THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

WPCNR COUNTY-CLARION LEDGER. From Benjamin Boykin, Chairman of Board of Legislators. July 15, 2021:

Improvements to County parks from Montrose to Mount Vernon; investments in roads, transportation, Westchester Community College and waste management infrastructure; strengthening government ethics; police reform; and increasing transparency in the co-op market — these are just a few of the Board of Legislators’ achievements in the first half of 2021, outlined in Board Chair Ben Boykin’s 2021 Mid-Year Report released this week.

“After being at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are bouncing back,” Boykin said. There is important work to be done in the coming months as we continue our recovery. The decisions we make will shape Westchester for generations. It is our responsibility to ensure that our values guide our choices. We must build Westchester’s renewal on the pillars of fairness, equity, sustainability, fiscal responsibility, openness and transparency. In the first half of 2021, that work has already begun.”

The report details actions by the Board during the first half of 2021 to:

·         Approve an ambitious police reimagining plan for Westchester

·         Dramatically strengthen the ethics rules for County government

·         Increase transparency in co-op sales

·         Approve a hard-fought, negotiated legal settlement that will allow Playland to operate with greater County oversight

·         Invest tens of millions of dollars in improvements to County parks

·         Authorize the acquisition of new hybrid electric buses to make our mass transit system cleaner

·         Rehabilitate miles of County-owned roads

·         Modernize our wastewater treatment and sewer systems

·         Invest in housing for seniors and others who live and work in our County

·         Upgrade the infrastructure at Westchester Community College

·         Expand tax relief for our veterans

·         Support the creation of a National Infrastructure Bank to finance the development of 21st century infrastructure

Boykin said, “I would like to thank County Executive George Latimer and his staff for their creative, dedicated and steadfast leadership for the past four years, and especially during the COVID-19 crisis. I’d also like to thank Board leadership – Vice Chair Alfreda Williams, Majority Leader MaryJane Shimsky, Majority Whip Christopher Johnson, and Minority Leader Margaret Cunzio – and all our County Legislators.

This Board has been able to achieve all it has because of their dedication to serving the people of this County, supported by the outstanding public service of the Board’s tireless staff during the past 15 difficult months. Working together, this County government has risen to the occasion to keep the residents of Westchester safe, to buoy the County’s financial health, and to provide for the people of Westchester at a time when government services have never been more essential.”

Read the report at: https://westchesterlegislators.com/images/pdf/2021Mid-YearReport.pdf

WPCNR FBI WIRE. From the Federal Bureau of Investigation. July 14, 2021:

Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that STEPHEN M. CALK was convicted of financial institution bribery and conspiracy to commit financial institution bribery, for corruptly using his position as the head of a federally-insured bank to issue millions of dollars in high-risk loans to Paul Manafort in exchange for a personal benefit: CALK’s placement on a 2016 presidential campaign and assistance from Manafort in trying to obtain a senior position with the incoming presidential administration. 

CALK was convicted following a three-week trial before U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “A unanimous jury convicted Stephen M. Calk of approving millions of dollars in high-risk loans to Paul Manafort in an effort to secure a personal benefit, namely a high-profile spot on the presidential campaign and appointment as Secretary of the Army or another similarly high-level position in the incoming presidential administration.  Calk used the federally-insured bank he ran as his personal piggybank to try and buy himself prestige and power.  Today’s verdict sends the message that corruption at the highest levels of federally regulated financial institutions will be prosecuted by this Office.”

As reflected in the Indictment, documents previously filed in the case, and evidence introduced at trial:

CALK, The Federal Savings Bank, and Paul Manafort

STEPHEN M. CALK was the chairman and chief executive officer of The Federal Savings Bank, a federal savings association headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with an office in New York, New York (the “Bank”).  The Bank was owned in its entirety by National Bancorp Holdings, a Chicago-based bank holding company (the “Holding Company”), and CALK was the chairman, chief executive officer, and owner of approximately 67% of the Holding Company.

Paul Manafort was a lobbyist and political consultant.  Beginning in or about March 2016, Manafort held a senior role with a 2016 presidential campaign (the “Presidential Campaign”), and from June 2016 through August 2016, he served as chairman of the Presidential Campaign.  After Manafort’s formal role with the Presidential Campaign concluded in or about August 2016, Manafort continued to be informally involved in the campaign.  Beginning in or about November 2016, when the candidate was elected President of the United States, Manafort provided informal input to the presidential transition team (the “Presidential Transition Team”).

The Corrupt Scheme

Between in or about July 2016 and January 2017, CALK engaged in a corrupt scheme to exploit his position as the head of the Bank and the Holding Company in an effort to secure a valuable personal benefit for himself, namely, Manafort’s assistance in obtaining for CALK a senior position in the presidential administration. 

During this time period, Manafort sought millions of dollars in loans from the Bank.  CALK understood that Manafort urgently needed these loans in order to terminate or avoid foreclosure proceedings on multiple properties owned by Manafort and Manafort’s family.  Further, CALK believed that Manafort could use his influence with the Presidential Transition Team to assist CALK in obtaining a senior administration position.

CALK thus sought to leverage his control over the Bank and the loans sought by Manafort to his personal advantage.  Specifically, CALK offered to, and did, cause the Bank and Holding Company to extend $16 million in loans to Manafort in exchange for Manafort’s requested assistance in obtaining a high-level position in the presidential administration. 

For example, and while Manafort’s loans were pending approval, CALK provided Manafort with a ranked list of the governmental positions he desired, which started with Secretary of the Treasury, and was followed by Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Commerce, and Secretary of Defense, as well as 19 ambassadorships similarly ranked and starting with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy.

In approving these loans to Manafort, CALK was aware of significant red flags regarding Manafort’s ability to repay the loans, such as his history of defaulting on prior loans. 

Moreover, given the size of the loans, Manafort’s debt became the single largest lending relationship at the Bank.  In order to enable the Bank to issue these loans without violating the Bank’s legal limit on loans to a single borrower, CALK authorized a maneuver never before performed by the Bank, in which the Holding Company—which CALK also controlled—acquired a portion of the loans from the Bank.

During the same time period, Manafort provided CALK with valuable personal benefits.  First, in or about the summer of 2016, during the Presidential Campaign—and just days after CALK and the rest of the Bank’s credit committee conditionally approved a proposed $9.5 million loan to Manafort — Manafort appointed CALK to a prestigious economic advisory committee affiliated with the campaign. 

And second, in or about late November and early December 2016—after the candidate had been elected President, after Manafort’s first loan from the Bank had been issued, and while a second set of loans worth $6.5 million sought by Manafort was pending approval by the Bank— Manafort used his influence with the Presidential Transition Team to assist Calk, recommending CALK for an administration position. 

Due to Manafort’s efforts, CALK was formally interviewed for the position of Under Secretary of the Army on January 10, 2017 at the Presidential Transition Team’s principal offices in New York, New York.  CALK was not ultimately hired.

To conceal the unlawful nature of his scheme, CALK made false and misleading statements to the OCC regarding the loans to Manafort.  For example, CALK falsely stated to the OCC regulators that he had not known that the Manafort’s properties had been in foreclosure prior to issuing the loans.  CALK also stated that he had never desired a position in the presidential administration. 

*                *                *

CALK, 56, was found guilty of one count of financial institution bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit financial institution bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison.  CALK is scheduled to be sentenced on January 10, 2022.