New York State’s campaign contribution laws were designed to make certain that corporations and wealthy individuals could not gain undue influence in the state Legislature by making large campaign contributions.
Unfortunately the good intentions of the Legislature have been rendered useless by wealthy contributors who have found a way to circumvent the limits through the use of Limited Liability Companies or LLCs.
LLCs are often formed by business owners to protect themselves from being personally liable for business debts. In the upcoming state Senate election it appears that two real estate developers used LLCs for the purpose of increasing the size of their donations to the campaign of state Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola).
Martins’ campaign received contributions of more than $40,000 from four LLCs linked to real estate developer Vincent Polimeni. The LLCs located in four abandoned buildings on Old Country Road managed by Polimeni. The four, 140 OCR LLC, 146 OCR LLC, 150 OCR LLC and 160 OCR LLC, each contributed the maximum $10,300 to Martins’ campaign.
In New Hyde Park LLCs linked to Glenwood Management Corp., which is owned by real estate mogul Leonard Litwin, have given $32,500 to Martins’ campaign. According to published reports, LLCs connected to Litwin have contributed more than $900,000 in the upcoming state senate elections.
The total donated to Martins by the LLCs connected to these two real estate developers is roughly equal to the $75,000 that Daniel Ross, Martins’ opponent, said he expects to raise for his campaign.
Martins campaign had collected $500,000 in contributions as of Blank Slate Media’s examination of Polimeni’s contributions. The senator noted that contributions from Litwin’s and Polimeni’s LLCs make up only 14 percent of that total. According to updated campaign finance filings, the proportion is now smaller – 12 percent of Martins’ $600,000 in fundraising.
In a letter to the editor Martins makes it clear that he is unhappy with our discussion of his campaign contributions. “In reality,” he writes “the vast majority of my contributions are still from constituents within my district.”
It begs the question: If the senator doesn’t need the LLC money, why not send it back?
Polimeni has big plans for Mineola. His International’s Winston project is a key component in the master plan to upgrade Mineola’s downtown district. The apartment building at 170 Jericho Turnpike will provide attractive housing for young professionals who would patronize local restaurants and other businesses.
We should make it clear that there is nothing illegal about the contributions made by the LLCs. But that doesn’t mean the whole thing doesn’t smell.
It’s not a stretch to assume that a businessman who makes $900,000 in campaign contributions is expecting to have friends in high places.
Adam Skaggs of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School writes, “The problem is that the LLC loophole… renders individual contribution limits in New York State effectively meaningless.”
“Any sophisticated political donor can find ways to give amounts that dwarf what the contribution limits are. What’s being done is completely legal. The problem is not with the contributors, who are simply playing by the rules – the problem is with the law,” Skaggs said.
The senator should be able to see that the LLC loophole is nothing but a way for wealthy individuals to make campaign contributions through the back door. We urge him to lead the Legislature in closing this loophole.
