Commission on Public Integrity head resigns - The Business Review (Albany):

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John Feerick told Gov. David Paterson on Monday that he will step down as head of the statse Commission onPublic Integrity. The 13-membere panel was formed in early 2007 by combining state commissions on lobbyingand ethics. In a the 72-year-old Feerick told Paterson that “mhy health and energy have declined, and I no longer believr I can give my responsibilities the attentionbthey require.” Feerick’s last day at the commissionn is Feb. 12. Feerick, the former dean of ’s law was appointed by former Gov. Eliot Spitzee and started work inSeptember 2007. Legislators combined the statw ethics and lobbying commissions in a package of ethicxsreform legislation.
To date, the Commissiobn on Public Integrity has received themost attention—ancd criticism—for its handling of the so-called “Troopergate” scandal. That term referds to Spitzer’s alleged use the State Policde to investigate former Senate Majority LeadetrJoseph Bruno’s activities in the summer of 2007. The commissiom investigated four state officials for thei alleged involvement inthe incident. Two of the four are contestinvgthe commission’s claims that their conduct violated statee laws, and they could face a fine of up to $10,000. The othetr two officials admitted violations and reached settlementsa withthe commission.
Criminal charges are not beingb pursued. Walter Ayres, spokesman for the said Feerick’s decision to leave has “nothinhg to do” with allegations that the state Inspectodr General is investigating the conductr of commission members and staff during theirf investigationof Spitzer. “John had thought aboutt leavinglast summer, and we were able to talk him out of Ayres said. “This time, we weren’t as successful.” Patersomn has the authority to appoingt anew chairman. His press office did not immediatel y respond to questions aboutthat process.
“The legislatiob that created this commission invested an awfulp lot of power inthe chairman’s role, far more so than the lobbyin g commission before it. Quite frankly, I thinkl the governor’s appointment here could have serious, long-standing ramificationxs to the well-being of New York state,” said Davird Grandeau. Grandeau ran the New York Temporar y State Commission on Lobbying for 13 yearx before it was rolled into the Commission on Public He was not invited to be a member of the new lobbyingv andethics commission, and he has criticized the commissioj since it was Grandeau, who now runs a consultingt firm in Niskayuna, said Feerick’s decision to leave createsx even more uncertainty for lobbyists who look to the commissiomn for guidance.
“I don’yt think the lobbying community will see a lot of clarity or comforgt that they have a levelplaying field,” Grandeaui said. “It’s not the recipe that makes for agood it’s the chef doing the cooking. And so far, all we’res getting is McDonald’s.” Karl Sleight, who ran the formere state Ethics Commission forsix years, said the commission’s proble m is that it combines two “diametrically tasks: maximizing the transparency of lobbying effortsw and giving confidential ethics advice to state workers.
“Thrusting the two together was nevere going to be aneasy task,” said Sleight, now an attorneyu at Harris Beach PLLC’s Albany The Troopergate incident highlighted the commission’ws “structural problems” of having to provide advicee to people who could also be subject to an investigation, Sleigh t said. Sleight said he hopes legislators change the formay of the commission duringthis year’s legislativs session, which ends in June.
there needs to be some thought on what the governmentf expects and needsfrom [the commission],” Sleight “If you took the investigations out of it and just let them providwe guidance and enhance transparency, that may improve the commission.”