RYAN TOOHEY

Earlier this year, New York Democratic political consultant Ryan Toohey and a handful of other party operatives are at the center of a controversy over so-called "robo-calls," those often annoying automated telephone calls often used by candidates. In a recent episode, Toohey and a cadre of Democrat officials were accused of using robo-calls to spread untrue messages about Maureen O'Connell, a GOP state Senate candidate running in a special election in the 7th District, which includes Nassau County and surrounding areas. One round of calls falsely told voters O'Connell performed abortions during the time she worked as a nurse.
O'Connell's campaign also questions the role Toohey played in a series of four purportedly pro-Oconnell phone calls sent during the Super Bowl - phone messages which likely caused many angry football fans to vote against her and in favor of Democrat Craig Johnson - the ultimate winner.
Following is a story published in the NY Sun:

Democrats Accused of Dirty Tricks in Senate Race
By JACOB GERSHMAN
Staff Reporter of the Sun
February 26, 2007

It was Super Bowl Sunday. In a Nassau County hamlet, the Imbriale family was watching the game on a big-screen television when the kitchen phone rang.
On the other end of the line was a recording of a young woman's voice - fast-talking, cheerful, and dull - reminding them to vote for Maureen O'Connell, the Republican state Senate candidate running in the high-profile 7th District special election, two days away.
John Imbriale, a Republican, thought nothing of it and hung up. Fifteen minutes later, the phone rang again. The recording had changed, but the voice was the same, this time telling him that Ms. O'Connell has "worked for years to expand health coverage and believes we should have lower taxes."
By the time the Colts won, the Imbriales had received four more automatic calls, known as robo-calls. Their Hicksville home was one of perhaps thousands in the Nassau area that fended off an onslaught of robo-calls that night.
The next day, a frantic Ms. O'Connell sent an e-mail to supporters assuring them that her campaign was not responsible for something as unwise as harassing voters during the big game. She blamed the calls on her Democratic opponent, Craig Johnson, an accusation he denied. She also said she was filing a complaint with the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.Republicans in the district said they also received a flier in the mail sent by a group billing itself as "Democrats for Maureen O'Connell." The flier, which was obtained by the Sun, described how the candidate is "strongly supported by SEIU/1199, the mega union," has "pledged to fight against cutting the state budget," and has embraced Roe v. Wade. The flier was signed by Abigail Steen, whose name does not appear in a local phone directory.
"It's a new low in dirty, misleading campaigning. Quite frankly, the dirty tricks really crossed the line. I've never seen such a despicable negative campaign of untruths and lies," Mr. Skelos said.
Mr. Toohey and Mr. Johnson's campaign manager, Brian Stedge-Stroud, deny any involvement in tricks. Mr. Stedge-Stroud suggested in an interview that Republicans were suffering from a bad case of sour grapes and were looking for excuses to explain away Ms. O'Connell's loss. Mr. Johnson won the February 6 race by almost eight percentage points.
"The campaign had nothing to do with it," Mr. Stedge-Stroud said. "They're just trying to muddy up the waters because they're trying to hide the fact they're losing on issues, such as property taxes and reforming Albany."
Mr. Skelos said federal investigators had not responded to Ms. O'Connell's complaint. He said his office would go over finance records from the Johnson campaign submitted in the next mandatory filing period.
"Somebody paid for it," he said. "It's not something that just happens."