As someone who has been accused of being too obsessed over complaining about corruption in Brooklyn politics, I sometimes forget that the Queens Democratic machine is also quite corrupt. I just don't have the same ties with Queens reformers that I do in Brooklyn. Today the Brooklyn Optimist takes a peek over the border in Queens and has a good rundown on the sleaze going on over there and the near silence from both the Working Families Party and the Democratic mainstream about this sleaze. Some excerpts:

Brian McLaughlin...is the former Queens Assemblyman and New York City AFL-CIO Central Labor Council President, who plead guilty on March 7th to federal racketeering charges, so that instead of facing 30+ years in prison, he'll likely only end up with 8 to 10...  read more »

“Can’t anybody here play this game?” a legendary manager of a hapless start-up team once asked. It applies here as well. Now I don’t know whether Hiram Monserrate is really Hiram Monster Rat as claimed by the Daily News. I’ve never met the man, never spoken to him on the phone (Although, full disclosure, I once campaigned for his opponent, John Sabini).

Four Updates Newsday's Rocco Parascandola reports NYPD doing forensic tests on the glasses said to have cut Ms. Giraldo and Juan Gonzalez has an excellent review here. Try also this NY Times review which includes new detail about videos and witnesses and this Daily News report with even more.

State Senator-Elect Monserrate, charged with felony-domestic-violence assault on his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo has, by his statements and by those of his "supporters," created over and over again, the image of someone who is guilty, guilty, guilty. I’ve known public relations professionals and many of them could have worked Mr. Monserrate’s side of the story without making the mess Mr. M's team has done so far. In my view, although you should feel free to ask Howard Rubenstein, Mr. M could have been silent or he could have spun one straight story and stuck to it – but no. The story – leaked out by Mr. Monserrate’s “supporters” -- has changed day by day as new facts and “factoids” are uncovered.  read more »

If true, Mr. Monserrate is doing the State Senate proud, even before taking office (Many updates, Monserrate's spin story and more post-jump):

Queens state Senator-elect Hiram Monserrate was in police custody this morning and will be charged with assaulting a woman believed to be his girlfriend, police sources said.

Monserrate, a member of the City Council who serves on its Public Safety Committee, struck the woman, Karla Giraldo, 30, near her left eye with either a bottle or broken glass, sources said.

The alleged assault occurred Thursday at her Jackson Heights home. Monserrate took Giraldo to Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, where she received five stitches and was released.

The circumstances surrounding the alleged assault were not immediately clear, sources said. Monserrate is at the 105th Precinct and will be charged with felony assault, sources said.

From Newsday's Police beat guy Rocco Parascandola From the NY Times City Room post, the victim didn't want Senator-elect Monserrate arrested but that domestic assault arrests are mandatory in such circumstances.  read more »