Two down, one big win to go for Spitzer

TEXT OF STORY

SCOTT JAGOW: The champagne corks were probably going off in New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s office last night. You know, he’s running for Governor. Well, yesterday Spitzer grabbed two big legal victories. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports.

ASHLEY MILNE-TYTE: First up: A New York judge agreed with Spitzer that a $139 million pay package for former New York Stock Exchange chairman Dick Grasso was unreasonable. He ordered Grasso to pay back tens of millions.

Next, CBS Radio announced it would pay $2 million to settle Spitzer’s investigation into payola, accepting bribes from record companies to play their songs.

Douglas Muzzio teaches public affairs at New York City’s Baruch College.

DOUGLAS MUZZIO: “It simply reinforces the dominant image and the narrative about Eliot Spitzer that he is the Sheriff of Wall Street and he is protecting the people from people like Grasso and corporations like CBS and others.”

Muzzio believes yesterday’s news is a great personal boost for Spitzer, but it won’t have a significant effect on his campaign he says, because Spitzer’s already a shoo-in for the job.

In New York, I’m Ashley Milne-Tyte for Marketplace.