ALBANY — A specter is haunting talks about the first legislative pay raise since 1999 — the specter of Preet Bharara.
Manhattan’s powerful federal prosecutor has multiple probes stemming from the unfinished work of Gov. Cuomo’s now-defunct Moreland anti-corruption commission — and sources said his investigations could hurt the chances of an agreement between the governor and legislative leaders.
“As soon as a deal is reached, Preet could let loose 10 new legislative indictments making everybody look bad,” said one skeptical state government insider.
Many in Albany are openly talking about concessions the Legislature might give Cuomo to entice him to support raising the current $79,500 base legislative salary, but other insiders warn that legislators should be careful given Bharara’s increased focus on Albany.
The last time a legislative pay raise was authorized, in 1998, the Legislature gave then-Gov. George Pataki several items he wanted, including the law that created charter schools in New York.
But times have changed. Bharara rocked Albany earlier this year when his office began investigating the deal that called for Cuomo to pull the plug on the Moreland Commission in exchange for some ethics reforms.
But if Bharara is investigating that deal, insiders worry that he could open probes into the usual political horse-trading involving the legislative pay raise. Any lawmaker still in office come January would benefit directly from the deal.
A Bharara spokeswoman had no comment.
“It’s hard to say at what point it goes beyond the usual political horse-trading and becomes something improper — but it does look unsavory,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York.
Another good-government group said horse-trading may look bad, but not nearly as bad as cutting a deal to pull the plug on a panel that was actively probing legislative wrongdoing.
“It’s apples and oranges,” said New York Public Interest Research Group’s Blair Horner.
* * *
The former top aide to the anti-corruption commission that Gov. Cuomo disbanded has sold more copies of her memoir than the governor has with his.
Regina Calcaterra’s “Etched in Sand” has sold at least 12,000 print copies since its release in August 2013 compared to the 2,000 copies of Cuomo’s “All Things Possible” that have moved since it was released last month, according to Nielsen BookScan.
Calcaterra’s book on Sunday ranked 11,443 on Amazon.com’s best-seller list while Cuomo’s placed 206,339.
“When a largely anonymous, in-the-shadows aide sells 10,000 more copies of her book than a governor who wants to run for president, we know that all things really are possible,” cracked one government insider.
A Cuomo source dismissed the comparison between the governor and the former Moreland commission executive director. “We haven’t done a book tour yet, which we will,” the source said.
* * *
Joe Dillon received a nice reward for his unsuccessful run this year for state Senate — a part-time job with the Senate Republicans that pays nearly $55,000 a year.
Dillon, a political consultant whose financial problems became an issue during his long-shot campaign in Westchester County against incumbent Democrat Sen. George Latimer, was recently hired as a special assistant in the majority operations office. His new gig comes with state benefits and allows him to have outside income.
“It’s a quid pro Joe,” quipped one Democratic insider.
But Senate GOP spokesman Scott Reif countered: “Joe Dillon is smart and talented, and he impressed everyone he came in contact with during this process. He will be an asset to this conference and the people of New York.”
