2014-09-25-MoviePoster_2.JPG

This is a detail from the movie poster for "Million Dollar Mayor,'' a documentary film about former Syracuse Mayor Lee Alexander.

(Courtesy of Roger Springfield)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Roger Springfield needs a bagful of cash before his documentary about Lee Alexander, the kickback-collecting former mayor of Syracuse, can be shown in movie theaters.

Springfield had hoped to hold a premiere Oct. 2 for "Million Dollar Mayor,'' his movie about the charismatic four-term mayor who fell from grace when he was caught using "bag men'' to collect bribes from city contractors.

But before Springfield's movie can be shown publicly, he needs to raise $10,000 to pay licensing fees for the video clips, photographs and music he used in the 83-minute film. Thus far, Springfield has raised $425, according to his crowd-funding page on the Indiegogo website.

Springfield, 59, a former TV sports reporter in Syracuse, said he hopes Central New York residents will help him raise the rest in time to show the movie in November.

"I think there are an awful lot of people in the Syracuse area who still have a strong affection for Lee Alexander and who would like to participate and contribute,'' he said.

Alexander was mayor for 16 years, ending in 1985. He pleaded guilty to racketeering in 1988 for taking $1.4 million in kickbacks while he was mayor. He served 5 1/2 years in

federal prison and died in 1996 at the age of 69.

Despite his downfall, Lee Alexander remains popular in Syracuse, said Springfield, who spent 18 months researching and producing his film.

"In the end, people forgave him,'' Springfield said. "After everything that happened, there are a lot of people in Syracuse who, if Lee Alexander could run for mayor, they'd vote for him. That's pretty amazing.''

Springfield's movie documents Alexander's dramatic rise and fall by weaving historic video footage and photographs and interviews with more than 30 first-hand witnesses. Springfield interviewed Alexander's family members, his close friends, his city hall staff, two of his co-conspirators, and a former FBI agent, among others.

Roger Springfield

Three of Alexander's children - James, Matt and Rita - appear on camera. They also dug out hundreds of old family photos, videos and campaign ads for the project, Springfield said. Rita Alexander has since died.

Springfield also interviewed Alexander's devoted defense lawyer and friend, James McGraw, before McGraw died last January.

Springfield's movie tells the Alexander saga with a wide range of detail.

Son James Alexander talks about how close his father was to each of his four children, and recalls the mayor taking him sailing and to other events. Penny Sori, a former newspaper reporter, tells how Alexander, who was estranged from his wife for a long period, took Sori to dinner and "asked me a very crude question about my sex life.''

Nicola Caruso, an architect convicted of paying Alexander kickbacks in return for city contracts, talks about the first phone call he got from Alexander's bag man, attorney Eugene Bersani, who instructed Caruso to pay a kickback of 15 percent. Alexander later complained that Bersani only gave the mayor 10 percent, Caruso says.

McGraw, the attorney, recalls an incident during which a paranoid Alexander, under FBI investigation, encountered a mailman on the street, grabbed him by the neck, and accused the mailman of spying on him. "Ain't you the mayor?'' the mailman responded, according to McGraw.

The movie poster for "Million Dollar Mayor,'' a documentary film about former Syracuse Mayor Lee Alexander.

For Springfield, making the film was "exceedingly cathartic,'' he said. "It helped me a great deal to be able to tell his story.''

Last year, Springfield, whose legal name is Roger Cahak, was sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty to a felony charge of unlawful surveillance. Springfield was charged with secretly videotaping more than 100 male athletes in sports locker rooms while he was Syracuse University's athletic media director.

"I know what it's like to experience a cataclysmic fall,'' Springfield said. "You know, when I got the news footage and I saw (Alexander) leaving the courthouse, I looked into his eyes and I could see the pain. I know what that's like. I know what that's like to have your family go through something like that.''

Springfield's defense lawyer was McGraw. When Springfield mentioned his interest in filming Alexander's story, McGraw encouraged him to get started, Springfield said.

It's a project Springfield had thought about for more than a decade. Springfield said he remembers being awestruck by Alexander when he would encounter the mayor at events during the 1970s and '80s.

"He was the man,'' Springfield said. "I would look at the suits he had, and I would go to Learbury (clothing company) and I would say, 'Can you make me a suit like Lee's?' You know, he always had a beautiful woman on his arm. He was so articulate. He was the guy.''

Last year, filmmakers Jonathan Case and Tim Ferlito released the movie, "King Lee,'' a fictional comedy based on Alexander. "Million Dollar Mayor'' is the first full-length documentary about Alexander's life.

Springfield worked with two collaborators: former TV news producer Mary Gelling Merritt, of Marcellus, who now works as a writer and travel consultant, and director of photography Eric McMaster, of Rochester. None of the three has been paid, and none is likely to be paid unless Springfield can find a national distributor for the movie.

That is likely to cost more money. Ultimately, Springfield hopes to raise a total of $30,000 so he can polish the film's graphics, sound mixing and other elements and sell it for national distribution. Springfield said he believes "Million Dollar Mayor'' will appeal to a national audience.

"This is a human story,'' he said. "You know, it's a Greek tragedy. It's about someone who is a self-made man, who achieved a great deal of success and accomplished a great deal - and had a fatal flaw.''

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