Wine company 'buys' NY bill - that could cost you $7 a bottle!
State Sen. Jeff Klein’s campaign cup is spilling over with $33,000 in cash from a national wine distributor that would almost singularly benefit from a bill the Bronx lawmaker authored.
But Klein’s re-election war chest is growing at the expense of small merchants and wine-loving consumers in New York, who could end up paying an extra $7 per bottle, critics charge.
Empire Merchants LLC is pushing a measure that would require all wine to be warehoused in New York for at least one day before being sold in local stores.
Empire has poured more than $500,000 over the last eight years into the coffers of Gov. Cuomo, state Senate co-leader Dean Skelos, Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver and other key lawmakers.
Critics say the measure would destroy Empire’s small- and mid-size local competitors, which store their vino in cheaper New Jersey warehouses.
But Empire looks set to benefit — it already has outposts in Queens and Brooklyn.
The company, its COO Tony Magliocco and Secretary Stephen E. Meresman all gave to Klein.
A similar bill stalled in Albany last year but with backing by Klein — a powerful Senate co-leader — supporters think it will pass. A Klein spokesman pointed out that the Teamsters support the bill, arguing it would create hundreds of union warehouse jobs.
A source said Klein met with Empire on the legislation.
“Senator Klein, like any serious legislator, regularly meets with both business and labor groups to listen to their perspective on pending legislation,” a Klein spokesman said.
“Whenever there’s opportunity to create jobs — and to do so in a way that has already earned the support of both business and labor — Senator Klein will consider it.”
But some experts predicted the measure would kill jobs, and hurt consumers.
David Waldenberg, of BNP Distributing Co., said 180 small-and medium-sized New York distributors will hurt by the measure.
Those businesses have offices in New York that employ hundreds of people, he said, but use New Jersey storage facilities.
If their warehousing costs go up, these businesses will die and jobs will ultimately be lost, he said.
“The price of wine — it’ll go up $7 or $8 a bottle,” warned wine connoisseur and writer Jesse Nash. “The consumer is going to get nailed.”
The wine bill — called an “at rest” proposal because it would require bottles to be “at rest” for one day in New York state — would also hurt the availability of small-batch wines, experts said.
Calls to executives of Empire Merchants were not immediately returned.
Empire and two of its executives have given Cuomo $68,800 since 2009, records show.
State Sen. Jose Peralta, the bill’s co-sponsor, got $2,500 from the wholesaler.
Last week, feds arrested Bronx Assemblyman Eric Stevenson for writing a bill for a campaign donor — a measure that would have staved off competitors to a chain of adult daycare centers.
“I just need to tell me what they want; we prepare the bill . . . you can write down the language, basically what you want,” Stevenson said in a conversation allegedly caught on wiretaps. Stevenson alleged received an illegal bribe, $20,000 in cash, for the legislation.
No illegality is suspected in the wine case. All of its campaign donations were legal. But the bill is similar to the daycare legislation is that one company particularly benefits.
A Peralta spokesman defended the bill he’s co-sponsoring.
“By leveling the playing field with the 33 states that have At Rest laws, including New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, this bill would create jobs and generate tax revenue for New York,” he said.
A Cuomo spokesman said the governor is still studying the issue.
“No contribution of any size has any impact on this administration’s operation of state government,” the spokesman said.
“We take the concerns voiced by small businesses very seriously and that is why we have ordered [Empire State Development Corp.] and the State Liquor Authority to study the economic ramifications of this issue.”
Empire Merchants LLC and its execs gave key pols campaign cash over the past four years.
* Gov. Cuomo:$69,800
* State Sen. Jeff Klein:$33,000
* Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver:$7,500
* Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos:$3,500
* Independent Democratic Conference:$3,500
* State Sen. Jose Peralta:$2,500
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