The union-catspaw Working Families Party can strike fear into the hearts of New York politicians. But can it withstand some well-deserved legal scrutiny?
Word broke on Tuesday that Manhattan-based US Attorney Preet Bharara has subpoenaed documents from the WFP — as well as from all the candidates who hired its campaign services this year.
It’s about time: As The Post has reported for months, the party — an affiliate of the disgraced community organizers at ACORN — sports a shadowy, multi-layered structure that appears de signed to conceal illegal activity.
This page first called attention in March to the WFP’s unique for-profit campaign arm, Data & Field Services, which allows the party to hide its activities behind a wall of corporate secrecy.
Why do such a thing?
Well, it’s no secret that the WFP is a favored repository for labor union cash — which is subject to strict limits and disclosure requirements if given directly to candidates.
But if, say, DFS were to funnel the cash to favored pols by undercharging for its services, no one need be the wiser.
As it happened, the WFP was able to install five of its hand-picked candidates on the City Council this fall — yanking that body hard to the left — while engineering Bill de Blasio’s public-advocate victory.
In the meantime, DFS became the subject of a warning from the Campaign Finance Board, a lawsuit on Staten Island and even an internal WFP whitewash — er, “review” — led by former Chief Judge Judith Kaye.
Apparently, Bharara didn’t think much of that.
We only hope his probe is comprehensive and unsparing — wherever it leads.
Labor’s influence surely is here to stay: In a democracy, unions are entirely welcome to make their interests known. But they shouldn’t be entitled to play by their own rules — especially in contesting elections.
Needless to say, it’s good to see a prosecutor with some curiosity.