Page 3The WesTchesTer GuardIaN Thursday, JuNe 10, 2010

Public corruption is one of the FBI’s top priorities after terrorism and espionage. The FBI understands public corruption impacts democracy and is a threat to state and national security. Political corruption affects everything from securing our borders to fixing potholes, from verdicts handed down in our courts to how schools are run, from how our mail is delivered to protecting our neighborhoods. corruption impacts every person in every municipality in every state in america, and takes a toll on the pocketbook of the american taxpayer.

Border corruption, economic stim-ulus fraud, election crimes and bribery are among the FBI’s top investigative priorities.

On Friday, June 4th, Mt. Vernon activist, helena edwards, publisher of the “straight Talk in Mount Vernon” blog, and wife of acting Westchester Family court Judge, hon. Bill edwards, accused the current Westchester county democratic chairman, reginald Lafayette, of attempting to shake her down to guarantee the democratic Party endorsement for her husband seven years ago.

Ms. edwards alleges Lafayette, who held the Mt. Vernon democratic committee chair in 2003 said “your husband will be getting a ten-year one million dollar job, and the democratic Party is entitled to 10 percent of that.”

Ms edwards told The Guardian her response to Lafayette was “get out of my face.”

“We are good people,” she added. When asked why she was making this

explosive revelation now, she replied: “I want everyone to know the truth.”

To back up her claim, she chal-lenged Lafayette to take a lie detector test, and agreed to do the same.

allegations of selling party endorse-ments by the Mt. Vernon democratic committee are not new. The Guardian learned that, during last year’s elec-tion, deveraux cannic, the current Mt. Vernon democratic committee chair, also solicited money for endorse-ments. The menu included $50,000 to purchase the party’s endorsement for Mt. Vernon city comptroller -- which the incumbent, Maureen Walker, refused to pay, and $10,000 for the endorsement for Mt. Vernon city Judge. helen Blackwood received the party’s endorsement and now sits on the bench. according to the New york state Board of elections, she paid.

Ms. edwards compared endorse-ment selling in Mt. Vernon to the corruption perpetrated by clarence Norman, the disgraced former Kings county democratic chairman. Norman was also the former Brooklyn

assemblyman for the 43rd district which encompasses crown heights, Flatbush and Prospect Park. On september 27, 2005, a Brooklyn jury convicted Norman of violating elections laws and falsifying business records. In december that same year, Norman was convicted again on charges that he stole $5,000 from his re-election campaign. On February 23, 2007, Norman was convicted a third time for illegally solic-iting contributions in connection with judicial elections. each verdict arose from an investigation by Kings county district attorney, charles hynes. The investigation originally focused on sale of judgeships in exchange for campaign contributions to the democratic Party.

In a telephone interview, reginald Lafayette, now the Westchester county democratic chairman, told The Guardian none of Ms. edward’s allega-tions are true.“It’s the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard,” said Lafayette. “They should have reported me back then in 2003.” Lafayette added, “how would they give me ten percent, that’s $100,000? Give me a God damn break.”

Shakedown for JudgeshipsWestchester Democratic Chairman Accused of Extorting Kickbacks in Exchange for Party EndorsementBy Sam Zherka

The Guardian asked Ms. edwards why she did not report the incident to authorities immediately after it occurred. she responded, “They are not good people, and reggie assured me that nothing would ever come of any investigation. I don’t have faith in the system. The system is corrupt.”

Lafayette told The Guardian he would welcome any investigation into edwards’s allegations. however, he rebuffed her challenge to take mutual lie detector tests. “This is not the Maury Povich show,” he said. “I don’t want to be taking any lie detector test and find out I’m the daddy” joked Lafayette. “My lawyer would tell me, ‘you have to be out of your mind to be playing these stupid games with lie detector tests,’” he said.

It is no secret political power bosses in Westchester county and around the nation are being challenged and assailed by thousands of political blogs written by average citizens fed up with corrup-tion in politics. Lafayette said, “These blogs disrupt peoples’ lives,” empha-sizing that he “has no respect for them.”

Sam Zherka

Reginald Lafayette