Spitzer was born and raised in the affluent Riverdale section of the Bronx, by AustrianJewish parents, though his family was not particularly religious, and Spitzer did not have a Bar Mitzvah[1]. He is a graduate of Horace Mann School. After receiving a score of 1590 on the SAT exam and being rejected for undergraduate admission from Harvard College[2] Spitzer attended Princeton University, where he was elected chairman of the undergraduate student government, graduating in 1981. After receiving a perfect score on the LSAT[3], he then went to Harvard Law School, where he joined the Harvard Law Review and became an editor. At Harvard Law, he met and married Silda Wall. They have three daughters.
Spitzer joined the staff of Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau, where he became chief of the labor-racketeering unit, spending six years pursuing organized crime. His biggest case came in 1992, when Spitzer led the investigation that ended the Gambinoorganized crime family's control of Manhattan's trucking and garment industries.
Spitzer devised a plan to set up his own sweatshop in the city's garment district, turning out shirts, pants and sweaters, and hiring 30 laborers. The shop manager eventually got close to the Gambinos, and officials were able to plant a bug in their office. The Gambinos, rather than being charged with extortion, which was hard to prove, were charged with antitrust violations. Thomas and Joseph Gambino and two other defendants took the deal and avoided jail by pleading guilty, paying $12 million in fines and agreeing to stay out of the business.Ignatius, Adi. "Wall Street's Top Cop", Time, Dec. 30, 2002. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
Spitzer left the DA's office in 1992 to work at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where he stayed until 1994. From 1994 to 1998 he worked at the law firm Constantine and Partners on a number of consumer rights and antitrust cases that were widely considered innovative and/or aggressive.
Political career
In 1994, Spitzer put aside his private practice to concentrate on attaining the elected office of New York Attorney General. He failed in the 1994 election, but was successfully elected in the next election in 1998. He has since become one of New York's most recognizable Democratic politicians. On November 7th, 2006 he was elected Governor of New York, and it is widely speculated that Spitzer may one day run for the office of President of the United States[citation needed].
Campaigns for Attorney General
In 1994, long-serving Democratic New York State Attorney General Robert Abrams decided to vacate the office after unsuccessfully challenging Al D'Amato for the seat of U.S. Senator from New York in 1992. Perceiving the weakness of Abrams's replacement as Attorney General, G. Oliver Koppell, several Democrats ran for the party's nomination, Spitzer among them. At the time, he was young and unknown, and despite a war chest funded heavily by his family's wealth, Spitzer had his campaign ended early by placing last among the four candidates for the Democratic nomination, with Judge Karen Burstein the winner. Burstein eventually lost to Dennis Vacco in the general election, part of a Republican electoral sweep that also elected George Pataki.
The election of a Republican in 1994 allowed Spitzer to seek the Democratic nomination again in 1998. More experienced in party politics, and again relying heavily on family wealth, he won the Democratic primary defeating Koppell, State. Sen. Catherine Abbate, and former Governor's Counsel Charles Davis. He then narrowly defeated then-incumbent Vacco, with 48.2% of the vote to 47.6% for Vacco. He ran for re-election in 2002, facing token opposition from Republican Judge Dora Irizarry, and won with 66% of the vote.
Work as Attorney General
As Attorney General, Spitzer has stepped up the profile of the office, taking on cases that an Attorney General would normally avoid. Traditionally, state attorneys general have pursued consumer rights cases, concentrating on fraud that is local and unique, while deferring national issues to the federal government, which traditionally holds jurisdiction over them. Breaking with this traditional deference, Spitzer has taken up civil actions and criminal prosecutions of white-collar crime, securities fraud, internet fraud, and environmental protection.
A number of experts, including economists, lawyers, and political analysts have offered explanations for Spitzer's active role in public policy debates. The New York Attorney General's office has Wall Street (and thus many leading corporate and financial institutions) within its jurisdiction. Also, the New York Attorney General wields greater than usual powers[citation needed] of investigation and prosecution with regard to corporations under New York State's General Business Law. In particular, under Article 23-A, § 352 (more commonly known as the Martin Act of 1921) the New York Attorney General has the power to subpoena witnesses and company documents pertaining to investigations of fraud or illegal activity by a corporation.
Spitzer has used this authority in his civil actions against corporations and criminal prosecutions against their officers. It proved its usefulness in the wake of several American corporate scandals that began with the collapse of Enron in 2001. In these scandals, several corporations, as well as the brokerage houses that sold their stock, were accused of having inflated stock values by unethical means throughout the 1990s. When inquiries into the allegations by the SEC and the Congress failed to gain traction, Spitzer's office used its subpoena power to obtain corporate documents, building cases against the firms both in courtrooms and in public opinion.
In addition to prosecutions and civil actions in the financial sector, Spitzer has pursued cases in both state and federal courts involving pollution, entertainment, technology, occupational safety and health and other fields in which New York plays a part in setting and maintaining national standards of conduct.
Computer Manufacturing
Price fixing (2006): A long running investigation of five computer chip manufacturers resulted in 730M$ in fines and a guilty plea from Samsung Electronics Co., Elpida Memory Inc., Infineon Technologies AG and Hynix Semiconductor Inc. The fifth manufacturer, Micron Technology Inc., was granted immunity in exchange for cooperating with authorities in the case. This case is notable as one of the longest collusions between the largest number of companies to fix prices (1998 - 2002).
Securities
Global Settlement (2002): Spitzer sued several investment banks for inflating stock prices, using affiliated brokerage firms to give biased investment advice and "spin" initial public offerings of stock by offering them to CEO's and other influential members of the business community. In 2002, a settlement of these lawsuits was negotiated by Spitzer, federal regulatory bodies, stock exchanges, and the investment banks and brokerage houses in question. The result was $1.4 billion in compensation and fines paid by the brokerages and investment banks; new rules and enforcement bodies created to govern stock analysts and IPOs; and the insulation of brokerage firms from pressures by investment banks. Ten firms paid fines to settle the case: Bear Stearns, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Salomon Smith Barney, UBS Warburg.
Late Trading & Market Timing Investigations (2003): Investigations by the office of Eliot Spitzer beginning in 2003 uncovered mutual fund brokers allowing select clients privileges deprived to ordinary customers. Spitzer targeted two practices in particular: "late trading" which allows hedge fund investors to file trades at the previous day's price after the market close, something ordinary customers cannot do; and "market timing" which allows privileged investors to buy and sell shares in funds more frequently than allowed under the fund's rules. The implications of these practices are that the brokerages and a small number of investors profit at the expense of other fund shareholders. In essence, by placing winning trades the privileged investors diluted the profit pool available to all fund shareholders while they sidestepped their share of the pool's losses. Their trading also increased administrative fees borne by ordinary customers and caused fund managers to increase the cash they held to meet liquidity needs. Through a number of prosecutions and lawsuits, Spitzer secured more than one billion dollars in fines and remuneration for investors as well as forcing reforms to eliminate the practice.
Insurance
Contingent commissions (2005): In the commercial insurance business "contingent commissions" or "overriders" are fees paid based on the volume and profitability of insurance business generated by brokers. They provide an incentive for insurance brokers to recommend more costly insurance to their clients, presenting a conflict of interest. While many large brokerages such as Marsh & McLennan Companies (against whom Spitzer filed his original suit), Aon and Willis announced plans to stop the practice of contingent commissions, many argued that the practice was not to blame for the rigged bids uncovered by Spitzer. Indeed, the practice accounted for about only five to seven percent of total revenues for brokers and did address a traditional misalignment of interests in insurance between the carrier and the producer. Under a traditional flat commission structure the latter has less incentive to submit risks with an eye for long-term loss potential in mind. So-called finite insurance products, which may more closely resemble a loan than insurance, were also investigated, even if there was "transferrence of risk" involved.
Music Royalty Settlement (2004): Through an investigation of music industry practices, Spitzer's office uncovered $50 million in royalties owed to musicians whose record labels had failed to keep in contact with them. Spitzer reminded label executives that under New York State's Abandoned Property Law, those royalties not being sent to their rightful owners would have to be surrendered to the state. Under a settlement, the labels were required to take measures to contact artists owed royalties.
Payola Settlement: The office of Eliot Spitzer served subpoenas against record labels in an investigation into "payola," the illegal compensation of radio stations for playing certain songs. These subpoenas uncovered deals for disc jockeys to receive gifts from promoters in exchange for playing the songs a certain number of times during the day. On July 25, 2005, Spitzer announced an agreement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment to halt the practice. In November 2005, a similar settlement was announced with Warner Music Group.Ulaby, Neda. "Warner Agrees to Settlement in Payola Investigation", NPR, November 23, 2005. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
Abortion
In 2002, Spitzer's office issued subpoenas to 24 non-profit crisis pregnancy centers that sought to dissuade women from having abortions. Pro-life groups criticized Spitzer, charging that he was harassing the centers on behalf of a political ally, NARAL Pro-Choice America.Template error: argument title is required. Spitzer's office contended that the centers used deceptive advertising and were practicing medicine without a license.Cooperman, Alan. "Abortion Battle: Prenatal Care or Pressure Tactics?", Washington Post, February 21, 2002. Retrieved on 2006-11-04. However, the subpoenas were subsequently withdrawn.
Spitzer was elected Governor on November 7, 2006, with 69% of the vote. He faced RepublicanJohn Faso, and John Clifton of the Libertarian Party of New York, among others.
On December 8, 2004, Spitzer announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination for the 2006 election for Governor of New York. While long rumored, Spitzer's announcement was nevertheless considered unusually early—nearly two years before the day of the gubernatorial election. Some pundits believed the timing of Spitzer's announcement was due to Spitzer's desire to see if Senator Charles Schumer, a more senior Democrat, would run. Schumer, who was largely favored in opinion polls in a hypothetical matchup against Spitzer, announced in November that he would not run for Governor, instead accepting an offer to sit on the powerful Finance Committee and head the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. After Schumer announced he would maintain his Senate seat, another Democrat, Andrew Cuomo, announced his plans to run for Spitzer's vacated Attorney General's seat.
In the latter half of 2005, Spitzer sought to further solidify support for his campaign by touring the state, seeking and giving political endorsements. These included cross endorsements with former-Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer in the New York City Mayoral election, Matthew Driscoll in the Syracuse Mayoral election, and State Senator Byron Brown in the Buffalo Mayoral election. The benefit to Spitzer in these endorsement deals is valuable media attention as he stumped for the candidates.
Much of the attention of watchers of New York politics then turned to the state Republican Party, especially the future of three-term governor George Pataki. Polling throughout 2004 and into 2005 consistently showed Spitzer defeating Pataki in theoretical matchups. Such a scenario may have proved unappealing to Pataki. As of July 2006 Pataki is making overtures toward seeking the Republican nomination for the presidency in 2008. Whether or not these rumors are true, Pataki announced on July 27, 2005 that he would not seek reelection and would step down at the end of his term in January 2007.
The open-seat nature of the election, along with Spitzer's positive poll numbers, and the advantage Democrats have in New York State fueled discussion of the Republican leadership's active pursuit of candidates to run against Spitzer. By June 2006, two people announced their intent to run for the nomination: former New York Assemblyman John Faso, who was officially endorsed at the 2006 New York State Republican Party Convention and former Masschusetts Governor William Weld, who is a native New Yorker. Shortly after the convention Weld dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination.
An additional consideration for Spitzer was the status of billionaire businessman Tom Golisano, a three-time candidate on the Independence Party ballot line. It was rumored that Golisano might run again, and that Republican Party insiders would seek to nominate him on their own party's line, thus fusing the Republican and Independence tickets for the first time in a gubernatorial election. Golisano recently switched his party affiliation to the GOP. However, on February 1, 2006, Golisano announced that he would not run for governor.Mahoney, Joe. "Golly, Golisano won't run for gov", New York Daily News, February 1, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
Spitzer selected New York State Senateminority leaderDavid Paterson as his choice for Lieutenant Governor and running mate in January 2006. In New York gubernatorial elections, the most important factor in the gubernatorial candidate's choice of a lieutenant governor is the need to "balance the ticket"—that is, to widen the candidate's appeal, whether by reaching out to someone from a different geographic area, ethnic background, or has a different political base.
After announcing his candidacy, Spitzer was endorsed by numerous New Yorkers including state Comptroller Alan Hevesi and Former New York City Mayors David Dinkins and Ed Koch (who endorsed President Bush in 2004). In February, 2006, Spitzer received the endorsement of life-long Republican businessman Donald Trump, who had been courted by the Republicans to run against him.
On the week of August 24, he and Suozzi were once again at Pace University in lower Manhattan at a town hall forum held by cable TV station NY1. For the "town hall meeting," Spitzer was speaking from Rochester because at that time he was on a campaign tour across the state.
Whitehead alleged that Spitzer called him regarding a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that he wrote about Spitzer's public comments regarding Maurice R. Greenberg.
Whitehead alleged that Spitzer said, "Mr. Whitehead, it's now a war between us and you've fired the first shot. I will be coming after you. You will pay the price. This is only the beginning and you will pay dearly for what you have done. You will wish you had never written that letter."Whitehead, John C. "Scary", Wall Street Journal, December 22, 2005. Retrieved on 2006-11-04. Spitzer has denied the allegation.Newsday story
http://www.eliotspitzerbook.com/ - website about a new biography of Eliot Spitzer called "Spoiling for a Fight: The Rise of Eliot Spitzer" by Brooke A. Masters (Times Books, July 2006)
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