Legislative Ethics Commission Issues NORC on Monserrate Legal Defense Fund

On October 20th, the Legislative Ethics Commission issued a “Notice of Reasonable Cause” against former Senator Hiram Monserrate, finding that his solicitation of funds for a legal defense fund violated the State’s gift ban.  Monserrate was expelled from the Senate in February 2010.

This appears to be the first time that the Legislative Ethics Commission (or its predecessor, the Legislative Ethics Committee, which existed from 1987 until 2007) has taken a public enforcement action against a legislator.