ALBANY — He was Senator Pothole. Now he’s Mr. Deep Pockets.
Former US Sen. Al D’Amato led all individual registered state lobbyists in political-campaign donations last year, giving nearly $60,000 to candidates, parties and political-action committees, according to a report released yesterday.
The analysis, by the reform group NYPIRG, found that lobbyists contributed at least $2.2 million in 2009, or about 2 percent of the $100 million or so spent on campaigns that year.
That includes $93,080 from D’Amato’s Park Strategies LLC, representing more than 40 clients, ranging from Verizon to the developer of the Atlantic Yards project.
D’Amato was the state’s most powerful Republican for nearly two decades before he lost to Democrat Charles Schumer in 1998. When asked about his donations, he said, “Wow! I thought I gave more than that.”
“This documents Albany’s pay-to-play culture,” said NYPIRG Legislative Director Blair Horner.