Republican attorney-general candidate Dan Donovan slammed Democratic rival Eric Schneiderman yesterday, saying he wouldn’t bet on the state senator being able to investigate politicians linked to the Aqueduct scandal who contributed money to his campaign.
“At every turn, he’s compromised by his relationships with his colleagues in the state Senate,” said Donovan, Staten Island’s district attorney.
Schneiderman responded that he would “avoid even an appearance of conflict,” by returning the total $76,000 donated by the Senate Democratic leader, John Sampson, its president, Malcolm Smith, and Brooklyn state Sen. Eric Adams, all of whom were blasted in a scathing report last week.
The report by state Inspector General Joseph Fisch found a bidding process for the track’s new “racino” casino plan rife with insider dealing.
The initial winner was the politically connected AEG group, which was later thrown out in favor of a Malaysian company called Genting.
“Everyone knows Eric [Schneiderman’s] name was nowhere near this report . . . Eric actually voted against setting up this bidding process in the first place, and called for immediate reforms to make sure it never happens again,” said his campaign spokesman, James Freedland.
Meanwhile, in the gubernatorial race, Carl Paladino’s hometown newspaper, The Buffalo News, endorsed his rival, Andrew Cuomo.
Additional reporting by Sally Goldenberg