Convictions in NYC political bribery scheme put another corruption case in the bag
Queens GOP vice chairman Vincent Tabone leaves the Charles L. Brieant Courthouse in White Plains after being arraigned on corruption charges. (April 23, 2013) Credit: Lili Holzer-Glier
The definition of bagman can vary. But it is rarely if ever used as an accolade.
Former Queens Republican vice chairman Vincent Tabone was convicted last week alongside former Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith in connection with a bizarre bribery scheme to get Smith, a Democrat, onto the 2013 New York City mayoral ballot as a Republican.
Tabone's described role as a recipient of Smith payoffs proved extra surprising given his longtime job as counsel to John Catsimatidis, the grocery and real estate billionaire who himself was seeking the GOP mayoral nod.
During the trial, prosecutors cited conversations secretly recorded by the FBI in which Tabone is heard expressing concern about the prospect that Catsimatidis would learn of the party official's dalliances with a Smith candidacy.
Tabone was recorded saying he'd been the "bagman for a Republican billionaire for years," as first reported last month from the White Plains courtroom.
Just what did he mean? Reached Friday, a day after the guilty verdicts, Tabone attorney Sam Braverman said nobody had imputed anything "illegal or improper whatsoever" from his client's role as in-house lawyer to Catsimatidis' Red Apple Group Inc.
"He'd done a lot of good legal work for John Catsimatidis over the years," Braverman said on Tabone's behalf. "Many people, I'm sure, describe common occurrences with goofy-sounding words" -- including "lawyers and newspaper people," Braverman said.
A Republican operative who knew Tabone interpreted the "bagman" reference as just an effort to "build up his own importance."
Besides bagman's British meaning as a traveling salesman, Merriam-Webster defines it as "a person who on behalf of another collects or distributes illicitly gained money."
Beyond that, however, the Investopedia website says: "Nowadays, bag man can be used pejoratively to describe an individual who is in charge of collecting and delivering contributions to political parties or funds gathered for political purposes."
Catsimatidis, a generous contributor to charities and campaigns, fired Tabone from his company and campaign when the criminal charges surfaced in April 2013. Catsimatidis and candidate George McDonald lost the GOP primary that year to Joseph Lhota.
For now, another conviction is in the bag. A Catsimatidis spokesman declined to comment.
Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
