Independence Party Considered Contacting The District Attorney About Colon’s Payment
I wonder if anyone at the Democrat and Chronicle is embarrassed? They should be. Here is a link to the story they had about the resignation of Independence Party Chairman Rafael Colon. The Buffalo News had a much better story on the subject. Here’s some of it:
The chairman of the Monroe County Independence Party has resigned after his wife accepted $5,000 in what party officials call “bribe money” from the campaign of Democratic congressional candidate Jack Davis.
Rafael Colon, a Rochester resident who works in a Batavia factory, quit his local and state positions after Monroe County Independence Party officials confronted him over the payment, according to Walter Schiemann, interim chairman.
“It’s all about what we call the bribe money from Jack Davis,” Schiemann said. “I’m not going to let this party fall into hands like that.”
(snip)
“It’s too much of a mess out there,“ Orsini said last month, referring to the three-way Democratic race. “We don’t know who is going to win the Democratic primary.”
Schiemann, however, said Monday that he has no intention of collaborating with Orsini to replace Fumerelle. That could allow Fumerelle to draw votes away from the Democratic or Republican candidates and diminish the importance the third line on the ballot was expected to hold in this year’s congressional election.
“It can’t possibly work,” Schiemann said. “For Supreme Court, we’ll put who we want in there.
“Orsini does not control this party,” he added. “[Substituting the candidate] may have been a consideration that Colon and he had, but not for me.”
Schiemann said Monday that Colon evaded party officials for eight days as they attempted to discuss the situation. When he finally returned his call, Schiemann said, he told Colon he had done wrong and needed to resign.
(snip)
He also said the fact that the payments were made to Colon’s wife under her maiden name of Blanca Semidey underscored the party’s concerns over their questionable nature.
“It’s definitely a bribe — absolutely,” Schiemann said, adding that the resignation may satisfy party officials and preclude further discussions with the Monroe County district attorney.
Maybe their new publisher can work on improving the D&C’s political coverage!
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