New York News

NY Federal Prosecutor Mocks 3-Men-In-Room

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas

Published January 23, 2015 at 8:58 PM EST

Saying he's speaking as a citizen, a prosecutor who charged New York's assembly speaker with multiple felonies has called for an end to the state's "three-men-in-a-room" method of governing.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara told a New York Law School audience Friday he believes power in the state is "unduly concentrated in the hands of just a few men."

Added Bharara: "Some say just three men."

The prosecutor said concentrating power with the governor, the Assembly speaker and the Senate president seemed to feed a culture of corruption that leads to crimes.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was arrested Thursday on federal charges that he took nearly $4 million in payoffs and kickbacks.

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Dave Lucas

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.

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