Welcome to the 12/12/12 edition of the Bronx News Roundup. We took a break yesterday to keep the post about the posting about the passing of Lydia Stephen on the top of the page (and because we were swamped producing our latest print edition, which includes our hyper-local Holiday Gift Guide. In any case, here are the Bronx stories we’re following today.

Big-time journalism from Riverdale Press reporters Jorteh Senah and Adam Wisnieski today. They delved deep into the fundraising efforts of Bronx man-of-the-moment State Senator Jeff Klein and discovered thousands of dollars in contributions from companies with ties to convicted felons, including those with mob connections. Though it’s unclear how or even if those companies benefited from their campaign contributions and Klein says he was unaware of the ties, the discovery prompted Klein to announce that he would be immediately donate those contributions to charity. It also illuminates Klein’s prodigious fund-raising machine (he’s the top money generator of all state senators and his totals dwarf those of other party leaders), which allows him to remain independent from his own party.  Fantastic, thorough reporting. Great work, Jorteh and Adam.

Stay tuned. This story might have legs, especially when angry Democrats appear to be plotting revenge for Klein’s move to sit with Republicans. [State of Politics blog]

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. is getting push back from some of the borough’s business leaders for voicing his strong support for paid sick leave legislation, which is poised to pass in the City Council, the Daily News reports.

Huge bust today of 40 suspected members of the Bronx Trinitarios gang, who police say are responsible for nine murders and 24 attempted murders, NBC-New York reports.

How Storm Sandy affected the New York Botanical Garden’s Thain Family Forest, one of the area’s only old-growth forests. The Wall Street Journal reports that, “at the moment, in the wake of Sandy—the most devastating storm in the forest’s history, with more than 100 trees uprooted or their trunks snapped like matchsticks—it’s something of a mess.”