McCaffrey Withdraws After Scandal Revelations

by ARTHUR NITZBURG, Queens Courier Political Columnist
In the end, it was Walter McCaffreys inability to handle money that did him in. McCaffrey has had tax problems for years and it was the assurance that those problems were long behind him that made his friends and colleagues push him toward a Congressional race against one-term Congressman Joseph Crowley. The revelations of financial improprieties began coming thick and fast last week. There was first a New York 1 revelation that McCaffrey had spent $54,000 of campaign money on livery cabs for his own personal business. Then there were half a dozen related stories followed by silence, followed by McCaffreys sudden withdrawal from the race.
Why is this a problem? Mostly because in New York State there is a prohibition against candidates taking salaries or personal money from campaigns. This is not true in other states or cities, where a candidate is routinely paid a salary from campaign funds. But in this state using campaign funds for personal purposes is a crime. This isnt a new law and everyone in public life knows about it.
Right now, there is the feel of Darryl Strawberry about McCaffreyimmense potential wasted by intractable personal problems. Like Strawberry, McCaffrey could have hit his way into the political Hall of Fame. Now, like Strawberry, he will have to struggle his way back to respectability.
The McCaffrey side is spinning things a different way. He had trouble raising money, they are saying. That, more than anything else is why he dropped out. They are also defending McCaffreys actions. He is a very heavy man who does not drive and who could not use the public transit system. They say that there is nothing illegal about the use of public or campaign funds to help the Councilman or the candidate to get around.
While I dont know much about the fine points of legality here, I do know that members of the Council who use their cars to get to work or to political events dont get reimbursed for their expenses.
Then, too, minor scandals followed by sudden withdrawals concern me. I always wonder if theres something undisclosed on the record that would prove utterly fatal were the information released. I guess now well never know what was put on the table in the meetings McCaffrey had with County Leader Tom Manton and Council Speaker Peter Vallone.
However, one daily paper implied that McCaffrey had been given some sort of payoff for dropping out. As Newsdays William Murphy wrote: "There was widespread suspicion that McCaffrey had been offered some inducement to sway him. But none of those involved would talk about the breakfast meeting [ between Manton, Vallone, and McCaffrey]." Let me tell you this, one political insider said. "Peter, Walter, Mantonthey all walked away happy. What does that tell you?"
It seems most unlikely that McCaffrey, at this late moment and after revelations of scandal, would be given some kind of political payoff to withdraw. More likely there was a decision that McCaffrey would not continue a political vendetta against Manton through next year and that Vallone could run for Mayor without a feud in his back yard. The promise to McCaffrey seems likely to be a decision on the part of both Manton and Vallone not to oppose McCaffrey if in the future he decided to run for another office or seek appointment in a future Mayoral administration. It would definitely not have been an explicit quid pro quoyou withdraw and get the following benefit.
The withdrawal of McCaffrey leaves Congressman Joseph Crowley standing alone as the Democratic nominee. Crowleys Republican opponent, Rose Birtley, is a very nice lady. But she is incompetent as a candidate and stands no chance of winning. Manton, who engineered Crowleys first selection in 1998 (I hesitate to call it an election because no-one was permitted to run against Crowley) has selected Crowley once again.
They finally got him, said a bitter McCaffrey partisan. Indeed they did.