Richard Luthmann appeared on radio personality Frank Morano’s recent broadcast announcing a forthcoming article on malfeasance within the New York State Republican Party. The article specifically alleges Chairman Ed Cox engaged in nonwaivable and undisclosed conflicts of interest and the apparent Falsification of Business Records on New York corporations.
Luthmann also promotes his Substack, where he continues his work as an independent journalist. He discusses his efforts to overturn a guilty plea for creating Fake Facebook pages, accusing several New York State judges of dishonesty, and filing grievances against judicial misconduct.
Luthmann now lives in Florida, maintaining his fight against perceived injustices and restrictions on his ability to obtain relief from civil disability due to his conviction. In part, he views his journalistic endeavors as a platform to expose those who wronged him, positioning himself as a victim of a flawed system.
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The full transcript is below.
Frank Morano 00:00
...Which I did accept. I also requested the, I also accepted the other person that, that, wow, there you are, Richard, how's it going?
Richard Luthmann 00:08
I'm doing great. I'm going to break some news on your show on your on this right now. I'm going to come out with an article this weekend about some malfeasance in the New York State Republican Party, all the way at the top with Mr. Ed Cox, laboring under undisclosed conflicts of interest for over a decade, that may very well invalidate his nomination and Certificate of Nomination in the senatorial race for the New York State Senate. We're coming out with a blockbuster over the weekend, it's going to be an Easter egg for everybody to find. And there's sure to be more press to come out about this. But this is a blockbuster in conjunction with a few other things with a few other sources I've been talking about near and dear to your favorite people in the New York State political world.
NYRSC Chairman Ed Cox Faces Allegations of Conflicts and Misconduct
NYRSC Chairman Ed Cox is at the center of controversy due to allegations of conflicts of interest and dishonest practices that may invalidate the New York Republican State Committee's (NYRSC) Certificate of Nomination in the upcoming U.S. Senate Primary.
New York Republican State Committee Chairman Ed Cox
However, Ed Cox may not only have been acting in a way that violated the constituional voting and associational rights of New York Republican party members to vote for the candidate of their choice. Ed Cox’s filed Certificate of Nomination appears to be a product of undue influence, conflict of interest, dishonesty, misrepresentation, falsification, and potentially criminal activity.
At the center of the controversey is Ed Cox’s support of liberal candidates and left-wing causes while Chairman of the New York State GOP.
Cox is an attorney admitted to practice law in the State of New York. In 1973, he was admitted as Edward Finch Cox in the Appellate Division, First Department. He’s the late Richard Nixon’s son-in-law. Cox also serves as a board member of the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (NYLCV-EF), a 501(c)(3) charity, is accused of engaging in political activities that conflict with his responsibilities at the NYRSC.
Filed IRS Form 990s show public charity NYLCV-EF is not only a related organization, but a tax “alter-ego” of political organizations NYLCV and NYLCV PAC.
Schedule O in NYLCV-EF’s IRS Form 990s show the concerning relationship between the public charity and its political alter ego.
While NYLCV-EF claims to be a public charity, it is indistinguishable from its admittedly related political entities. NYLCV and NYLCV-EF have the same office space: 30 Broad Street, 30th Floor, New York, NY 10004. They have the same phone number: (212) 361-6350. They have the same staff. They have received interest, annuities, royalties, and/or rent from one another. NYLCV-EF has regularly paid expenses and made loans and gifts to NYLCV in numbers totaling in the millions.
“Each year, our Gala brings together elected and public officials, business leaders, environmentalists, and philanthropists from all over the state. Over eight hundred people from across the country join together to support our efforts to fight climate change, conserve land and water, and protect public health across New York. The gala provides an important source of funds for NYLCV & NYLCV Education Fund.”
The entities actively support “climate change,” “green energy,” and leftist environmental causes and political candidates, often opposing Republican candidates. Despite this, Cox has made personal contributions to the NYLCV, raising questions about his dual roles.
“NYLCV is the only statewide environmental organization in New York that fights for clean water, clean air, renewable energy and open space through political action.”
“NYLCV does its part in the fight for a greener environment by lobbying elected officials, mobilizing advocates and making endorsements. NYLCV’s political action committees go further – by directly waging electoral campaigns that defend our allies, defeat our enemies, and elects a new generation of environmental leaders.” [empasis added]
NYLCV PAC wages independent campaign expenditures on behalf of candidates who have demonstrated their commitment and ability to advance a pro-environment agenda. These include issue polling, direct mail, social media campaigns, radio and television advertising, and door-to-door canvassing. NYLCV PAC has established itself as recognized players in the political arena because we target races where we can move the votes to sway the outcome of elections. Our committees help put promising green leaders into office by mobilizing environmentally minded voters across New York.
NYLCV PAC is a registered independent expenditure political committee (NYSBOE # 3003).
NYLCV PAC is committed to electing local and state candidates that have the willingness and capacity to advance a pragmatic environmental agenda.
NYLCV PAC is also committed to defeating candidates that stood in the way of passing or have attempted/succeeded in watering down or repealing common-sense environmental policies.
NYLCV PAC and its activities are not done in coordination, cooperation, consultation, or in concert with or at the request or suggestion of a candidate, candidate’s authorized committee, or political party.
Election records show that NYRSC Chairman Ed Cox has previously personally contributed to the NYLCV.
Election records also show the NYLCV has not contributed to any Republican Party candidate. Besides the roster of Democratic Party candidates and officeholders, the NYLCV doled out a small fortune to New Yorkers for Clean Water & Jobs in the 2022 cycle, a leftist ballot issue committee committed to “address the climate crisis.”
The NYLCV's focus on promoting a green energy agenda and electric vehicle transition contrasts sharply with the Republican platform, which is markedly less focused on climate change initiatives.
Ed Cox cannot be committed both to electing “a new generation of environmental leaders” and electing Republicans. Particularly where, according to the Pew Research Center, only 12% of Republicans think dealing with climate change should be a top priority for elected officials.
Even the NYLCV-EF, where Ed Cox is a director, promotes a green energy agenda, “strongly urg[ing] all [New York] school districts to apply and begin the process of transitioning their school bus fleets to electric.” Note the above video, while a stated NYLCV-EF initiative, is branded with the NYLCV logo.
However, this position is far afield from the Republican platform. Presidential Candidate Donald Trump has argued that electric vehicles help China, America’s economic rival, because minerals critical to battery manufacturing, like graphite and manganese, often originate in China. Even Democratic President Joe Biden has raised Chinese security concerns about EVs.
Ed Cox’s conflicts of interest are apparent on their face and magnified by his sworn annual attestations within the business records of the NYLCV-EV entity.
NYLCV-EF’s legal name is THE NEW YORK LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUND, INC., a New York not-for-profit corporation organized under § 402 of the Not-For-Profit Corporation law. The entity’s Department of State number is 1735045.
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MUST CONDUCT THEIR AFFAIRS IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO AVOID ANY CONFLICT OF INTEREST WITH THEIR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AS MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. THE DIRECTORS DISCHARGE THE DUTIES OF THEIR RESPECTIVE POSITIONS IN GOOD FAITH AND WITH THAT DEGREE OF DILIGENCE, CARE AND SKILL WHICH ORDINARILY PRUDENT PEOPLE WOULD EXERCISE UNDER SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES IN LIKE POSITIONS. ANY NEW DIRECTOR IS ADVISED OF THE CORPORATION'S CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY UPON ENTERING THE DUTIES OF HIS OFFICE AND SIGNS A WRITTEN DISCLOSURE OF POTENTIAL CONFLICTS, INCLUDING INVOLVEMENT WITH ANY ENTITY WITH WHICH THE CORPORATION HAS A RELATIONSHIP AND INTERESTS IN ANY TRANSACTION IN WHICH THE CORPORATION IS A PARTICIPANT. DIRECTORS ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEST ANNUALLY TO THEIR FAMILIARITY WITH THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY AND TO PROVIDE INFORMATION CONCERNING ANY CONFLICT OF INTEREST. IF A DIRECTOR HAS A CONFLICT OF INTEREST, THAT DIRECTOR FULLY DISCLOSES IT TO THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AT THE EARLIEST PRACTICABLE TIME AFTER THE CONFLICTED DIRECTOR BECOMES AWARE OF HIS CONFLICT OF INTEREST. AFTER CONSIDERATION OF THE MATTER, THE AUDIT COMMITTEE MAY APPROVE THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST ONLY UPON A CLEAR SHOWING THAT APPROVAL IS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF AND PROVIDES A SUBSTANTIAL BENEFIT TO THE CORPORATION. IF THERE IS NO CONSENSUS AMONG THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, THE AUDIT COMMITTEE REFERS CONSIDERATION OF THE MATTER TO THE BOARD. IF NEITHER THE BOARD NOR THE AUDIT COMMITTEE APPROVE THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST, THE DIRECTOR INVOLVED ELIMINATES THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST BY EITHER (A) ABSTAINING FROM ALL ACTIVITIES IN HIS OR HER CAPACITY OF DIRECTOR THAT COULD REASONABLY BE SEEN AS RELATING TO THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST OR (B) ENDING THE SITUATION, TRANSACTION, OR RELATIONSHIP WHICH GAVE RISE TO THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN A MANNER THAT SATISFIES THE AUDIT COMMITTEE THAT NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST CONTINUES TO EXIST. STAFF IS ALSO REQUIRED TO SIGN AN ANNUAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY ATTESTATION. [EMPHASIS ADDED]
We made this request to the NYLCV-EV which remains unanswered as of press time:
------- Forwarded Message ------- From: Dick LaFontaine, Investigative Journalist <RALafontaine@protonmail.com> Date: On Wednesday, March 27th, 2024 at 5:21 PM Subject: Document Request To: info@nylcvef.org <info@nylcvef.org>
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am an investigative reporter. I came upon your filed 990 Forms for the NEW YORK LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUND INC.
The Form 990, Part VI, Section C, Line 19 says:
THE ORGANIZATION MAKES ITS GOVERNING DOCUMENTS, CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY, AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC UPON REQUEST.
I am formally requesting a copy of all of these documents, including but not limited to annual attestations and any conflict of interest disclosures filed with the audit committee and/or the Chairman of the Board.
In order to simplify and be environmentally conscious, you can send digital copies of the requested documents.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Regards,
Dick LaFontaine
Investigative Journalist
Additionally, Ed Cox may have made false and dishonest statements related to his conflicts with the New York State Republican Committee. We made this request to the NYLCV-EV which remains unanswered as of press time:
On Thursday, March 28th, 2024 at 2:50 PM, Dick LaFontaine, Investigative Journalist <RALafontaine@protonmail.com> wrote:
Good afternoon,
We are putting together an article. We were wondering if the NYRSC has an official conflicts of interest policy. If so, could you send us a copy. And could you let us know whether there are annual conflict of interest attestations for your board / executive committee members.
Also, we would love a copy of the official State Party Rules.
Thanks in advance for your time.
Regards,
Dick LaFontaine
Investigative Journalist
Ed Cox has palpably committed dozens of violations of §§ 175.05 and 175.10 of the New York penal law—Falsification of Business Records.
Under New York Penal Law § 175.05, a person is guilty of falsifying business records in the second degree when, with intent to defraud, he:
1. Makes or causes a false entry in the business records of an enterprise; or
2. Alters, erases, obliterates, deletes, removes or destroys a true entry in the business records of an enterprise; or
3. Omits to make a true entry in the business records of an enterprise in violation of a duty to do so which he knows to be imposed upon him by law or by the nature of his position; or
4. Prevents the making of a true entry or causes the omission thereof in the business records of an enterprise.
Falsifying business records in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor.
Under New York Penal Law § 175.05, a person is guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree when he commits the crime of falsifying business records in the second degree, and when his intent to defraud includes an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof. Falsifying business records in the first degree is a class E felony.
The accusations extend to Cox's failure to reconcile his commitments to the NYLCV-EF and the NYRSC organizations, allegedly leading to falsifications and violations of New York penal law related to business records. By filing attestations with the NYLCV-EF and the NYSRC, Ed Cox has committed dozens of instances of Falsification of Business Records.
Ed Cox’s activity appears to be part of a larger conspiracy to influence elections. New York Election Law § 17-152 prohibits a conspiracy to use “unlawful means” to promote or prevent a person’s election. The phrase “unlawful means” is interpreted broadly and is not limited to crimes but includes any conduct unauthorized by law. Ask Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
New York Tax Law §§ 1801(a)(3) & 1802. Section 1801(a) sets out relevant tax fraud acts, with subsection (3) prohibiting “knowingly suppl[ying] or submit[ting] materially false or fraudulent information in connection with any [tax] return, audit, investigation, or proceeding.” The tax fraud includes four elements: (1) a tax document filed, submitted or supplied; (2) falsity; (3) materiality; and (4) intent (willfulness). Any person who commits a tax fraud act, including under 1801(a)(3), is guilty, at a minimum, of criminal tax fraud in the fifth degree, a Class A misdemeanor crime under Section 1802, where the tax liability is less than $3,000. No additional mens rea is required, such as an intent to evade taxes or defraud the state.
Ed Cox, through his board membership in NYLCV-EF, has operated a public charity as a de facto political entity. In so doing, he has taken part in tax evasion, tax fraud, and theft of U.S and N.Y.S. taxpayer monies. This scheme remains continuous, ongoing, and unprosecuted.
Moreover, Ed Cox and the NYSRC have unclean hands. For over a decade, they have been involved in a pattern of undue influence, conflict of interest, dishonesty, misrepresentation, falsification, and criminality. This situation puts the NYRSC's nomination processes and Cox's actions under scrutiny, suggesting that his alleged misconduct could infringe upon the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of Republican party members and prosective candidates, as well as raise equal protection and due process concerns.
In the same way as a jury’s verdict will not be disturbed in the ordinary course and accorded great weight, so too is great deference given to political parties in appointing and selecting their candidates for ballot access. However, due process compels that the U.S. Senate election scheme is not corrupted by undue influence, conflict of interest, dishonesty, misrepresentation, falsification, and criminality.
A court cannot accept a jury verdict resulting from a bribe or a threat to a juror. So too should should the New York State Board of Elections not receive a Certificate of Nomination from the NYRSC and Ed Cox that is the product of palable dishonesty, falsification, and criminality.
The NY GOP Chairman should also be held accountable. Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg already has this blueprint. The only question now is when Ed Cox will be sitting at the defense table.
Unless, of course, he gets a free pass. And why would that be?
Frank Morano 01:01
So Richard, how do people find you find that article? How do they follow what you're you're writing if they want to catch up on that?
Richard Luthmann 01:10
Luthmann.substack.com Luthmann L U T H M A N N. Two Ns. That's Substack.com. I think that Alex Berenson said a couple weeks ago that Substack's become indispensable to independent written journalism nowadays, that's where a lot, a bunch of stuff is going on.
Frank Morano 01:29
Richard, you know, you people may remember your situation. I mean, there's a lot they may remember about you the front page in the New York Post the Trial By Combat attorney, bunch of other things, but you've got to be in the era and everyone on social media, I think will appreciate this, because every other account on social media is a satirical satirical account or a fake name.
Watercolor of Former “Trial By Combat” Attorney Richard Luthmann
You're were an attorney, pretty prominent attorney, pretty successful attorney. And you ultimately had to plead guilty to this fake Facebook page situation where you created these fake Facebook pages to mock certain politicians. I don't want to relitigate the whole case now. But when you came on with me, after coming out of prison for that, and you know, unrelated crimes to that, you federal and state, you announced that you were trying to take back your guilty plea and you had filed suit. I you know, the Substacks that you put out are quite lengthy. I can't say that I read every word. What's the latest with your attempts to kind of invalidate your guilty plea?
Richard Luthmann 02:35
Right now, we got a scumbag judge in Brooklyn named Donald Leo, who wrote an opinion where he lied, flat out and said that he has no political aspirations. He's appointed by Bill de Blasio to the City, the Criminal Court bench, Acting Supreme. In 2015, he was on his knees begging Frank Seddio to make him a Supreme Court Justice in Brooklyn. And in the opinion he wrote where he poo pooed me because he's in it - he's a former prosecutor and he's in he's in the bag for the prosecution. He totally ignored the law. But he also perjured himself. I filed a grievance with the Commission on Judicial Ethics about it.
The case that I have is now with the Appellate Division on several levels. It's on the Appellate Division on the on the direct appeal. And I'm moving to consolidate the pullback of the plea because of the fact that I wasn't present in the courtroom. And that even if though it was during COVID, I was not in the custody of New York State Corrections. I was in the custody of the Federal Government. So Andrew Cuomo couldn't have done by an Executive Order, a stroke of a pen, to me who's in federal custody, in the same way he could have anybody else inside the New York State system. That's the difference. I have the right to be brought back. And so it's a Federalism issue that this this judge didn't want to look at because he's a crook. And he's in bed with the Democratic Party and Mike McMahon and the rest of them.
Frank Morano 03:52
So when do you expect to here's something from the Appellate Division on this?
Richard Luthmann 03:56
I still have to perfect. So I'm doing some motion practice now. The next motion that's going to be dockted you're going to hear about is my motion to disqualify Eric Nelson in the Appellate Division. Additionally, you're going to hear about my grievance to the perjurer in my case at the grand jury. His name is Ronald Castorina, and he's a sitting Supreme Court Justice.
And that man, Mr. Castorina, basically caused ethical complaints and and perjury for sitting judges and sitting attorneys because they looked the other way on his perjury. We're gonna see it a little bit about that too.
Frank Morano 04:31
I want to hold off on the you know, the allegations against Judge Castorina because he's a friend and he's not here to deal with this.
Richard Luthmann 04:39
I did nothing to ruin our friendship. He came, he like he was like Judas Isicariot and then he sold me up the river for his judgeship.
Frank Morano 04:45
So people can follow you on Substack.
Richard Luthmann 04:47
This story, it's a very good Easter story. Luthmann is gonna be resurrected. And Judas was taken away, you know.
Matthew 26:24 - “The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”
Frank Morano 04:56
Let me just ask this. Let me ask this clearly. You live in Florida now, right?
Richard Luthmann 05:00
Oh, I live in Florida. I'm a proud Floridian Well, I can't wait. Frank, Frank, I'll come to your house. When the Civil War starts - Civil War Two - and liberate your block on Staten Island as a member of the Florida Guard. That'll be the first block on Staten Island I liberate.
Frank Morano 05:13
I appreciate that. We have a tough block. We have a lot of cops on our block, and everyone's armed except me. Hey, Richard, real quick, though, a serious question. Because, you know, I read a lot of your articles, your Substacks, your emails, and a lot of it has to do with what's going on not just in the past but currently in Staten Island and in New York State, including - this is my phraseology, not yours - trying to ‘settle scores’ with some of the people that you perceive to have wronged you or treated you unfairly. A lot of folks may say, 'Look, you know, you went to prison, you did your time, here's your opportunity to kind of start a new life and turn the page.' Why keep fighting Yesterday's battles, why not let sleeping dogs lie and move on?
Richard Luthmann 06:04
I'll give you the perfect example. The pile-on case that Eric Nelson and Mike McMahon brought is the second felony they got me for. That second felony is a First Amendment violation. I'm the first person in America convicted of a First Amendment crime, really.
“It is not hard to understand why Richmond County District Attorney Michael E. McMahon wanted Richard Luthmann.
Luthmann insulted, lampooned and mocked him on what has been called a fake Facebook page.
Luthmann called him “Smilin’ Jack” and compared him to Dr. Suess’ the Grinch.
1×
0:00
-0:10
Luthmann also had audio tapes of his wife, State Supreme Court Judge Judith McMahon, where she is heard apparently fixing which judges get what cases, a possible help to a district attorney trying to boost conviction stats.
As an administrative judge, Judith McMahon created a special narcotics part, which allowed her husband to direct cases to Judge Charles Troia, and away from Judges Mario Mattei and Wayne Ozzi.
Though Judge McMahon might have been charged criminally or hauled off the bench, the Office of Court Administration was good enough to protect her law license, and her husband chose not to prosecute her.
He decided to prosecute Luthmann instead.”
Richard Luthmann 06:18
And so that's the second violation. If under the Second Chance Act, if that second Fake Facebook crime does not exist on my record, I could go get a real estate license and sell real estate, I could sell insurance, I can do a whole bunch of other stuff as well. I can't get a license to do a goddamn thing. I definitely can't get a law license. And I can't get any license to do anything. So now I'm going to be a journalist and I'm going to shove the spotlight up everyone's asses because I can and that's what I can do because the Constitution says that. I am a monster that they made. When they say that I should turn the page, I did turn the page to the only place I can. This is a Gollum of their own making. And that's what I am. That's what I'm going to continue to do.
As far as you're concerned. You know, I because every every week I read one of these emails and someone I know is in a bad character or you know is doing something bad. I never did anything bad as far as you're concerned.
Richard Luthmann 07:11
You are Aces Mr. Morano. All Aces.
Frank Morano 07:14
That could hurt my reputation the fact that you're saying it. Richard, good luck with everything. Especially with getting that conviction overturned for that Fake Facebook. Because honestly, if something happened...
Richard Luthmann 07:28
It's a matter of time. It's just, it's gonna happen. I'm just gonna keep on pressing these people. They don't want to give it up easy.
I do hope people follow your Substack and I'm going to ask you after I make this comment to repeat your Substack again. But people should understand. Folks may be watching this they don't necessarily know you are they're not familiar with a Fake Facebook case. Whether they like you or not, and I've said this about other Political figures, some I like some I don't like. If that conviction is allowed to stand, it really puts the Constitution and the First Amendment through a shredder because it is such an egregious you know, encroachment on free speech in a digital age and the fact that anybody could be found guilty of that even if they're, you know, forced to plea to something like that, to me, it's so egregious. Give your Substack one more.
Richard Luthmann 08:20
It's Luthmann.substack.com Luthmann with two Ns. I've got cool stuff coming out this week. I just said some stuff some stuff on Ken Langone and NYU Medical Center.
I’ve got some other stuff coming out - follow ups on some Family Law stuff, some real corruption in the courts. So we've got some good stuff, something for everybody.
Frank Morano 08:38
All right, Richard. Best of luck to you Happy Easter. Give you my best as well to Rachel and the boy. I will thank you. I appreciate that. That's Richard Luthmann. A really interesting guy. He's done some legal work for me over the years. And again, I think whether you like him or don't like him. I think what happened to him was was totally wrong. All right.
