New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie spent a multiday birthday trip in Rio de Janeiro last month partying alongside a top Albany lobbyist with business before the state — and neither man will say who covered the cost.
The 59-year-old Bronx Democrat posted Instagram photos over the past week showing him touring Rio and attending a “Boys In Brazil Party” hosted by former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Charles Haley on Sept. 25. Several photos show Heastie alongside Patrick Jenkins, a longtime political ally who is now one of Albany’s most influential lobbyists.
Travel packages for the trip start around $3,000 per person and run as high as $4,299 — not including airfare.
New York’s ethics rules cap gifts between public officials and lobbyists at $15. Rachael Fauss, senior policy adviser at the watchdog group Reinvent Albany, flagged the apparent mismatch.
“New York State’s ethics laws require both public servants and lobbyists to follow strict gift rules that limit gifts at $15 total. We hope that ethics rules are being followed by both parties, particularly given the apparent cost of this trip,” Fauss said.
The state’s ethics commission does allow exceptions for gifts between personal friends, provided the friendship isn’t used as cover for an otherwise illegal gift. Heastie and Jenkins have known each other for decades — they were college roommates at SUNY Stony Brook.
Jenkins’ lobbying business has grown into a multimillion-dollar operation over the same years Heastie has risen through Albany’s leadership ranks. His client list includes the New York Trial Lawyers Association, the Sports Betting Alliance and Google.
Neither Heastie nor Jenkins responded to multiple requests for comment on who paid for the trip. The State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government, which is supposed to enforce the state’s lobbying laws, also did not respond to a request for comment.
This isn’t the first time Heastie has stonewalled ethics questions. He previously declined to comment on a romantic relationship he had with lobbyist Rebecca Lamorte.
