The future of the Democratic Organization of Queens County was already in doubt before U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley was defeated in the June Democratic Party primary.
By Progress Queens Staff
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY 6) said that she was “willing to play whatever part I can” to strengthen the Queens Democratic Party county committee, according to an interview filed by Jeff Coltin for City & State. The Democratic Organization of Queens County, as the county committee is formally known, has become the reported focus of Federal authorities due a series of controversies. For this report, the committee to reëlect U.S. Rep. Meng did not immediately answer an interview request.
Following the electoral defeat of U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY 14) to insurgent upstart Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Justice Dems) in the June Democratic Party primary, U.S. Rep. Crowley’s leadership of the Queens Democratic Party county committee became in doubt. In recent decades, the chair of the county committee has been handed down to a member of the U.S. House of Representatives ever since a previous holder, Donald Manes, a one-time borough president of Queens County, was implicated in a wide-ranging, Federal corruption investigation during the administration of former, late Mayor Ed Koch (D-New York).
The county committee that U.S. Rep. Meng may conceivable soon lead is the subject of Federal law enforcement interest following several controversies.
Under the leadership of U.S. Rep. Crowley, the Queens Democratic Party county committee became the subject of press reports that raised questions about how lawyers with close ties to U.S. Rep. Crowley were professionally profiting from the Queens County court system, invoke the spectre of ethical lapses, since the county committee has the power to essentially install county judges of its choosing. Other controversies, which have been widely reported, include other Government functions, such as the purging of voter registrations being subjected to possible political influence, and how the county committee allegedly gate-keeps judgeships, political candidacies, and its own membership.
The last time the Queens Democratic Party county committee was the reported subject of a major Federal corruption investigation, Queens Democratic Party leaders survived scandal by transferring leadership to a Congressional lawmaker. It is not known whether Federal prosecutors will countenance a repeat of such a strategy, because, as reported by Progress New York, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation are following the activities of the county committee. Another press report has raised questions about the personal assets and finances publicly declared by U.S. Rep. Meng.
Press officers servicing the each of the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in New York City expressly declined to answer questions submitted in advance for this report.
Recommended Reading
- Growing Federal law enforcement interest in Queens County politics [Progress New York]
- Federal law enforcement interest in activities of Democratic Organization of Queens County : source [Progress Queens]
- Federal and Municipal prosecutors tight-lipped after exposé of Queens law firm [Progress Queens]