Grand Jury on Nora Anderson

Oliva Speaks to Grand Jury About a Client, Judge Anderson
By Azi Paybarah, Politicker, 12/5/08

Michael Oliva, the consultant who helped get Nora Anderson elected as a Surrogate Court judge in Manhattan, confirmed he spoke with a grand jury yesterday about a $225,000 loan his client received from one of her campaign contributors.

The loan was made by Seth Rubenstein, an attorney in Brooklyn who employed Anderson before her campaign. Oliva did not say what he told the grand jury.

State law requires candidates to repay all loans to the campaign by the time of their election. If not, the loan is considered to be a contribution. Anderson repaid most of the loan just before her election, which raised questions about where she got money to do that.

Not that those questions are stopping her plans. Anderson was sworn in at a quiet ceremony earlier this week, officiated by Manhattan’s other Surrogate Court judge, Kristin Booth Glenn, a spokeswoman for judge Glenn confirmed.

For more on the loan, here’s a letter from attorney Ravi Batra, who worked on a rival surrogate campaign, and who called on Andrew Cuomo and Robert Morgenthau to investigate the loan.

Azi Paybarah can be reached via email at azi.paybarah@politickerny.com.