All Over Albany

Malcom Smith convicted, state settlement in Vito Lopez sexual harassment lawsuit, school district "flying blind" without state aid info, former CDTA mechanic alleges co-workers hazed him

Malcolm Smith, the former majority leader of the state Senate, was convicted on federal corruption charges Thursday. The feds say Smith, a Democrat, tried to bribe his way onto the Republican line in the NYC mayoral election. Said US Attorney Preet Bharara in a statement, of the case: "And sadly, this was just one of many pockets of corruption this Office has uncovered in New York, which has become the 'show me the money' state. It should not be asking too much to expect public officials at least to obey the law." [NYT] [Buffalo News] [US Attorney Southern District of NY]

Two former state Assembly staffers who accused former Assemblyman Vito Lopez of sexually harassing them have reached a $580k settlement -- $545k from the state, and $35k from Lopez. Said the women in a statement: "We hope our ordeal will serve as a strong reminder to New York's legislators that they are accountable for their behavior. All women should be treated with respect and dignity, not as sex objects or as problems to be handled and silenced." It's the second such settlement the state has made regarding Lopez and sexual harassment allegations -- it settled for more than $100k with two Assembly staffers in 2012. [NYT] [TU] [NY Post]

Andrew Cuomo, talking with the Syracuse Post-Standard editorial board this week, on Sheldon Silver: "This was a 20-year senior state official. If you can't trust him, who can you trust?" [Syracuse Post-Standard]

The massive Anthem data breach might also include information for members of the Empire Plan. [TU]

Federal investigators say they're still pulling together details in an attempt to figure out what caused the Metro-North crash this week with an SUV to be so severe. [NYT]

The attorney for a man facing a manslaughter charge for allegedly killing a man in South Troy last year is arguing that his client should not be found incompetent to stand trial. [TU]

Issue central to a retrial of man accused of attempted murder in a 2009 Hoosick Street pizza shop robbery: whether information authorities properly retrieved info from a mobile phone. [TU]

A Troy man accused of keeping dogs and cats in unsuitable conditions in a home on South Pine Ave in Albany took a plea bargain that includes 60 days in jail. [Albany County DA]

A former CDTA mechanic alleges in a lawsuit that on his last day of work co-workers held him down and pressed their genitals to his head, and that the incident was photographed. [TU]

State comptroller Tom DiNapoli in remarks accompanying a report by his office on the Empire State Development Corp, the state's economic development arm, and its job creation programs: "New Yorkers deserve more thorough accounting about whether these programs are achieving desired results." Andrew Cuomo in response: "To the extent that the comptroller thinks we should go back to the old way that saw New York losing jobs, I couldn't disagree more strongly." [NYS OSC] [State of Politics]

An Albany school district official on trying to form a budget without info from the Cuomo admin on state aid for the next year: "We're really flying blind this year." [TU]

Of Schenectady County's 10 highest paid employees in 2014, three made more in overtime than they did in base pay. [TU]

Lou Rosamilia in his state of the city address: "There is little doubt that Troy is in a better place here in 2015 than when I first took office." And on the city's financial problems: "These challenges will not be solved in one-budget cycle, and they will not be solved through political theater or partisan bickering." [Troy Record] [TU]

Albany school board member Dan Egan, who's all but officially running for county exec, on current county exec Dan McCoy: "The county executive is a skilled politician, but that's the only skill he has." [TU]

A group of Schenectady landlords is pushing for a review board to be the initial mediator of disputes between landlords and code enforcement. [Daily Gazette]

The Schenectady County Land Bank is set to take ownership of three properties in Rotterdam, including two damaged in Irene and Lee flooding. [Daily Gazette]

The CEO of Ellis Medicine, James Connolly, announced Thursday that he was retiring from the hospital group, effective immediately. [Daily Gazette]

How Milton and Charlton are handling the backyard chicken issue. [Daily Gazette]