Originally Posted - August 7, 2006

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If anybody in state government has earned the 'good ending' Senator Joseph Bruno (R-Brunswick) and his family had finding his niece Rachael Bruno safe, I would say that person would be some one like Senator Bruno. He has done more than most over the years to try and make New York State a safer place for the women and children who live in and visit New York. The State Senate has year after year near unanimously passed with bi partisan support legislation to discourage predators from preying on our most vulnerable, only to have such legislation stalled in committee in the State Assembly.

Yet Assembly Speaker Silver may be a straw man to take the blame for the interests that arrange to have him re elected to the speaker position every election, this despite the knowledge of his supporters that he will oppose such legislation, as he has every year since he has been empowered by the Assembly membership to do so. This problem is bigger than Sheldon Silver and the Assembly members who facilitate his obstructionism.

Ken Lovett of the NY Post has for the past four years exposed and covered Speaker Silver's secretive relationship with the law firm Weitz & Luxenberg http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/editorial/68676.htm and the apparent conflict of interests that even our crusading, white collar crime busting, State Attorney General has yet to investigate.

AG Eliot Spitzer apparently supports much of this stalled legislation, he must be aware of the obstacles, and probably the corruption implied by the Lovett expose. Maybe he intends to have the next State A.G. investigate and deal with it as part of his promised reforms.

Most of the rest of the media also ignores this 800-pound gorilla problem, as well as the Lovett articles. This problem is bigger than society's watchdogs that consistently go deaf, dumb and blind to this corruption, despite their alleged support of measures to more effectively protect our most vulnerable from sexual predators.

Last month the National Organization of Women held their 40th anniversary National Convention in Albany because recently deceased feminist Betty Friedan founded the organization in New York. You may remember that a few years ago NOW funded a national survey of women's concerns and were shocked to find the #1 and #2 issues of concern with their constituents were violent crime and domestic violence, reproductive rights came in 11th and I do not believe support for redefinition of marriage even rated mention.

I have not heard of a new survey that puts reproductive rights and same sex marriage issues front and center with America's women, but NOW put a lot more effort in speaking on those issues than condemning legislators the likes of Speaker Silver and his facilitators for obstructing such anti predator legislation across the nation.

If NOW did speak out against America's biggest such obstructionists of this type, while they were all there in the same city, and hundreds of feminists from across the nation were there for the photo opportunity, the media covered it up.

The NY Post Capital Desk did not report NOW protesting this corruption, and they (the NY Post) are not slackers or lap dogs. I offer that whom ever can anonymously muzzle not only the nation's, but New York's feminists, most of our media and half our legislature, on corruption undermining issues so fundamental to the safety of New York's women and children, is an influence and situation that society's watch dogs are obligated to alert the public too.

Sen. Bruno and his allies have taken the principled stand against this influence for years, as well as a handful of media people working to protect the residents and visitors of New York in opposition to the influences that muzzle every other watchdog.

One thing everyone could stand to learn from the Bruno family's experience is not to underestimate the ability of Internet predators to seduce children and young people of both sexes to experiment with what turns out to be a tragic and exploitive relationship. Assuming only marginal individuals or people living on the fringes of society are vulnerable is as naive as assuming your children are safe from street drugs if they live in a nice, quite middle class community.

Posing as a fun guy to party with a pimp 'befriends' one victim, and maybe through them accesses vulnerable friends, and relatives before anyone appreciates he is a predator. Especially if someone accompanies him they trust and intoxicants are being used.

No one has to know if the 'kicking' joints he's sharing to break the ice are laced with anything. He does not present himself as a predator offering addiction and slavery, but a new friend who also enjoys partying and has a rebellious, exciting way to be very successful as well as outstanding dope.

A practiced seducer with a tolerance for such drugs, maybe an addiction to fund, taking time to become friends, steadily supplying addictive drugs does not need a lot of time, to convince his prey to party with him, and more. The techniques are old and they are proven. Many of these predators have spent a lot of time, perhaps locked away; sharpening skills in ruthlessly manipulating each other, not to mention inexperienced youths living sheltered lives.

Youths conditioned to be non-violent, tolerant and open to most anything non-traditional, can meet people they would have never met not that long ago, over a computer in the comfort and safety of their own home. Most people are ill prepared to face the existence and extent of such a threat, at the same time the lifestyle of pimping and prostitution becomes increasingly fashionable through the popular hip-hop/rap culture.

Get high, stay high have lots of sex, money and high times. It's a much easier sale when the predator is being friendly, and the victim is really high. Particularly easier if he has gotten his victim away from friends, family and support systems, and maybe gotten them to do things while high, that they do not want others to know about. Learning to survive in lock up is a lot about developing the skills to manipulate and exploit others and intimidate them into compliance and not snitching.

New York with some of the laxest sexual predator laws in the country is one of a handful of virtual haven states for predators. If a predator is busted here he will probably fare better than if he is caught in most of the rest of the country. Like wise if he is able to pimp out his victim, his customers face more lenient punishment here (especially for abusing a child) than in most of the rest of the country. These circumstances will increasingly attract predators to New York.

Though his family got off relatively lightly Sen. Bruno now has exceptional insight on how these predators work, how far they can reach even into good communities and homes, and what they can do to lives of family and loved ones. From this experience NY may become a better safer state for all who live and visit here, if he and his supporters stand on their record and make an issue of their long and stymied struggle to make New York less appealing to predators.

I suspect if more voters and parents especially, appreciated our situation some of Speaker Silver's corrupt facilitators might be voted out of office this election, and a speaker less corrupt might replace Speaker Silver, the next time the Assembly elects a leader. Again it falls to us to try and alert the public as the other watch dogs choose not to do so.

BRUNO KID FOUND IN TIMES SQUARE
8-07-06

© 2006 North Country Gazette