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Republican Rick Lazio, the party’s nominee for governor in New York, called on his Democratic opponent Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo to open an investigation into the funding sources for the Cordoba Mosque, planned for Lower Manhattan near the site of the September 11 terror attacks. Lazio said that there were serious questions about the funding and the intent of the developers behind the mosque. “We seek a clean accounting of all the funding sources for this mosque," Lazio said. “Where did the $5 million come from that were used to purchase the land? Where will the $95 million in addition...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio on Tuesday called on his Democratic rival, Andrew Cuomo, to investigate the development of a $100 million mosque being planned near ground zero. The mosque, just a block away from the Sept. 11 terror attack site, has been a source of controversy in the community even though Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city officials support its construction and have said that it poses no security concerns. Some survivors and family members of the 9/11 victims say building a mosque there disrespects the memory of those who died at the hands of...

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said the following in response to yesterday's press conference conducted by Rick Lazio, his potential opposition in the coming election for governor in New York state: “If there is a criminal case, then there is a criminal case. But, if this is: I don’t like this religion, and I don’t like this religion on this block. Or: I don’t like this religion in this city. Then I agree with Mayor Bloomberg. Then I agree with the community board that approved the mosque. What are we about, if not religious freedom? What is the country...

Andrew Cuomo and his GOP challengers are splitting sharply on the hotly contested question of building a mosque near Ground Zero, even as they're in surprising agreement on the need to cut taxes and spending. Attorney General Cuomo said he favored building the mosque, which polls show is opposed by most city residents, including many who say it would be an insult to 9/11 victims. Cuomo, who polls show is the overwhelming favorite to be the state's next governor, said through a spokesman, "America is all about diversity and tolerance and, thus, we should let this project proceed, even though...

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York Republicans have chosen former Congressman Rick Lazio (LAH'-zee-oh) as their candidate for governor. The party endorsed the Long Islander on Wednesday at its convention in New York City.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is very popular in New York. Governor David Paterson and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand are not... and they're both up for re-election. Conventional wisdom has had it that Cuomo will run for one of their jobs: Paterson's. Amidst unsourced press reports that Cuomo would begin his campaign for governor sometime in March, Paterson even announced he would not be seeking re-election. But now March has come and just about gone, and there's no announcement. Cuomo, in fact, keeps insisting he's running for attorney general. But it's hard to believe the heretofore ruthless politician, suddenly lacks any ambition...

The lead coffin archaeologists found in the abandoned ancient city of Gabii, Italy could contain a gladiator or bishop. ANN ARBOR, Mich.—In the ruins of a city that was once Rome's neighbor, archaeologists last summer found a 1,000-pound lead coffin. Who or what is inside is still a mystery, said Nicola Terrenato, the University of Michigan professor of classical studies who leads the project—the largest American dig in Italy in the past 50 years. The sarcophagus will soon be transported to the American Academy in Rome, where engineers will use heating techniques and tiny cameras in an effort to gain...

A new Siena poll (810 RVs, 3/15-18, MoE +/- 3.4%) is the first in New York to test the potential Republican primary for governor between former Rep. Rick Lazio (R) and Steve Levy, the Suffolk County Executive and soon-to-be-former Democrat. Lazio leads Levy 45-16 in an initial test, with 40 percent undecided. When Republican voters are informed of Levy's political affiliation, Lazio's lead expands to 60-19, with 22 percent undecided. Democratic Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, meanwhile, continues to be the early heavy favorite to ultimately win the seat in November.

A day after being rejected by his own party’s chairman, Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio secured the all-important backing Saturday from State Conservative Party leaders. The Conservative Party Executive Committee met Saturday in Brooklyn, where it recommended the former Long Island congressman as the party’s candidate for governor. The Lazio endorsement still needs to be ratified at the Conservative Party convention this spring, said Michael R. Long, State Conservative Party chairman. “He’s got a lot of support among the leaders of the party,” Long said by phone after the meeting. “He’s been friends of the party for a long time,...

ALBANY — Fresh off an announcement that jolted the New York political world, Steve Levy, the Long Island Democrat who abandoned his party to run for governor as a Republican, is working to secure endorsements as he tries to gain an edge in the contest for the nomination. His candidacy barely a day old, Mr. Levy, the Suffolk County executive, has already siphoned away the support of several influential county leaders from former Representative Rick A. Lazio, who until this week appeared to be the Republican front-runner.

ALBANY — The campaign for the Republican nomination for governor was blown wide open on Thursday as the party’s presumptive frontrunner, Rick A. Lazio, lost key support after a last-minute entry into the race by a conservative Long Island Democrat. The Democrat, Steve Levy, was quickly amassing Republican endorsements, just hours after he said he would switch parties and seek the Republican nomination. Mr. Lazio, seeking to contain the damage and play down the growing number of defections from his campaign, hit back on Thursday, calling Mr. Levy, the Suffolk County executive, a “rank opportunist.” “The people of New York...

Former Gov. George Pataki, perhaps the most popular Republican in New York, is endorsing Rick Lazio in his GOP bid for governor this year. Pataki is scheduled to make the endorsement Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan. Lazio is a former congressman from Long Island who has collected endorsements from most Republican county chairmen and many Conservative Party leaders around the state. Lazio spokesman Barney Keller says Pataki's backing is another indication Lazio has support to, as he put it, sweep clean the dysfunction in Albany. Pataki, who retired as governor four years ago, is considering a run for the U.S. Senate...

Downtown developer Carl P. Paladino, who is nearing a decision on whether to run for governor this year, said Monday that if he enters the contest, it will be as a candidate for the Republican nomination. Paladino, who earlier this month said “tea party” activists are urging him to run on an independent line, now says his best option lies in a challenge to presumptive Republican nominee Rick Lazio, the former Long Island congressman. “If we’re going to do it, that’s the way,” he said. “I’ve ruled out all these other options.” Paladino, who had been a Democrat for many...

ALBANY, N.Y (AP) - Calls for Gov. David Paterson to abandon his election bidmounted Thursday as the state attorney general announced he would investigate whether the administration or state police committed a crime in talking to a woman who had filed a domestic violence report against a top aide to the governor. Paterson's top criminal justice Cabinet member resigned Thursday over the burgeoning scandal, saying conduct by the state police was "distressing" for an administration that has devoted itself to reducing domestic violence. Elected officials and other candidates for office clamored for Paterson to end his campaign - formally launched...

Andrew Cuomo is missing in action. He is running a campaign for Governor while hiding from the people of New York. It's nothing more than politics as usual. Andrew Cuomo has been part of the Albany dysfunction for so long he believes the people can be ignored. As Martha Coakley found out in Massachusetts, the people will be heard from. Watch our new web video "Silence" by clicking below and then join our movement to speak up, stand up, and take back New York State from politicians like Andrew Cuomo.

Albany Bureau Chief ALBANY - Attorney General Andrew Cuomo shouldn't fear a racial backlash in a Democratic primary against Gov. Paterson, according to a new poll released Wednesday. In fact, the Quinnipiac University poll found Cuomo has higher approval ratings than Paterson among African-Americans, 78% to 60%. Yet black voters still say they prefer Paterson, 42% to 34%. A whopping 80% of voters, including 73% of African-Americans, disagree that a primary would be racially divisive despite such warnings from Rep. Charles Rangel and Paterson's father, Basil. Overall, Cuomo leads Paterson 55% to 23% in a potential Democratic primary matchup, down...

ALBANY, N.Y. — Republican Rick Lazio told state Conservative Party leaders Monday that Democrat Andrew Cuomo has been hiding in a foxhole while Albany burns. Even as Lazio targeted Albany’s political status quo as out of touch with New Yorkers, he drew a challenge for the Republican nomination to run for governor from a candidate who said he represents the GOP’s antiestablishment “tea party” faction. The announcement by Warren Redlich of Albany County shows a revived interest in the prospects for the Republican party, which lost its base of power in the 2008 elections. Of Cuomo, Lazio said, “Rather than...

ROME, January 28, 2010 – More than half a century after that long ago 1952, and in both cases with administrative elections around the corner, the  diocese of the pope is today presented with the same threat: that its civil government may fall into enemy hands. But the Church's reactions today appear much different than they did then. In 1952, the pope and the Vatican authorities, in a state of high alarm, swung into action in person. Fearing the electoral victory, right under the Vatican walls, of communists and socialists who at the time were closely connected to the...

Key Republicans, including former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, are urging Rick Lazio to drop his long-shot bid for governor and challenge embattled -- and vulnerable -- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, The Post has learned. D'Amato, who once worked closely with Lazio during his tenure as a Long Island congressman, told Lazio in a face-to-face meeting late last month that "you can't win for governor, but you can beat Gillibrand." "He told Lazio that [Attorney General Andrew] Cuomo is going to be the Democratic nominee for governor and that if he finally wants to have a chance of winning a statewide election, he...

Italy's four main mafia organisations have put aside their deadly differences to form a new and dangerous "fifth mafia" in Rome, a report has warned. The co-operation between the organised crime syndicates is a new and worrying development for the country's capital, researchers said. The impoverished south of Italy has been the traditional power base for the country's four mafia groups – Sicily's Cosa Nostra, the Camorra from Campania, the 'Ndragheta of Calabria and the lesser known Sacra Corona Unita in Puglia. But Mafiosi are now targeting Rome and the surrounding region of Lazio, according to a study by Libera...