Former City Council Speaker Peter Vallone’s lobbying firm was hit with a mind-boggling $470,000 fine — but got it knocked down to $70,000 after it hired the former head of the State Lobby Commission to plead its case before a judge.
The fine was for failing to file annual reports with the City Clerk’s Office for each client that pays the firm $2,000 or more a year.
A spokesman for Constantinople & Vallone — which billed more than $2.5 million last year and was the city’s No. 3 lobbyist by income — blamed a “renegade” secretary for misleading the partners into thinking the filings had been completed on schedule when, in fact, they were delayed for nearly a year in many cases.
“They [Vallone and his partners] accepted [the secretary’s] remarkable claim that it was ‘impossible’ to print out a filing confirmation from the e-Lobbyist system,” said administrative law Judge Kevin Casey.
The judge pointed out that the partners were responsible for certifying the filings, but instead delegated the job to a “disorganized subordinate.’’
So Vallone called in David Grandeau, who headed the State Lobbying Commission between 1995 and 2007.
Grandeau testified that the city’s fine schedule was unlawful because it didn’t “conform” with the state’s. And where there’s a conflict, the state rules.
And the former commish succeeded in persuading the judge, saving the firm $400,000 and setting a precedent for all lobbyists who miss deadlines and face stiff city fines.