Edited By: TJVNews.com
New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has issued a referral on Monday granting authorization to New York State Attorney General Letitia James to begin a possible criminal investigation into Governor Andrew M Cuomo’s use of state resources in relation to his most recent book. The book is titled “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the Civd-19 Pandemic” and it chronicles the state’s battle against the coronavirus for which the governor received a seven-figure advance.
The potential investigation follows media reports that detailed how junior staff members and senior aides worked on the book while on state salary.
The New York Times reported on Monday that a spokeswoman for Ms. James confirmed on that the office had received the referral, but declined additional comment on what she called “an ongoing investigation.” DiNapoli suggested in an April 13 letter to Ms. James that a criminal investigation was warranted after allegations surfaced that “public resources may have been used in the development of the governor’s book,” as was reported by the NYT.
Richard Azzopardi, a senior adviser to Cuomo, told the New York Times that, “We have officially jumped the shark — the idea there was criminality involved here is patently absurd on its face and is just the furthering of a political pile-on. “This is Albany politics at its worst,” he continued. “Both the comptroller and the attorney general have spoken to people about running for governor, and it is unethical to wield criminal referral authority to further political self-interest.”
In his letter to Ms. James, DiNapoli said: “As Comptroller of the State of New York I am vested with the broad constitutional and statutory duty and authority to, among other things, superintend the fiscal of the state, audit the accounts of public officers and keep accurate and proper books, audit all state payments including the payroll for public employees, review and approve state contracts, and conduct audits of all state entities. Pursuant to Executive Law $63( ),
I hereby request that your office investigate the alleged commission of any indictable offense or offenses in violation of the law occurring or commencing prior to the date of this referral related to the use of property, services or resources of the state for personal purposes private business purposes or other compensated non governmental purposes by the Executive Chamber including, but not limited to, in the drafting, editing, sale and promotion of the Governor’s book and any related financial or business transactions.
For his part, Cuomo on Monday offered no comment on DiNapoli’s request of Ms. James. According to the NYT report, Cuomo reiterated that some members of his staff had volunteered to work on the book, and that some were also asked to review passages that mentioned them.
