The fundamental question about the Koch administration is no longer why the mayor gave power to so many crooks, but exactly what happened years ago when whistleblowers, law enforcement investigators, and private citizens first tried to warn him
Originally published February 3, 1987
“Witnesses against Friedman called him 'a stand-up guy' who had 'brass balls.' For this he deserves a certain grudging respect — and about 10 years in prison”
Originally published December 9, 1986
“The fact is that Koch has protected Bess Myerson because he has long recognized that there is no way that a damaged Myerson wouldn’t also damage him. And perhaps turn on him”
Originally published June 23, 1987
“To the ruling class, Larry Davis is society's nightmare, a horror-film monster who keeps coming back every time you think you’ve put him away for good. But to the powerless, Davis is a resistance fighter ... ”
Originally published November 28, 1988
“When the dark side of Donald Manes — everything from the cash to the mob to the orgies — began to surface, he tried to kill it with a knife”
Originally published September 22, 1987
“There will be a Mexico when this is finished. But if they only clean up the physical mess, then we are doomed.”
Originally published October 8, 1985
For 1991 alone, total revenues coming in to the PBA came to $63 million. The cop on the beat might well ask, “Where did it all go?”
August 1, 2020
Thanks to concessions won by Hartman, within a few years Long Island cops would take it for granted that they earned more than FBI agents.
August 1, 2020
Patrolman Phil Caruso and lawyer Richard Hartman built the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association into an arrogant, insular, and wealthy institution that stands above the law and beyond scrutiny. Where is the $63 million a year in tax funds and union dues going? Only their friends know for sure.
Originally published December 7, 1993
“People have got to understand that it’s just as patriotic to try to keep your country from dying, as it is to die for your country.”
January 28, 2020