New York
Related: About this forumCuomo should shoulder blame for defunct anti-corruption panel, say irate commission members
KENNETH LOVETT
ALBANY —- Members of Gov. Cuomo's now defunct anti-corruption commission are fuming at the governor for blaming his administration's interference with their work on infighting and the panel's lack of knowledge about state government.
"They're saying that because we're neophytes and there was discord, we needed the governor's guiding hand," said one angry commission member. "It's kind of backward if you ask me. The reason for the discord was the governor's 'guiding hand.'"
The News reported repeatedly since September that top aides to Cuomo, particularly the governor’s secretary Larry Schwartz, were meddling with the supposedly independent panel — including ordering it to pull back subpoenas set to be served on entities with ties to the governor.
The New York Times reignited the issue with a lengthy story covering much the same ground last week.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/corruption-panel-cuomo-shoulder-blame-strife-article-1.1882074#ixzz38kezWfYQ
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)KEN LOVETT
Here is the expanded third item from my "Albany Insider" column on Monday:
GOP gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino has raised several hundred thousand dollars since the controversy involving Gov. Cuomo's anti-corruption commission re-ignited last week and will begin a four-city upstate tour Monday to bash the governor's ethics, a source close to the Westchester County executive said.
“We’re hearing from a lot of people wanting to give,” the source said.
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/source-close-rob-astorino-gov-cuomo-moreland-commisison-scandal-boon-fundraising-blog-entry-1.1882187
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)KEN LOVETT
Danya Perry, who in February quit as the chief investigator of Gov. Cuomo's anti-corruption commission over what sources said at the time was frustration over Cuomo administration interference and internal battles, has landed a new gig with one of the governor’s former top advisors.
Perry is now chief of litigation at billionaire Ronald Lauder’s MacAndrews & Forbes, a holding company where Steven Cohen is chief administrative officer. Cohen was Cuomo’s top aide during his first year as governor and during his four years as state attorney general.
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/lead-investigator-moreland-commission-job-longtime-top-aide-gov-cuomo-blog-entry-1.1882185
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)KEN LOVETT
Of the slew of bad coverage Gov. Cuomo suffered last week after a lengthy New York Times explose on the administration's interference with an anti-corruption commission created by the governor, none may have been more devastating than his take down by Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show.”
Stewart, in his lead segment Thursday, listed a host of recent Albany corruption scandals and then ran numerous videos of Cuomo vowing to clean up Albany, his creation of the Moreland commission to tackle corruption, and then reports that he steered investigators away from himself. Stewart focused on Cuomo’s original vow that the body would be independent before more recently saying that the panel couldn’t realistically look into him because he appointed it. “I really hope there’s nothing to this because New York’s governors have two halls--shame and fame. One of them is very crowded
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/gov-cuomo-mocking-jon-stewart-moreland-commission-big-headache-blog-entry-1.1882190
