By Anna Gustafson
The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan subpoenaed documents for its probe into the Working Families Party from City Councilman-elect Danny Dromm and former Council candidate Lynn Schulman last week, a lawyer for Dromm and Schulman said.
Attorney Jerry Goldfeder stressed that “neither Mr. Dromm nor Ms. Schulman are targets of their investigation.”
Dromm, who will replace outgoing Councilwoman Helen Sears (D-Jackson Heights), and Schulman, who made an unsuccessful bid this year for the seat represented by Councilwoman Melinda Katz (D-Forest Hills), were subpoenaed last week. Dromm and Schulman referred any comment on the matter to their lawyer.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has asked for documents from the WFP and the candidates who used the party’s Data & Field Services, a for-profit arm of the WFP that provides candidates with such services as canvassing, WFP officials said.
“We, of course, encourage those campaigns to also cooperate fully with the U.S. attorney’s office in order to bring a prompt resolution to its review,” WFP Executive Director Dan Cantor said.
A spokeswoman from the U.S. attorney’s office said it could neither “confirm nor deny” there was an investigation.
Cantor said the WPF officials “welcome this inquiry and are confident that it will ultimately demonstrate what we have said before: Our work has complied with both the spirit and letter of New York City’s Campaign Finance Law as well as all relevant state and federal election laws, tax and not-for-profit corporation laws.”
The party announced last month it had hired the firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom to conduct a review of the “structure and relationship” between the WFP and Data & Field Services and the status of the WFP’s compliance with election laws.
The internal review is being led by former Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals Judith Kaye.
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e-mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 174.
