July 6, 2019 - Basement Group Executive Committee Meeting

When is the next meeting?

o The next meeting be a social one on Wednesday, July 24 at The Sackett (661 Sackett Street, Brooklyn) from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

- When will we hold future meetings?

o Future meetings will be set for the same Tuesday and time each month, with every third month taking place on a weekend day

§ This schedule will begin in September

o We will research the opportunity for remote access to meetings (Skype, Zoom, Google Hangout)

§ To ensure that we are in compliance with parliamentary procedure, our Co-Chairs must be able to see everyone in attendance in person and remotely and should there be anything presented to the group (PowerPoint or handouts), these will be made available to anyone calling in to the meeting as well.

§ We are unfortunately unable to offer childcare options at this time – but would welcome those with ideas on how they could organize it to lead the charge!

- What are the best ways to communicate among our group?

o The Google group that we have currently is still the best and allows for people to participate digitally in addition to in person

o Code of Conduct

§ We will write a code of conduct that all members of the Google group will adhere to

§ Included in the code of conduct will be:

· All members of the Basement Group will communicate respectfully with each other

· Other suggested additions for the code of conduct:

o When replying to an email in the group, please be mindful that replying to ad52-county-committee@googlegroups.com will generate an email to the entire membership. Do not include ad52-county-committee@googlegroups.com if the email is not relevant to the group; you can reply directly to the member instead.

o Keep in mind that the Basement Group is a Democratic organization of the 52nd Assembly District and those interested in our work.We want all members to feel comfortable posting to the group and interacting with other members. Should you have any questions or concerns about the list or membership in general, do not hesitate to contact the Basement Group Leadership (include emails here).

· What else do you want to see included?

o Welcome Message

§ This is a note that will go out to any new members joining the Google Group

§ The Code of Conduct will be made part of the welcome message for new members and will be shared every so often as a reminder to the group as a whole.

§ It will state the goals of the Basement Group, such as where to learn more about running for County Committee

§ It will include a link to our organizing document

§ What else do you want to see included?

o A Basement Group Website

§ Will include the following:

· How to sign up for the google group

· Links to RepYourBlock that answer the questions “Want to get more involved in local politics? Thought about running for County Committee?”

· Post minutes to the site too

· Meeting dates

· What else do you want to see included?

- ADC

o One of the main goals of the Basement Group is to get more people involved in our group and in local Democratic politics overall. This will include getting more people involved in and at the future ADC meetings.

§ For the moment, we will be focusing our energy in increasing engagement in order to effect change at future meetings.

- How to integrate with RYB

o As a group, we will not be doing our own organizing nor be officially connected to RepYourBlock, but we will promote the activities and information presented by RYB. The Basement Group is most interested the same goal of getting more people onto County Committee

- Endorsements by the Basement Group

o The Basement Group will not endorse candidates

o Our meetings will be open spaces for candidates to talk about why they are running and members who are interested can then become engaged with specific campaign(s) as individuals

- Growing representation in the County Committee and other positions

o Outreach to other community and local issue groups to discuss what’s happening with CC

§ To ensure that we are working towards our goal of growing County Committee engagement and the number of people running, we would like to connect with and when possible, make presentations to local issue and community groups to present about County Committee

o How do we get more representation in the NYCHA housing in the 52nd?

§ The 52nd is quite affluent and NYCHA residents are not represented by those who are winning. How do we connect more to those living in NYCHA to get more representation?

o One of our future meetings will cover information on all the different positions that someone could run to represent the district, for example, running for the Judicial Nominating Conventions – and what it would look like if we ran and won for these positions

Brooklyn politicos call on county Democratic party to open its books

By MICHAEL GARTLAND NEW YORK DAILY NEWS | AUG 19, 2019 | 4:55 PM Two state Assembly members demanded a more detailed accounting of how the Brooklyn Democratic Party spends its money just a day after the Daily News revealed the party’s leader is entangled in his own financial woes.

Assemblyman Walter Mosley (D-Brooklyn) said he wants a “full and independent audit” of the Brooklyn Democratic Party’s finances after learning party chairman Frank Seddio is embroiled in a dispute over $2.2 million a restaurant owner claims he owes even as the party’s cash reserves were crashing. “An honest and properly functioning political party is how we ensure that our elected officials are those who hear the concerns of Brooklyn residents,” Mosley said. “I’m deeply disturbed by recent reportings on the party finances, which must be above reproach. We must ensure that our party’s funds are spent responsibly.”

Seddio was sued in 2015 for more than $2 million in debts connected to several Golden Corral franchises he invested in, court records and Seddio’s state financial disclosure forms show.

In March 2018, a judge ordered Seddio to pay off the debt to Golden Resources LLC, parent company of the franchises. Seddio is appealing. Meanwhile, Seddio’s money troubles have run parallel to those of the Kings County political operation, which has seen cash reserves in its housekeeping account evaporate, dipping from $505,000 in 2013 to $32,800 by July.

During that time, the party has also spent generously on expenses that ballooned under Seddio, like $300,000 to George Arzt Communications for public relations and more than $100,000 to Diana Carone, the wife of Frank Carone, the party’s chief lawyer and Seddio’s former law partner.

Brooklyn Assemblyman Robert Carroll said the county party needs to zero in on Diane Carone’s role, and questioned if the party should be paying so much money for public relations, asking “or should we spend more money registering people to vote?” “The party should make an explanation of what services were provided by Frank Carone’s wife,” he said. “I don’t know her. I don’t think I’ve ever met her.”

Arzt said that Diana Carone has helped organize party fundraisers for more than 12 years. “Brooklyn Democrats certainly know this,” he said. Jessica Thurston, spokeswoman for the New Kings Democrats political club, demanded Seddio convene a meeting of the party’s finance committee to hash out the party’s finances.

But others seemed less concerned.

Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon said she’s not worried about Seddio’s personal financial situation, and Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte said he’d done a good job at uniting the party since the departure of the disgraced late Assemblyman Vito Lopez, who resigned amid sexual harassment allegations. “I just think these two things are separate,” Bichotte said of Seddio’s personal finances and those of the party.

When asked if she knows what Diana Carone does for the party, Bichotte said, “No.”

Brooklyn Dem boss Seddio owes big bucks in deal with ‘America’s #1 Buffet and Grill’

By MICHAEL GARTLAND

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS | AUG 18, 2019 | 7:00 AM As head of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, Frank Seddio leads one of the most powerful local political organizations in the country.

Kings County represents an immense swath of voters — more than 1.1 million registered Democrats — all of whom presumably will be courted by the outsized Democratic presidential field, as well as whoever runs for mayor in 2021. So Seddio — a former assemblyman, ex-cop and lawyer — has a lot on his plate. But politics is far from his only concern.

For the last four years, Brooklyn’s Democratic party boss has been quietly fighting over more than $2.2 million in debt that the Kentucky-based Golden Resources LLC — parent company to a Golden Corral franchise — claims he owes.

In its complaint, the company accuses Seddio of breach of contract and unjust enrichment to the tune of $1.5 million, plus interest and legal fees, bringing the total to more than $2.2 million. In March 2018, a Kentucky judge ordered Seddio pay that amount, court records show. His financial problems have corresponded with what some view as the deteriorating finances of the county political organization he manages. Since 2013, the year after Seddio took over the reins of the party, its cash reserves dwindled from $505,000 in 2013 to $32,800 by July 2019, state Board of Elections records show.

An analysis of the party’s housekeeping account records reveals that soon after Seddio assumed control, the party began racking up expenses it didn’t previously have. Those include more than $300,000 to George Arzt Communications for public relations and more than $100,000 to Diana Carone, the wife of Frank Carone, the party’s chief lawyer and Seddio’s former law partner.

But the similarities between his and the party’s fiscal difficulties are raising eyebrows. Jessica Thurston, spokeswoman for the New Kings Democrats, a borough-wide reform-minded political club, said they are “concerned” about Seddio’s Golden Corral legal morass.

“We’re also concerned that this financial malaise runs parallel with the party’s own fiscal irresponsibility, and he is, by default, the person responsible for the party’s solvency,” she said. “The party must be financially stable if it is to be a strong voice for the many Brooklynites struggling to make ends meet.”

Asher Novek, president of the progressive Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, said the county party has been “lax” as far as disclosing the state of its financial health goes. “I’d say even a bit unprepared,” he said. Arzt, the party’s spokesman, countered that “there is no correlation between Frank Seddio’s personal finances and those of the party.”

“Any inference to the contrary is simply unfair,” he said. “Furthermore, the party has been completely transparent about the individuals responsible for their well-being and has made it abundantly clear that they utilize consultants.”

Arzt noted that Seddio would not comment on pending litigation. Golden Resources serves as an umbrella company to Golden Corral, a chain of southern-style, all-you-can-eat restaurants that touts itself as “America’s #1 Buffet and Grill.”

Seddio’s dispute with it stems from several Golden Corral franchises in the Bluegrass State that he holds, or held, an investment stake in, records show.

According to state financial disclosure forms, as of 2017, Seddio was an investor in Golden Corral buffets in the towns of Lexington, Somerset, London, Nicholasville and Georgetown, Kentucky, as well as a franchise in Egg Harbor, NJ. The disclosure forms, which party leaders are required to file by the state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics, show Seddio’s total investment in those businesses ranged from anywhere between $600,000 and $950,000. They also show that Bartholomew Enterprise, Inc., which Seddio described on his 2017 form as “aka - Golden Corral,” earned him between $20,000 and $50,000 annually.

His 2018 disclosure forms list zero investments in Golden Corral restaurants, but includes several debts he owes that are listed under the descriptor “Golden Corral Loan." All told, the debt Seddio owes on those loans totals between $870,000 and $1.67 million, according to the reportable ranges required by JCOPE.

But Seddio’s disclosure forms don’t tell the entire story. His investment in the Golden Corral franchises, is also detailed in the Kentucky court case that began in 2015 when Golden Resources sued Seddio, along with four other entities, to collect on the debt, the amount of which is disputed. Both the complaint and the appeal show that a second loan for $700,000 was made, but the details surrounding that loan are also being argued.

Seddio appealed the judge’s decision in April 2018, a month after he was ordered to pay up.

In the appeal, Seddio’s lawyer Andre Regard argues that judge erred in the decision and that some of the money in dispute was never actually loaned out. “Summary judgment on this issue is premature,” the appeal states. “Tax returns suggest that Golden Resources did not provide this credit. Therefore, the trial judge erred in deciding this factual dispute at the summary judgment stage."

The appeal is still pending in the Kentucky Court of Appeals. According to a court clerk, oral arguments are expected to being in September.

The lawsuit and subsequently filed court documents show Seddio signed off as a guarantor on loans to Golden Corral franchises he was listed as having an investment interest in on his state disclosure forms. A lawyer representing Golden Resources and the principals behind the company, Ray Desloover and Bruce McIntosh, declined to comment on the case. Regard did not return a call.

Another defendant named in the initial lawsuit is Bartholomew Enterprise, Inc., a company that appears to be controlled by Djenane and Dexter Bartholomew.

In a partial transcript of Seddio’s deposition in the case dated May 17, 2016, Seddio says that he got to know the Bartholomews “25 years ago” and that he knew “Djenane’s mother when she was a teenager.” Djenane and Dexter Bartholomew filed for bankruptcy in 2015, according to federal court records, which show they owed Seddio $332,000 at the time.

Djenane Bartholomew declined to comment.