NYC: Witness to Bribery Plot Had Ties to Many Pols, Including Eric Schneiderman
Moses “Mark” Stern, the cooperating witness who played a pivotal role in the arrests of state Sen. Malcolm Smith and five others, is a well-connected upstate powerbroker who kept dirt on politicians for a “rainy day” and had ties to many elected officials, including state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, sources said.
A smooth-talking bankrupt real estate investor, Stern, 40, is a member of the tight-knit Satmar Hasidic community in Monsey, N.Y., who helped local politicians win office by directing tens of thousands of his allies’ dollars to campaign coffers and rallying the Orthodox Jewish community’s support, sources said.
“Stern tried to help people get into office like Attorney General Eric Schneiderman,” a former business associate of Stern told dnainfo.com New York.
Stern was more than a fundraiser for Schneiderman and other New York City politicians. Part of his strategy was badmouthing opposing campaigns to help his candidate win, the associate said.
In fact Stern kept information on elected officials — just in case he got arrested or for a “rainy day,” the associate said.
“He’s slimy and deceptive and only looks out for himself and for the next dollar,” the associate added.
Schneiderman’s office said Stern never directly contributed funds to the attorney general’s campaign, but acknowledged a connection between the two.
“Mr. Stern — like thousands of New Yorkers — supported the campaign in his local community,” a spokesman for Schneiderman said in a statement.
Stern and Schneiderman were so close that Stern helped fundraise for the attorney general and attended his 2011 inaugural party, sources said.
At the heart of Stern’s power has been his ability to get Monsey’s Orthodox community to open up their wallets and support candidates.
Among the upstate town’s major political donors are Joseph and Esther Markowitz, who run a local real estate company and regularly write four-figure checks to certain candidates from New York City.
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