So I posted a bit under my old superhero identity, back before the Daily Gotham had become quite the colossus it is nowadays. Bouldin has convinced me to come out of retirement (despite all the good TV I'll be missing), and I'm thrilled to join the great community of bloggers here at the DG who have been muckraking so brilliantly over the past year and a half.

My first offering comes via the Albany Project and Capitol Confidential, who report that Democratic Bronx state Sen. Efrain Gonzalez Jr. has been indicted for "mail fraud and theft of funds in a conspiracy to steal $432,000 though a complicated scheme involving non profit groups."

As the Empire Zone explains, "The charges allege that the State Senator directed member item funds through various not-for-profit organizations and ultimately stole more than $400,000."

There's a certain poetry in the idea of a state legislator being indicted for allegedly stealing member item money, since member item money is in itself basically a form of theft: it amounts to money stolen from taxpayers, which is then used by Albany leadership to filch the loyalty of legislators. It's a racket.

Every other November, when your Albany representatives turn up to brag about how much money they gave to the local 4-H club to buy new ribbons for the ponies, ask them why it's okay for them to use your money to finance their re-election campaigns - and precisely what deals with the devil they had to make to get their hands on those funds.