Disgraced lobbyist took personal loan from SUNY Poly official, facilitated school position

Albany -- Disgraced lobbyist Todd Howe helped a key economic development and compliance official at SUNY Polytechnic Institute land his position in 2014.

Also, a financial disclosure form filed in 2011 by the official, Christopher Walsh, shows that Howe — who pleaded guilty in a massive state corruption case last month — owed Walsh between $1,000 and $5,000 for an "unsecured" loan at that year's end. From 2012 onwards, the loan no longer appears on Walsh's disclosure forms.

Walsh, who was a deputy commissioner at the Department of Environmental Conservation in 2011, told the Times Union that he had given Howe a "small personal loan between friends who have known each other for more than three decades." He said the loan — which came with no terms, interest or schedules — had been repaid in full.

Howe pleaded guilty last month to multiple felonies related to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's investigation of upstate development projects. He is now cooperating with federal investigators. Despite his years of work for the high-profile law firm Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, Howe for years leading up to the current scandal faced financial difficulties, including bankruptcy and tax liens.

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Todd-Howe-took-loan-from-SUNY-Poly-official-9975074.php