The Real Estate Company at the Center of the Skelos Scandal
The criminal complaint against New York State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos describes an unnamed real estate development company that helped steer money to the senator's son in exchange for favorable legislation. Glenwood Management, the same firm involved in the political corruption case against former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, fits the bill.
The complaint against Skelos alleges that Glenwood funneled money to Skelos's son Adam to win favorable treatment in Albany.
Dan Geiger, a reporter with Crains New York Business, has written about the firm and its founder, Leonard Litwin — who was the biggest donor to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's re-election campaign last year. That part's all legal. But Geiger said much of the real estate business is heavily regulated by the state — and that's where conflicts of interest can factor in.
"This is all business before the state, this is all of huge import to a company like Glenwood, it determines what kinds of rents they can get, what kind of tax breaks they can get," he said. "All the regulations that dictate their bottom line are in the hands of a man like Dean Skelos, and here they are, you know, negotiating with him at the same time that they're negotiating to compensate his son."
In this interview, Geiger talks with WNYC's Richard Hake about Glenwood's role in the scandal.
