Nov. 6, 1979, literally minutes after I was elected to Binghamton City Council, a prominent local individual was overheard saying “I see the Mafia bought the City of Binghamton.” I didn’t win because I went door to door nonstop for five straight months. I didn’t win because I was on the right side of the issues.

Maybe I was smart? Nope. This 28 year old had a last name ending in a vowel. It had to be crooked. It had to be criminal. I never forgot the way that hurt. It seems the bad old days have returned in the person of Claudia Tenney. The Congresswoman drags up decades old rumors about the father of Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi and through his profession as a criminal defense attorney, attempts to connect him to organized crime.