Politically Tied Lawyers Win Jobs Handling Foreclosures in the New York City

The New York Times reports:

In 2009, a judge in Manhattan had a lucrative appointment to hand out: oversight of a diamond district building that was drifting into foreclosure.

Nearly 600 people in Manhattan had been approved for such work. But the job went to a lawyer named Mark D. Lebow, who is the husband of Patricia E. Harris, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s most trusted aide.

Since then, Mr. Lebow has earned $352,000 in fees, more than $5,000 a week, according to court records.

The foreclosure crisis has caused a surge in the number of court-appointed receivers for distressed properties in New York, and politically connected lawyers are benefiting.

Yet even as the fees mount, totaling millions of dollars, it remains unclear why judges are selecting some of these lawyers, and whether the fees are being well spent.

The insiders can always make money in a decline.