Cozine gets a cheap feel from Hillary. They were both US Senators at the time.
Posted on 12/10/2017 10:48:41 AM PST by TigerClaws
Over a year ago I wrote about the discovery of a curious aspect of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s staffing situation. Nearly half (roughly 40%) of the people working directly for Cuomo were paid by other government departments rather than falling under the payroll umbrella of the executive branch. While not technically illegal in the view of most legal analysts at the time, it was yet another indicator of a general lack of transparency in the state capitol. But as it turned out, that practice continued after it was exposed and crossed over into some other investigations which were already underway. And now the FBI is involved. (America Rising and the Albany Times-Union) TRENDING: The FBI is now investigating the NY Governor's office
“The FBI is investigating the Cuomo administration’s practice of hiring employees to work in the governor’s office, while actually paying them through various state agencies and public authorities, the Times Union has learned. The practice of hiring pricey political appointees to work for the Executive Chamber – but paying them through other entities – has allowed Cuomo and prior governors to increase the size of their staffs while escaping criticism for inflating the Executive Chamber budget.”
America Rising notes that 2017 saw more developments on this front. The Times-Union reported back in May that Cuomo’s office had been hiring Obama and Clinton Aides and paying their salaries out of other government funding pools.
As we discussed last year, one of Cuomo’s closest aides, senior policy advisor Steven L. Aiello (whose father was indicted in a federal investigation last year and is going to trial in January) was actually paid by the Division of Military and Naval Affairs. One of Cuomo’s speechwriters, Tom Topousis, was collecting a $125K salary which was paid by the Office of Children and Family Services. There was a lengthy list beyond those two and questions were raised about why those other offices were taking the hit from their own budgets just so Cuomo could expand his staff without the costs showing up in the executive branch budget.
The strange thing, as I mentioned above, is that this practice has been going on for decades, with governors of both parties engaging in it. And it’s not technically illegal. In fact, departments trade off workers on a regular basis for more legitimate, albeit short-term reasons. (When our region was hit with catastrophic flooding in 2011 I recall stories of accountants and attorneys filling sandbags for days on end.) So why is the FBI interested? It may come back to the upcoming trial of the father of aforementioned policy adviser Steven Aiello.
“The Cuomo hiring practice is also a sidebar to the January corruption trial of former top Cuomo aide Joe Percoco and three others. The Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office alleges that Percoco accepted bribes from Syracuse developer Steven F. Aiello, a co-defendant in the upcoming trial. One of the government favors done in exchange for bribes, according to prosecutors, was Percoco facilitating a $5,000 raise for Aiello’s son in a new job in Cuomo’s office in 2015.”
So if Cuomo’s aide is proven to have been taking bribes from Aiello and the “generous donor’s” son conveniently got a raise and a transfer to work for the Governor while being paid by a different department, does that implicate the Governor? Tough to say. During the period when Preet Bharara was conducting multiple investigations into the Governor’s office (until he was fired by President Trump) the local press was wondering if anyone under indictment was going to flip on the Governor. We’re still not seeing any indication of that, but the upcoming investigation and ongoing trials are certainly going to make for some interesting reading while Andrew Cuomo prepares to run for another term as Governor and a potential shot at the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
While I have zero sympathy for the ‘RAT Governor, how the feds have jurisdiction to investigate this escapes me.
The FBI is investing a very liberal dimbulbcrat and staff.
Come on, we know what’ll happen there.
Weren’t they investigating DeBlobio? They probably learned how to be even more corrupt in that investigation.
Bttt.
5.56mm
You think D.C.’s a swamp? Albany makes D.C. look squeaky clean.
Easy.
More likely Cuomo's Democrat hires are on several govt payrolls.....several in New York.......and several federal govt payrolls.
It's an old political scam......the sleazy pols put their hand-picked guys on several payrolls.
(And long after you think they've left, they're still cashing govt paychecks).
Remember, Cuomo was Bill Clinton's HUD Secy----rumors were rampant that millions went missing.
In fact, when Trump's man came in, Dr Ben Carson found $500 BILLION DOLLARS unaccounted for at HUD.
Look, some states operate like Arkansas did under Clinton.
The system was so corrupt, you couldn’t get a decent investigation of this sort of thing in-state. I only wish the feds had investigated more with regard to Clinton’s Arkansas.
I don’t have a problem with this. It’s an underhanded tactic, and that deosn’t express reasoned governance to me. Someone should look into it.
Let’s see corrupt FBI investigates corrupt Democrat Gov. office.
Now that’s funny.
While you’re in Albany, stop by the NY Attorney General’s office as well.
I detest Cuomo, but this has been standard practice going back decades.
Yes, it has the appearance of bribery/slushfunding, it is not.
The issue is the autonomy of these state “Authorities” who don’t answer to the taxpayer’s representatives, and more to the governor. Their revenues are separate from the general fund, and their budgeting is independent of the legislature.
I think someone hid some Russian collusion info in the capitol, unknown to Cuomo. That’s all I can think the FBI would be interested in.
I’ll bet that some of the “other” paying agencies are receiving US taxpayer funds that aren’t legally qualified to go there.
Before the frontal assault, roll up the flanks
One begins to wonder about the California flank
Old generals are good to have around
The FBI FIRST needs to be vetted of Rats. Stinkin rats!! Otherwise, so many rat-infested crimes will be glossed over.
THE DEM/CRONY CORRUPTION BEAT GOES ON—CONNECTING THE DOTS IN NY AND NJ
<><> Under then-NJ Gov Corzine, several pots of state money—including the $8B School Construction Fund, UI, and the NJ Trans/Trust/Fund went bankrupt….without an explanation. Jon’s Goldman/Sachs crony Brad Abelow had total control of NJ tax dollars as NJ Treasury Secy (Brad also hung around as Jon’s COS).
<><> As NJ Treasury Secy Abelow and Gov Corzine formed an investment firm—— said “they didn’t know” it was illegal for state officials to do so.
<><> Jon’s G/S crony Christopher Flowers handled Jon’s “blind trust.” Flowers led the takeover of a Japanese bank as then-Sen Corzine said he did not know Senate legislation he drafted significantly improved his blind trust investment.
<><>Gov Corzine gave ex-NJ Dept of Comm Affairs head Suzan Bass Levin (who handled muni bond sales) a lucrative perch at money-grubbing NY/NJ Pork Authority–——she got an apt, perks up her kazoo, and a 2nd no-show job to pad her pension (some call that a payoff “for services rendered” since Levin controlled muni bond sales).
NOTE Corzine, Flowers and Abelow are all GS/MF Global kingpins and have never been detained or questioned under oath about MFGlobal’s financial frauds.
NOTE Screwed investors need to look into Corzine’s massive money laundering and possible tax evasion schemes-—like this one w/ Bill Clinton
FACTOID: Dec 05, 2011-—Fox News Report:
A former MF Global employee accused former president Bill Clinton of collecting (laundering?) $50,000 per month through his Teneo advisory firm in the months before the brokerage careened towards its Halloween filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, reports Human Events.
Teneo was hired by Corzine MF Global’s former CEO Jon S. Corzine to improve his image and to enhance his connections with Clinton’s world-wide political web. The Teneo contract lasted at least five months— cancelled after Corzine resigned.
Clinton’s Teneo is a dual-track company with one side devoted to merchant and investment banking and the other side set up to provide image and strategy consulting services. Clinton is the chairman of the company’s advisory board, reports Hum/Events
FACTOID Obama TARP’ed (laundered?) $17.5B federal dollars to then-NJ Gov Corzine. Media investigations could not find where the money went——just (heh) “disappeared.”
Call me when there is an arrest, NOT!
Cuomo’s done a lot worse than this.
Nothing will happen to him.
Cozine gets a cheap feel from Hillary. They were both US Senators at the time.
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