Spitzer-Bruno Relations Reach New Low

The state Senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno, yesterday accused Governor Spitzer of committing "political espionage," alleging that Mr. Spitzer directed state police to monitor his movements during his recent trips to New York City.

The allegations, which were denied by Mr. Spitzer and the New York State Police, plunged relations between the state's top Republican and the Democratic governor to a new low in an ongoing feud fueled by a power struggle over control of the Senate.

Mr. Bruno said police logs detailing Mr. Bruno's schedule during trips to New York City that were provided to the Spitzer administration and passed on to reporters show that the governor took extraordinary measures to keep track of his whereabouts in an effort to catch him improperly using state-financed transportation.

"This type of dangerous abuse of power is despicable, possibly illegal and undermines our democratic form of government," Mr. Bruno said in a statement. He said he asked Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the Albany County district attorney, David Soares, to "convene grand juries to assess the criminal liability of the governor for his abuse of the power of his office and the misuse of the state police for political espionage."

Mr. Bruno's allegations were reported by the New York Post yesterday.

Spitzer administration officials denied there was any surveillance of Mr. Bruno, saying they asked for the logs in response to a request made by the Times Union of Albany for the itineraries of Messrs. Spitzer, Bruno, and other state leaders on days the officials traveled on aircraft provided by the state.

Because Mr. Bruno's office refuses to disclose the senator's schedule, the Spitzer administration requested the itineraries from the police, a spokesman for the governor, Darren Dopp, said. State police officials said they responded to the request by assembling a "synopsis" of Mr. Bruno's transportation assignments and forwarded them to the administration. The logs, covering five days of travel in May, detailed the times as well as the starting points and destinations of Mr. Bruno's trips. The logs did not disclose with whom Mr. Bruno met.

On May 24, according to the logs, Mr. Bruno was transported to Russo's Steak and Pasta restaurant on Seventh Avenue from the Sheraton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan and then taken to the heliport on West 30th Street.

"There was no surveillance by the state police of Senator Bruno," a spokesman for the state police, Lieutenant Glenn Miner, said.

He said state police do not normally retain such logs of public officials but began preserving Mr. Bruno's schedule after the Spitzer administration submitted its request.

A spokesman for Mr. Bruno, John McArdle, said the logs contained private schedule information and should not have been released.

The documents, which also included flight manifests, showed that Mr. Bruno flew on state-financed helicopters to New York from Albany and took rides in trooper vehicles on days when Mr. Bruno attended Republican fund raisers.

Mr. Spitzer has asked state investigators to look into whether the Senate leader's trips violated state law, which requires that taxpayer-financed transportation be used for official state business.

Mr. Bruno denied any wrongdoing, claiming that he conducted state business during the trips and that he rode in police vehicles because he was the target of security threats.