How Klein tapped his "heavy breather" billionaire pals for charter $$$

Klein & Murdoch

New York Mayor Bloomberg was forced, following a Freedom of Information request, to release hundreds of email messages which showed the corrupt machinations behind the push for charter schools. In particular, the emails revealed the role played by former chancellor, Joel Klein, who is now a general in Rupert Murdoch's international criminal organization.

They show a desperate Bloomberg and Klein in a “fight of our life," putting pressure on funders to deliver millions of dollars in an effort to beat back teacher and community resistance.

The e-mails show that in February 2010, Mr. Klein and several charter school advocates participated in a phone call with the board members of the Robin Hood Foundation, a nonprofit group that fights poverty. The first attempt by charter advocates to get the State Legislature raise the charter cap had failed miserably, and the main advocacy group pushing for the higher cap, Education Reform Now, needed money for a second attempt, which was ultimately successful. -- New York Times

 One message showed Klein's own disrespect for the very funders he was hitting up.

“Who’s the heavy breather on the call?” wrote a participant, whose name was redacted. “Normally, I’d ask them to mute their phone but I don’t want to alienate any donors.”

“Some overweight billionaire,” Mr. Klein replied.