Urges New Governor Hochul to Overhaul Critical Ethics Panel
Even before Governor Kathy Hochul was sworn in to replace her disgraced predecessor Andrew Cuomo, Senator Anthony Palumbo (R,C-New Suffolk) wrote to the incoming-executive and urged her to overhaul the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) as a top priority of her administration.
Palumbo, a former prosecutor and Assemblyman, who serves as the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Ethics and Internal Governance, specifically wants JCOPE vacancies filled expeditiously so there will be no standstill in the Commission’s investigations into former Governor Cuomo. The vacancies are the result of three recent resignations.
“Appointing new members to temporarily fill these positions is critical so that vacancies will not prevent the commission from functioning at its next meeting scheduled for September 14th,” wrote Palumbo.
“Regrettably, this could result in the stealth improper exoneration of the former governor by JCOPE on various matters, which would be wholly unacceptable. Alternatively, by swiftly appointing new members, you have the opportunity to appoint individuals who can help JCOPE thoroughly investigate the numerous potential improprieties committed by the former governor. Public officials are not above the law and should not be treated as so,” the Senator wrote to the Governor in a September 7 follow-up missive.
This latest communication was preceded by an August 20 letter Senator Palumbo wrote to the then incoming-Governor prior to her taking office.
“As you transition into your new role as Governor…I urge you to immediately make the rehabilitation of [JCOPE]) one of your top priorities. As I am sure you are well aware, JCOPE’s inability and its lack of transparency has caused the public and elected officials from both parties to completely lose faith in the commission and even, sadly, in government. Elected officials and their staff are not above the law. The public deserves to know that their government officials will be held accountable in a non-partisan manner,” Palumbo wrote last month.
As the Senator noted, JCOPE was created a decade ago, in part, in response to illegal leaks and misuse of state resources.
“One cannot help but see the irony considering the circumstances leading to your predecessor’s resignation and numerous scandals ignored by JCOPE. And it is nothing less than a travesty that next to nothing has been done to curtail the corruption and malfeasance of elected officials throughout this state – as is evident from the number of elected officials that have resigned in disgrace since its implementation,” he wrote.
Critical Issues
Palumbo cited a list of issues that he deemed critical for continuing investigation by the ethics panel, including:
• The “outrageous cover-up” of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes;
• Numerous allegations of sexual harassment as well as the related attempt to silence and/or intimidate victims;
• Misuse of state resources and employees to write a book that personally enriched Governor Cuomo;
• COVID-19 testing efforts that involved close friends, family members and allies of Governor Cuomo;
• The use of a Cuomo political ‘enforcer” to oversee the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, at the same time he was contacting local officials to gauge their political support for the embattled Governor; and
• Structural safety issues with the Mario Cuomo Bridge.
“With these major scandals and critical issues are still waiting to be addressed, it is clear that the need for JCOPE to operate with integrity, openness and accountability has never been greater,” declared Palumbo.
Recent Vacancies
The recent announcement of three resignations made it even more important that changes be made soon, said Palumbo.
“As you and your new administration work to implement more transparency and accountability than we saw from the former administration and to hopefully rehabilitate JCOPE, I request that in the meantime, you expeditiously appoint new JCOPE members who are qualified, competent individuals and who are willing to serve the state, as opposed to protecting their appointing authority.” Palumbo wrote.
The Senator noted that appointing new members to temporarily fill these positions is critical so that vacancies will not prevent the commission from functioning at its next meeting scheduled for September 14th.
“Regrettably, this could result in the stealth improper exoneration of the former governor by JCOPE on various matters, which would be wholly unacceptable,” he wrote.
Alternatively, Palumbo said, the swift appointment of new members would provide the opportunity to “appoint individuals who can help JCOPE thoroughly investigate the numerous potential improprieties committed by the former governor. Public officials are not above the law and should not be treated as so.”
Partisan Imbalance
Three JCOPE commissioners appointed by then-Governor Cuomo have announced their resignations since his resignation, two of whom are Democrats.
JCOPE is made up of 14 members, with the governor having six appointments, three Democrats and three Republicans.
“If JCOPE votes on whether to open a new investigation of the former Governor Cuomo for illegal or unethical conduct or votes on whether he engaged in such conduct, and the two Democrat commissioners’ seats are vacant, then even if all 12 other JCOPE members vote in favor of such investigation, the vote will fail and there will be no investigation by JCOPE,” Palumbo explained.
“Importantly, because of confidentiality laws governing JCOPE, the public may never even know such votes took place. It is troubling and frankly unconscionable, given how the voting rules of JCOPE operate, that these vacancies could result in a situation where JCOPE confidentially considers taking action on any of the numerous serious allegations and the vacant seats would operate as a confidential veto, in effect exonerating the former governor for those matters. This would be an offensive outcome,” he wrote.
