Investigation Shows Politicians Profit off Foreclosure Sales

 http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2013/jun/17/court-appointments-go-political-insiders/

Among the attorneys who get the most appointments are current and former state legislators, city council members, county committeemen and judicial delegates.
State court judges – who are themselves elected – have historically rewarded party loyalists with a variety of court appointments, said Adam Skaggs, senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice. The more lucrative jobs include guardians and receivers.
“Patronage in the court system in New York has been a problem since the days of Tammany Hall,” Skaggs said. “All too often in New York’s history, again and again and again, these jobs have been given to politically connected cronies of the party bosses, cronies of the judges and it’s been a problem historically throughout the New York Court system.”
When it comes to referees, Judge Lawrence Knipel, the administrative judge for civil matters in Kings County, said he doesn’t think patronage drives appointments, particularly since cases pay an average of $750.