cover image Senator Pothole: The Unauthorized Biography of Al D'Amato

Senator Pothole: The Unauthorized Biography of Al D'Amato

Leonard Lurie. Carol Publishing Corporation, $24.95 (546pp) ISBN 978-1-55972-227-8

Nicknamed ``Senator Pothole'' for his devotion to local minutiae, New York Republican Alfonse D'Amato, first elected in 1980, is one of the most scandal-tinged members of Congress. Since many of the revelations against D'Amato have been raised in court cases and news articles, the biographer's task is not investigation but synthesis and polemic. And while Lurie ( The Kingmakers ) has done diligent research, his book is unwieldy and uneven, for example devoting one-fourth of the narrative to a blow-by-blow description of a 1985 court case--the ``1% case''--involving kickbacks by civic workers to the Nassau County Republican Party and bribes extorted from contractors. Lurie shows how D'Amato manages to manipulate the media, act hypocritically, ``suction up campaign contributions'' and use his influence to benefit his friends and family. However, since this book focuses mainly on D'Amato in his home zone of Nassau County, Lurie's final charges implicating D'Amato in national scandals like the savings and loan bankruptcies and Defense Department procurement swindles are inadequate. Photos not seen by PW. (June)