matter has been
investigated fully. He said the commission fined James Natoli, Gov. George
Pataki's director of operations, $2,000 for accepting gifts.

"The case against Philip Morris has been closed," Ayres said. . . But
that's not enough, said Horner, who sent Pataki a letter proposing a slate
of reforms. They include: creating an independent agency with investigative
powers; giving law enforcement more latitude to prosecute alleged
misconduct; more public disclosure of ongoing investigations; and banning
gifts and honoraria to lawmakers.

The panel's jurisdiction extends only to state employees; the Legislature
has its own committee to handle ethics charges involving its members.

"The loopholes allow powerful special interests to ignore the law and
apparently get off scot-free," Horner said.