May 12, 2009 7:58 pm US/Eastern
Is It Time For Ethics Reform In Albany?
That's The Question Good Government Groups Are Asking After Several Lawmakers Are Caught Misbehaving
ALBANY (CBS) ―
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A CBS 2 HD investigation has uncovered the fact that state Sen. Pedro Espada, who represents the Bronx, lives nowhere near the Bronx. On April 21, he ran away from our questions.
CBS
Lawmakers caught on the wrong side of the law. Civic leaders are now the target of prosecutors' investigations.
It's enough to make you ask "who is running Albany?"
CBS 2 HD went up to the state capitol on Tuesday in search of answers.
The walk of shame for Albany lawmakers has become common place.
Brooklyn Sen. Kevin Parker was arrested last week for attacking a newspaper photographer.
Queens Sen. Hiram Monserrate was indicted for attacking his girlfriend.
Bronx Sen. Pedro Espada has made a living out of ducking questions about not living in his district.
Good government groups said it's no surprise so many lawmakers run afoul of the law.
"It's an endemic problem; it's a structural problem," said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group. "The fundamental issue here in Albany is there's no cop walking the beat, no one monitoring the activity of lawmakers."
Horner said ethics reform is badly needed.
"Just like the highway where people drive fast whether there are no speed traps, in Albany there's no ethical speed traps, so people misbehave," Horner said.
Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, who has disciplined the so-called "three bad boys gone wild" -- Parker, Monserrate and Espada, said he's open to ethics changes.
"We are going to look at this issue," Smith said. "I believe there can be some ethics rules changes. It's a different world."
As Sens. Parker, Monserrate and Espada posed for their Senate class picture Tuesday, colleagues spoke out about behavior.
"An essential ingredient for success is that we have to maintain the public trust. Certainly this sort of conduct that we are talking about here we see from some of my colleagues we must have," Sen. Andrew Lana of Staten Island said.
"It really sends a bad message," added Queens Sen. Frank Padavan.
Advocates told CBS 2 HD until ethics changes are enacted in New York, voters will be asking the question: who are these people running our state?
It's unclear when the Senate and the Assembly will take up ethics reform legislation.
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