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Judge Orders Cuomo’s Office to Release the Much-Sought Graft Inquiry Records

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The office of governor Andrew Cuomo has been ordered by a judge to release the records related to a corruption probe into former state officials and upstate contractors.

The office of Governor Andrew Cuomo has been ordered by a New York judge to release documents regarding a corruption probe into former state officials and upstate contractors that the New York Times has been trying to obtain for the last year.

On Thursday, July 13, the decision, which was issued two weeks ago, was filed with the office of the Albany County Clerk office on Thursday, gives the governor’s office 45 days to release emails, schedules and other records that the Times requested under New York’s Freedom of Information law. The documents have been kept secret by the Cuomo administration, who has battle the release of them on many grounds including that the criminal investigation could be compromised by their disclosure.

In his decision, Justice Patrick J. McGrath of State Supreme Court in Albany County wrote, “The chamber has failed to establish how disclosure would interfere with law enforcement investigations or judicial proceedings.” McGrath’s decision also denied that the reputations of those named in the records would be adversely affected by the disclosure.

New York’s Freedom of Information statute, or FOIL, was cited by McGrath, who wrote that the arguments of the government did not qualify as substantial enough to deny the public the information. He wrote, “The legislative declaration section of FOIL announces New York’s public policy that finds that ‘a free society is maintained when government is responsive and responsible to the public, and when the public is aware of governmental actions.’”

The NYT reports, “The Times sought a wide-ranging group of records after reports emerged about an investigation into two former aides of Mr. Cuomo: Joseph Percoco, whom the governor has called a “brother,” and Todd R. Howe, a lobbyist who has long been connected to the Cuomo family. The inquiry yielded a series of indictments brought by the former United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, involving accusations of bid-rigging and other crimes as part of the so-called Buffalo Billion project, a multiyear plan introduced by the governor in 2013 to re-energize the long-suffering city in western New York. Prosecutors have said Mr. Howe is cooperating with them, and the case against Mr. Percoco and several other defendants is expected to go to trial as soon as this fall.”

It has not been said whether or not the ruling will be appealed by the governor’s office. In an email, the state’s Freedom of Information law counsel Lauren Grasso said, “We are reviewing the decision and evaluating our next steps.”

The Times’ deputy general counsel David McCraw said that the newspaper appreciated “Justice McGrath’s careful and thorough legal analysis,” and “his conclusion that the governor had failed to show why these important documents should be kept secret.” He added, “This is a victory for the people of New York, who have a right to a transparent government that is accountable to the public.”

By Mark Snyder

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