{"id":326282,"date":"2021-08-17T03:50:28","date_gmt":"2021-08-17T00:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/assembly-asked-to-investigate-cuomo-aide-percoco-ethics-flap\/"},"modified":"2021-08-17T03:50:28","modified_gmt":"2021-08-17T00:50:28","slug":"assembly-asked-to-investigate-cuomo-aide-percoco-ethics-flap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/assembly-asked-to-investigate-cuomo-aide-percoco-ethics-flap\/","title":{"rendered":"#Assembly asked to investigate Cuomo aide Percoco ethics flap"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Assembly asked to investigate Cuomo aide Percoco ethics flap<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n        <\/aside>\n<p>The Assembly panel investigating Gov. Andrew Cuomo is being asked to look into more alleged misconduct \u2014 this time involving the botched handling of an ethics case involving imprisoned ex-Cuomo fixer Joe Percoco.<\/p>\n<p>The Joint Commission on Public Ethics in January 2019 had discussed whether to open a probe into Percoco when word leaked to Cuomo within the hour of how members had voted on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>Cuomo was reportedly not pleased that JCOPE was targeting his own pal for potential violations of the Public Officers Law. Percco at that point had already been convicted of public corruption following a federal trial.<\/p>\n<p>His displeasure had been passed along to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) over how Heastie\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ointees had voted on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a misdemeanor crime to leak information about JCOPE\u2019s confidential deliberations and investigations.<\/p>\n<p>Julie Garcia, a former member of JCOPE and a Heastie appointee, blew the whistle on the alleged leaking of JCOPE\u2019s actions after someone from Heastie\u2019s staff contacted her about Cuomo knowing about how she voted.<\/p>\n<p>Another Heastie JCOPE appointee, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.timesunion.com\/news\/article\/After-an-unexpected-admission-new-questions-16290822.php\">James Yates<\/a>, also reported that his vote on Percoco was leaked to the governor and he referred the matter to the state inspector <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>\u2019s office, the Times Union reported in July.<\/p>\n<p>But JCOPE, largely controlled by allies of Cuomo, never took action against Percoco and a report by the Cuomo-controlled state inspector general\u2019s concluded it couldn\u2019t find the leaker, though it never even interviewed key recipients tipped off \u2014 Cuomo and Heastie \u2014 to find out.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/ny-assembly-percoco-795.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Members of the New York Assembly\" class=\"wp-image-19149320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/ny-assembly-percoco-795.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/ny-assembly-percoco-795.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/ny-assembly-percoco-795.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>The Joint Commission on Public Ethics had discussed whether to open a probe into Joe Percoco in January 2019.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP Photo\/Hans Pennink, File<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Cuomo \u2014 who announced last week he\u2019s resigning after a devastating investigative report released by state Attorney General Letitia James found he sexually harassed 11 women including current and former staffers \u2014 said in November 2019 he did nothing improper in the Percoco case. <\/p>\n<p>But three Republican appointees of JCOPE on Monday sent a letter to Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Lavine (D-Nassau) urging him to open a separate probe into the Percoco ethics mess, claiming the Cuomo team engaged in a cover-up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRecognizing Governor Cuomo\u2019s intention to resign, Joint Ethics Commission members<br \/>Gary J. Lavine, David J. McNamara and George H. Weissman nonetheless request that the Assembly Committee on Judiciary complete its inquiry into the conduct of the Governor,\u201d the three JCOPE members, appointed by Senate GOP leader Robert Ortt, said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe specifically request that the ambit of this inquiry include the illegal breach of confidentiality from the Commission\u2019s meeting of January 2019 to the Executive Chamber and the ensuing cover-up of the wrongdoing by the Office of Inspector General,\u201d the JCOPE members said in the letter provided to The Post.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/ny-assembly-percoco-797.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, speaks to reporters during a news conference in Albany, New York\" class=\"wp-image-19149352\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/ny-assembly-percoco-797.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/ny-assembly-percoco-797.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/ny-assembly-percoco-797.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>The New York state Assembly will suspend its impeachment investigation into Governor Andrew Cuomo once he steps down.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP Photo\/Hans Pennink, File<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At the time, state Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro, a former JCOPE staffer, recused herself from the case and it was overseen by a top deputy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is salient to note that the Inspector General reports directly to the Governor\u2019s Secretary,\u201d the JCOPE members said in the letter to Levine..<\/p>\n<p>They called the IG\u2019s report on the Percoco matter \u201ca sham\u201d, adding, \u201cthe apparent cover-up raises the specter of official misconduct.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is likely, in our view, that the Governor and several of his close associates were<br \/>complicit in the cover-up of the breach of confidentiality,\u201d Lavine, McNamara and Weissman wrote.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/ny-assembly-percoco-796.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference in New York\" class=\"wp-image-19149360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/ny-assembly-percoco-796.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/ny-assembly-percoco-796.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/ny-assembly-percoco-796.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>JCOPE, which was largely controlled by allies of Andrew Cuomo, never took action against Joe Percoco<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP Photo\/Mary Altaffer, File<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe breach of confidentiality and its cover-up constitute a fundamental subversion of the state\u2019s ethics administration meriting the scrutiny of the Judiciary Committee,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<p>A rep for the inspector general\u2019s office defended its handling of the Percoco case.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn 2019, the Inspector General\u2019s Office was notified of a potential leak. The matter was investigated and found to be unsubstantiated. There was and is no \u2018coverup,\u2019\u201d the IG\u2019s spokesman, Lee Park, said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Inspector General Office\u2019s investigation included interviews, document and record reviews, and signed affirmations under penalty of perjury from JCOPE staff and commissioners in attendance at the executive session of their January 29, 2019 meeting, which included, among other representations, that they did not disclose information regarding any matter discussed in the executive session,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/ny-assembly-percoco-799.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Red Book Portraits Letizia Tagliafierro\" class=\"wp-image-19149377\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/ny-assembly-percoco-799.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/ny-assembly-percoco-799.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/ny-assembly-percoco-799.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Letizia Tagliafierro recused herself from the case.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">John Nilsen\/OGS\/Office of Govern<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cInspector General Tagliafierro was and remains fully recused from this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lavine and Cuomo had no im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>te comment.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Speaker Carl Heastie announced that the Assembly Judiciary Committee has suspended its impeachment proceedings of three-term Democrat Cuomo after he agreed to vacate the governor\u2019s office, but on Monday said it will issue a public report of its investigative findings. <\/p>\n<p>In addition to the harassment allegations, the Assembly\u2019s impeachment probe was examining allegations that Cuomo used taxpayer resources to draft his $5 million COVID memoir, misled the public about nursing home deaths during the pandemic and covered up safety issues at the new Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, which replaced the Tappan Zee.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/08\/16\/assembly-asked-to-investigate-cuomo-aide-percoco-ethics-flap\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Assembly asked to investigate Cuomo aide Percoco ethics flap&#8221; The Assembly panel investigating Gov. Andrew Cuomo is being asked to look into more alleged misconduct \u2014 this time involving the botched handling of an ethics case involving imprisoned ex-Cuomo fixer Joe Percoco. The Joint Commission on Public Ethics in January 2019 had discussed whether to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":326283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/ny-assembly-percoco-index.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[114327,70430,109921],"class_list":["post-326282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-8-16-21","tag-andrew-cuomo","tag-joseph-percoco"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}