Moreland referrals spur call for itemized expenses
Jimmy Vielkind
ALBANY—A good-government group is calling on state lawmakers to itemize campaign expenditures after a report that the now-defunct Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption referred two dozen cases to Albany District Attorney P. David Soares.
City & State reported that the commission referred the cases before it was disbanded in early April, the result of a budget deal in which legislators agreed to change the definition of bribery, allow an independent enforcement counsel at the State Board of Elections and establish a pilot program for public campaign finance.
The commission's preliminary report faulted lawmakers for using campaign funds for dubious reasons like personal cars, meals and, as City & State reported, a clown. According to the report, some expenses were often part of lump sums categorized only as "unitemized" on disclosure reports.
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