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PUBUGFIIIATIGIIIG gubernatorialhopeful SHARNH A lilsT0RY0F RUlt4ltS DemocratTaxIncreases
TheMuslim center AndrewCuomohit the As I lookedout at the WMITHE1AIT Page4
plannednearthesiteof airwaaesto tout his thousands of people Yearsbeforehis latest
theWorld TraileCenter recordagainstpension assembled nearGround real-estateproject
attackcouldqualifufor abuseyesterday, while Zeroon Sundayto ignitedan uproar,
tax-free
financing. RepublicanRickLazio opposetheconstruction SharifEI-GamaIracked
Page2 launcheilhis own ad. of a megamosque up at leastseaenrun-
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Page2 Page3

BIGOTFROMBUFFALO (Editorialfrom theNew YorkPost- 4/13/10)

New York's Tea Party movement -- which
last fall helped drive the tax- protest
defeat of two county executives-- has
been ga-ga of late over Buffalo
millionaire developerCarl Paladino, who
proposesto spend$10 million of his own
money to run for governor this fall.
The movement had better reconsider--
fast.
Becauseit turns out that the self-
described"angry manrris something of a
magnet for e-mails studdedwith hard-
core pornography and vile racism --
which he then passesalong to a whole lot
of others.
WNYmedia, an upstateleftist blog,
reproducedeight of the e-mails, including
one with a video of a woman engagedin
bestiality and another,labeled "Obama
Inauguration Rehearsal,"that shows
African tribesmendancing.
One video, which showed a purported
beauty queenhaving sex, was praised by
Paladino as "a keeper."Another, showing
a woman engagedin oral sex, was
labeled:"This is talent."
Pretty classy,huh?
Um, no.
Sure,it's hard to control an e-mail in-box.
The "forward" button, on the other hand,
doesn'tpush itself.
Paladino soundsiike a low-rent version of
Eliot "Client 9" Spitzer.
And this isn't the first embarrassmentfor
Paladino,who formally launchedhis
statehouse bid last week.
After he roundly denouncedGov.
Paterson'sadmittedinfidelities as
evidenceofAlbany comlption, it
emergedthat Paladino had himself
fathereda daughterin an extramarital
affair with one of his employees.
Late yesterday,Paladino'scampaign
issueda statementdenouncingdisclosure
of the e-mails as a "liberal Democrat blog
smear.rr
That is, it's all somebodyelse'sfault.
And we thought Carl Paladino was
supposedto be a stand-upguy.
Guessnot.
(EditorialfromtheNewYorkPost- 4ll3/10)
LAZ;IO:MARGY
GAN BE NANG,
TECH HOT
SPOT
(EXCERPT) Marcy is starting to become
synonymouswith the term "nano-
technology."
Republican Gubernatorial candidateRick
Lazio spentthe day with Oneida County
Executive Anthony Picente and Mohawk
Valley Edge leaderSteveDimeo. The trio
agreesthat for anything to happenon the
300 acre property, all government
agenciesfrom the federal to the statelevel
needto be on the samepage.Lazio says,
if electedGovernor, he'd be able to make
that happen.
"This is what major leadingedge
businessesare looking for," Lazio said.
"They want accessto the type of talent
that will help them grow and innovate.
Marcy can be one of those hot spots.And
as Governor, I will be on point
responsible,that our top economic
developmentpeople are reporting to me
personally."
fiomWKTVNews- 8/27110)
(Unattributed

IIEWYORKSTA|ECOIISERVAIIUE
PARTY

GROUND
ZEROMUSLIM
GENTERMAY
GET PUBLIG
FINAhIGING
The Muslim centerplanned near the site
of the World Trade Center attack could
qualiff for tax-free financing, a
spokesmanfor City Comptroller John
Liu said on Friday, and Liu is willing to
consider approving the public subsidy.
The Democratic comptroller's
spokesman,Scott Sieber,said Liu
supportedthe project. The centerhas
sparkedan intensedebateover U.S.
religious freedoms and the sanctity of the
Trade Center site, where nearly 3,000
perishedin the SeptemberI1,2001
attack.
"If it turns out to be financially feasible
and if they can demonstratean ability to
pay offthe bondsand comply with the
laws concerningtax-exempt financing,
we'd certainlyconsiderit," Siebertold
Reuters.
Spokesmenfor Mayor Michael
Bloomberg, Governor David Paterson
and the Islamic center were not
immediately available.
The proposedcenter,two blocks from
the Trade Center site in lower Manhattan.
has causeda split betweenpeoplewho
lost relatives and friends in the attack, as
well as conservativepoliticians,and
those who support the project. Among
thosewho support it are the mayor, civic
and religious groups, and some families
of victims.
The mosque'sbackershope to raise a
total of $70 million in tax-exempt debt to
build the center,according to TheNew
York Times.Tax laws allow such funding
for religiously affiliated non-profits if
they can prove the facility will benefit
the generalpublic and their religious
activities are funded separately.
The bonds could be issuedthrough a
local developmentcorporation created
for this purpose,experts said.
The Islamic center would have to repay
the bonds, which likely would be less
expensive than taxable debt.
New York City's Industrial Development
Authority could not issue debt for the
centerbecausethe statecivic facilities
law, which governedthis type of
financing for non-profits, was allowed to
expire about two years ago.
- 8/27/10)
(ByJoanGrallafromReuters
ANDY,RIGKIN
AD DUEL
Democratic gubematorial hopefuI
Andrew Cuomo hit the airwaves to tout
his record againstpension abuse
yesterday,while Republican Rick Lazio
launchedhis own ad, tying the attomey
generalto a top pension-fraudposter boy.
Lazio's 3O-secondspot introduces
Cuomo with photos of unpopular
Democrats,including disgracedformer
ComphollerAlan Hevesi,whose
stewardshipof the statepension fund has
beenunder investigationby Cuomo for
nearly four years.
"Specialinterestsrule Albany and it's
Andrew Cuomo'sworld," saysLazio,
who spent$200,000from his dwindling
$600,000campaignfund on the ads.
Cuomo's commercial saysnothing about
the attorney general'srun for govemor,
and insteadcalls on voters to back his
plan to cleanup the state's$133 billion
pensionfund.
(Bv Brendan Scott from the New YorkPost -
8t26t2oro)
THE -ENDOF
THE
BEGINNING'
ON SHARIAH
(EXCERPT)As I lookedout at the
thousands of peopleassembled near
GroundZero on Sundayto opposethe
constructionof a megamosque there,I
wasremindedof WinstonChurchill's
famousline that enspiritedBritain at the
first signthetide wasturningin World
WarII: "Now-this is not the end.It is not
even the beginning of the end. But it is,
perhaps,the end of the beginning."
To be sure, the rally held two blocks
-from the World Trade Center was not a
decisive defeat of the enemy like that
dealt by the storied British "Desert Rats"
to Hitler's Afrika Korps in November
1942.Bnt there was somethingpivotal
about the fact that throngs ofordinary
Americans - many of them family or
friends of those who died on 9/11 - had
come togetherto standfor hours in an
intermittent rain not just to contestthe
construction of a megamosqueat a
wholly inappropriatelocation, but in
informed opposition to the impetus
behind that mosque: shariah.
In fact, throughout the crowd could be
seensigns with just the word "shariah"
lettered in dripping, blood-red ink. The
prospectthat the tide is beginning now to
tum in our generation'sWar for the Free
World can be found in those signs. They
bespeaka recognition ofthe danger
posed by the brutally repressive,
totalitarianand anti-constitutional
program that is espousedby the
authorities of Islam. Shariah,the law of
SaudiArabia and Iran, is what Imam
FeisalAbdul Rauf, the prime-mover
behind the Ground Zero mosque,sayshe
wants to "bring to America."
The assembledunion workers,
firefighters, police officers, Patriot Guard
bikers and other regular folks were
addressedby a successionof citizen
activists, community leaders and 9l ll
family members.The thunderous
responseto patriotic speechesand songs
about freedom, and the threat posed to it
by people like thosewho toppled the
once-adjacentWorld Trade Center, rang
in the canyonsof Lower Manhattan and -
due to the massivemedia presence-
acrossthe land.
When my turn came to speak,I actually
thanked Imam Rauf. For, in his
overreachingambition to build what he
first dubbedthe "Ground Zero Mosque,"
Rauf unwittingly and unintentionally
createda "teachablemoment" about
shariah,and what he and others like him
are doing to insinuate it into this country.
(Bv Frank Gaftiey from the Townhall.com -
8t24/20r0\
IIEWYORKSTAE GOTISERVA|
IUEPANTY
 a $39 million mortgageto buy aW.27th St. commercial
PARKS{ DEI|ELOPER building.

SHARIF ELnGAMAL He had a partner, Egyptian-born businessmanHisham Elzanaty,

who co-signedthe loan.Elzanaty denied to discusshis dealings
HASAHISTORYOF withEl-Gamal.

RUN.INSWTTH In a deposition for the Vassiliev suit, El-Gamal testified he

worked as a waiter from 1997 to 2001 when he "moved onto
THE LAW greenerpasfures."

In2002, he becamea commercial real estatebroker and started

Yearsbefore his latest real-estateproject ignited an uproar,
Sharif El-Gamal racked up at least sevenrun-ins with the law,
including a bust for patronizing a prostitute.
"I regret many things that I did in my youth. I have not always
led a perfect life," El-Gamal, 37, said in a statementto The
Daily News.
His most recentarrestwas for a Sept. 10, 2005, assaulton a
barber who sublet a Manhattan apartmentfrom El-Gamal's
brother, Sammy.
The brothers and anotherman went to the apartmentthat
afternoon to retrieve back rent from Mark Vassiliev,criminal
and civil court records show.
El-Gamal allegedly cursedat Vassiliev,called him the Arabic
curseword "sharmouta" and punchedhim in the face, breaking
his noseand cheekbones.
When he was arrested,El-Gamal denied he sockedVassiliev,
but conceded,"[Vassiliev's]face could haverun into my hand,"
court paperssay.
"I am in real estate.I'm rich. Why would I do this? Why would
I jeopardizemy career?I'm not a thug," he told cops.
He was chargedwith misdemeanorassaultand harassment.
Chargeswere dropped,in2007 after Vassiliev sued.
El-Gamal eventuallysettledthe civil casefor $15,000- and the
2008 negotiationsprovided a glimpse into his finances.
Vassiliev'slawyer, Erik L. Gray, said there was no indication
El-Gamal had assetsbeyonda $1.1 million upperWest Side
pad he owned with his wife.
Even after El-Gamal inked the deal, he was slow to pay and the
matter endedup in mediation - where his lawyer, Marshall
Isaacs,told Gray there were money problems.
his own company, Soho Properties,a year later.
El-Gamal began amassinga property portfolio in2007,
snatchingup and managing apartmentbuildings in Harlem and
WashingtonHeights.
He bought the property where he plans to build a $100 million
Islamic cultural center,two blocks from GroundZero,fot
nearly $5 million in July 2009.
The son of a bank executive, El-Gamal has said he turned to
Islam after 9lll andthat his relisious awakeninsfollowed a
troubled youth.
He pleadedguilty in 1994, 1998 and 1999 to disorderly
conductin Manhattan.
He also pleadedguilty to disorderlyconductin 1990,DWI in
1992 and,attemptedpetit larceny in 1993,NassauCounty
prosecutorssaid.
Details were unavailable,but a sourceconfirmed a 1994 arrest
for patronizing a prostitute.
El-Gamal sayshe's a different man now.
"My faith teachesme every day about humility. I have been
humbled by my imperfections. But my faith also teachesme
about forgiveness,rrhe said in the statement.
"While I might not be proud of some of my actions in the past,
I am extremely proud of the Park5l project and what it will
mean to thousandsof New Yorkers of all faiths and
denominationswho live in Lower Manhattan.
FanellifromtheNewYorkDailyNews- 812812010)
(ByJames

"He had told me [El-Gamal] was struggling financially and was

having trouble coming up with the payment," Gray said. "It
was basedon the fact that he was in real estateand the real
estatemarket was depressed."

El-Gamal agreedto fork over $1,360 in interest and fees but

paid up in installments,Gray said.

If his 2008 cries of poverty were genuine,El-Gamal

experienceda dramatic reversal offortune ayear later, scoring

IIET YORKSIA|E GOIISERUATII'E

PARTY
 n:"t --t

New York State Gonservative Party Non-ProfitOrg

Albany Office U.S.Postage
325 Parkview Drive PAID
Schenectady,New York 12303 PerrnitNo. 1
Mailed from
Zip Code21221

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