{"id":398631,"date":"2022-01-25T00:27:58","date_gmt":"2022-01-24T21:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/kathy-hochul-donor-got-state-approval-for-cannabis-merger-suit\/"},"modified":"2022-01-25T00:27:58","modified_gmt":"2022-01-24T21:27:58","slug":"kathy-hochul-donor-got-state-approval-for-cannabis-merger-suit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/kathy-hochul-donor-got-state-approval-for-cannabis-merger-suit\/","title":{"rendered":"#Kathy Hochul donor got state approval for cannabis merger: suit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Kathy Hochul donor got state <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>roval for cannabis merger: suit<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s office pushed to force the bargain-priced buyout of a well-positioned cannabis retailer just days before it was set to wriggle out of the deal \u2014 and just days after the lucky acquirer attended a fundraiser for Hochul, according to an explosive lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>Gov. Hochul\u2019s administration used improper influence late last month to help recreational pot seller Ascend Wellness seal its $75 million deal to buy the MedMen marijuana dispensary chain, the suit filed on Monday claims.<\/p>\n<p>Specifically, MedMen\u2019s lawsuit alleges that Hochul\u2019s office pushed regulators to OK the controversial deal after dragging their feet for nearly a year \u2014 and just days after one of Ascend\u2019s executives attended a fundraiser for Hochul\u2019s reelection campaign.<\/p>\n<p>The fundraiser was hosted by Feuerstein Kulick, a Manhattan-based firm that is reportedly a \u201cmajor player in the field of cannabis law\u201d that \u201cadvises companies on winning licenses from state governments,\u201d the suit claims.<\/p>\n<p>Sources said MedMen appeared to want out of the deal and its relatively low price \u2014 whose terms were set to expire on Jan. 1 if state officials took no action \u2014 after Hochul made the statewide rollout of retail marijuana shops a priority after taking office in August. <\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s because the potential value of MedMen \u2014 one of just 10 dispensaries licensed to sell medical marijuana in the state \u2014 likely soared as she accelerated from the more cautious pace set by ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo after state lawmakers legalized pot last spring.<\/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\/2022\/01\/medmen-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 06:  A general view at the grand opening of MedMen Paradise on October 6, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  (Photo by Denise Truscello\/Getty Images for MedMen)\" class=\"wp-image-20906110\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/medmen-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/medmen-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/medmen-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Cannabis companies eager to get access to New York State\u2019s soon-to-be-open-for-business legal weed market have sought to curry favor with the Hochul administration.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images for MedMen<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Dec. 8 fundraiser, held at the posh Vandy Club in Midtown overlooking Grand Central Terminal, \u201cspecifically targeted\u201d companies looking to enter New York\u2019s newly legalized recreational marijuana market, the suit claims.<\/p>\n<p>According to an email <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.timesunion.com\/state\/article\/After-helping-Hochul-raise-10M-lobbyists-notch-16710537.php\">obtained by the Albany Times-Union<\/a>, Feuerstein Kulick attorney Nancy Baynard encouraged attendees to give $10,000 each, saying the firm was in touch with the \u201cdirector of finance for Hochul\u2019s administration\/campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among those who attended the event was Ascend President Andrew Brown, the suit filed in New York state Supreme Court claims. <\/p>\n<p>Two days later on Dec. 10, Hochul\u2019s secretary Karen Persichilli Keogh and two other aides \u2014 Neysa Alsina and Kathryn Garcia, the former Democratic mayoral hopeful \u2014 met with Ascend CEO Abner Kurtin and other company reps, according to the suit.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/abner-kurtin.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Abner Kurtin\" class=\"wp-image-20906108\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/abner-kurtin.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/abner-kurtin.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/abner-kurtin.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Ascend Wellness CEO Abner Kurtin met with three senior aides to Hochul just days before state regulators approved its takeover of MedMen, according to court documents.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AbnerKurtin\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>On Dec. 28, Hochul\u2019s newly created Office of Cannabis Management and its Cannabis Control Board approved of the deal. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe meeting between Ascend CEO Kurtin and senior state executive officials just two days later\u201d and the approval of the transaction shortly afterward \u201ctogether raise a clear inference of improper influence by Ascend on the state approval process,\u201d MedMen alleges in the suit.<\/p>\n<p>On Jan. 2, MedMen informed Ascend that it was terminating the agreement, claiming that the December resolution \u201cdid not satisfy the conditions\u201d of the original deal. MedMen, which is represented by Quinn Emanuel Partner Alex Spiro, is asking a judge to reject Ascend\u2019s request for an injunction that would prevent MedMen from scrapping the merger.<\/p>\n<p>Ascend issued a statement saying it was blindsided by MedMen\u2019s refusing to close the deal, adding, \u201cMedMen is essentially challenging the regulators\u2019 authority and ignoring the regulations of the state\u2019s medical program.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"583\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/karen-persichilli-keogh.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=583\" alt=\"Karen Persichilli Keogh\" class=\"wp-image-20906106\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/karen-persichilli-keogh.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1166 1166w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/karen-persichilli-keogh.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=874 874w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/karen-persichilli-keogh.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=583 583w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/karen-persichilli-keogh.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=291 291w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/karen-persichilli-keogh.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 583px) 100vw, 583px\"\/><figcaption>Karen Persichilli Keogh, the governor\u2019s secretary, met with the CEO of Ascend just two days after the company president attended a fundraiser for Hochul in Manhattan, it\u2019s been alleged.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">RYAN MCCUNE\/PatrickMcMullan.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A Governor Hochul spokeswoman declined to comment, referring The Post to the Office of Cannabis Management, which said, \u201cWe do not comment on pending or potential litigation.\u201d\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\/2022\/01\/24\/kathy-hochul-donor-got-state-approval-for-cannabis-merger-suit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Kathy Hochul donor got state approval for cannabis merger: suit&#8221; Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s office pushed to force the bargain-priced buyout of a well-positioned cannabis retailer just days before it was set to wriggle out of the deal \u2014 and just days after the lucky acquirer attended a fundraiser for Hochul, according to an explosive lawsuit&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":398632,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/hochul-medmen.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[124741,71386,72385,98806,71263,72386],"class_list":["post-398631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-1-24-22","tag-albany","tag-cannabis","tag-kathy-hochul","tag-marijuana","tag-marijuana-legalization"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398631","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=398631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/398632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}