Answered Prayers: The Downfall Of Governor Spitzer
By Carol Devine-Molin
March 26, 2008
New York politics are as entertaining as any good soap opera that captivates with ongoing drama, intrigue, sexcapades and rogue characters. That being said, the Eliot Spitzer scandal is a storyline that just keeps on giving. When Spitzer, the maniacal "crusader", was forced to resign his governorship amid allegations of patronizing call-girl services, schadenfreude was rampant in New York. There wasn't much left in the way of residual good will toward Spitzer. Why had so many come to despise him?
Over the course of time, Eliot Spitzer revealed himself to be a thuggish character-assassin and power and control freak, who never should have been afforded positions of leadership by the New York electorate. As the state's Attorney General, Spitzer pursued high-profile corporate and securities fraud cases for the primary purpose of enhancing his political résumé. Instead, the strategy backfired in critical ways, as Spitzer's zealotry tipped the line into "witchhunt". The perceived slap-down of respected executives, in concert with Spitzer's jihad against the GOP leadership in Albany, were instrumental in public opinion turning against him.
It seems that Spitzer fancied himself one of the "masters of the universe", as he targeted and bullied Wall Street titan Hank Greenberg, who was then CEO of AIG. In April 2005, on the Sunday news program "This Week", Spitzer publicly accused Greenberg of fraud, citing "powerful evidence". When Greenberg's friend, John Whitehead (former Co-Chairman and Senior Partner at Goldman Sachs and a Reagan era official), came to his defense, noting that Greenberg was "one of America's best CEOs and most generous philanthropists", Spitzer, in a rage, tracked him down in Texas, and conveyed the following message via phone: "Mr. Whitehead, it's now a war between us and you've fired the first shot. I will be coming after you. You will pay the price. This is only the beginning and you will pay dearly for what you have done. You will wish you had never written that letter" [Wall Street Journal 12/22/05].
As to Greenberg, Spitzer not only threatened him with indictment, but his company AIG as well. AIG was placed in an untenable position and forced Greenberg out. Mind you, Greenberg had built up AIG into a powerhouse over a span of many years, and he vociferously denied the allegations. The bottom line is that an investigation ensued and no criminal charges were ever brought against Greenberg or AIG. However, Greenberg's reputation was damaged and he lost his CEO spot at the company. Greenberg is still fighting civil actions brought by the Attorney General's Office.
Similarly, Spitzer attempted to publicly vilify his political nemesis, New York Republican Senate Leader Joseph Bruno, claiming that he misused state aircraft. Subsequent investigation cleared Bruno, but implicated Spitzer and his staff in orchestrating the smear against Bruno and utilizing state police in the process. Although Spitzer disavowed any responsibility, evidence suggests otherwise. Finally, the full truth is coming out. According to a New York Times article dated 3/24/08, "Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer was deeply involved in his administration's efforts last year to discredit the State Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno, holding detailed discussions with senior aides, ordering damaging information about Mr. Bruno released, and calling an aide at home repeatedly to check on the progress, according to several people with direct knowledge of the investigation." Essentially, Spitzer's attempts to lie and deflect blame in this matter have failed because his former aides have come forward to set the record straight.
>> Continued -- Page 1 2
|
 |
|
|
