Edited by: TJVNews.com
Since New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has come under fire for alleged sexual misconduct with a number of women who have accused him of harassment, many have wondered just how this kind of disturbing behavior could have been allowed to continue, under the noses of those who worked so closely with the governor.
Just who are Andrew Cuomo’s accomplices? Who are the people that lurk behind the scenes and essentially serve as enablers for him? Were any of his staff involved in covering up Cuomo’s illicit behavior?
The Governor’s cabinet consists of the following people. They comprise the executive chamber and the heads of the various departments of the government of New York.
Making headlines on Monday was the Cuomo administration’s “vaccine czar” Larry Schwartz. Having the complete authority in terms of distribution of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution, Schwartz is clearly in a powerful position. As such, it has been reported that Schwartz recently made calls to county officials in New York to determine their level of loyalty or non-loyalty to the governor.
According to a recent report on NPR, local officials in New York who spoke to the media outlet viewed the calls from Schwartz as an implicit threat. This essentially translates into a retribution of sorts, meaning that if one were to voice displeasure with the governor, then the punishment would be that the Covid-19 vaccine for their county would be turned off.
“I’m afraid of that man,” one local official said, according to the NPR report. “Why in God’s name would that man have called? People were terrified.”
NPR reported that the calls made by Schwartz first became public in The Washington Post. Schwartz told the paper that the calls were made in a capacity unrelated to his role in vaccine distribution and that vaccine distribution was not influenced by politics. “Nobody indicated that they were uncomfortable or that they did not want to talk to me,” he told the Washington Post.
NPR reported that during regular conference calls with more than 100 county officials and staff, Schwartz would routinely refer to the vaccine as his own: “If I have extra vaccine.” If there were extra doses available and executives wanted access to them, this official told NPR that Schwartz would say: “Send me an email and I’ll consider it.”
The Secretary to the Governor is Melissa DeRosa. If the name sounds at all familiar, she is the one who told state legislators during the video meeting that Governor Cuomo’s office had intentionally lied about the numbers of patients who died of coronavirus in the year 2020 at various nursing homes around the city and state. Ms. DeRosa admitted that a lie needed to be constructed about the real numbers of Covid deaths because the actual numbers were beyond staggering.
Additionally, it was the Governor who signed off on the fateful decision of March 25th that allowed recovering coronavirus patients to be placed in nursing homes with a predominantly elderly patient population. Ms. DeRosa also said that the governor’s office was terrified over the prospect that the then Trump administration may indeed carry out their threat to launch a Department of Justice investigation into the nursing home deaths and that criminal charges may have been filed.
Linda Lacewell, the head of New York’s Department of Financial Services, is one of the three top Cuomo aides accused of changing a report to conceal the real number of deaths in the state’s nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The New York Times. Lacewell is alleged to have directed the removal of COVID-19 deaths from the report, the New York Post reported.
Ms. Lacewell previously served as Chief of Staff and Counselor to the Governor. In that role, she oversaw Executive Chamber operations, as well as ethics and law enforcement matters.
Prior to serving as the executive director of a cancer foundation initiative in Culver City, California Lacewell was a Chief Risk Officer and Counselor to Governor Cuomo where she built and implemented the first statewide system for ethics, risk and compliance in agencies and authorities.
She serves as an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law, teaching ethics in government, and previously served as an adjunct professor of law at Fordham University School of Law, teaching international criminal law.
Kelly Cummings serves as Director of State Operations and Infrastructure.. Previously, she served as Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Cuomo. Prior to working in the Governor’s administration, she served as the Director of Communications for the Senate Majority. In that position she managed overall communications and press for the Senate Majority Conference and acted as chief spokesperson for the Senate Majority Leader. In her more than 20 years in the State Legislature, Ms. Cummings has held a number of communications and policy positions in both the Senate and Assembly.
Ms. Cummings previously served as director of policy development for the Senate Minority where she assisted senators and their staff in developing, drafting and publicizing new legislative initiatives. Prior to that, Ms. Cummings was chief of staff to Senator Charles Fuschillo where she managed operations, developed legislation and directed press and communications.
In January of 2019, Adam Zurofsky was named director of state policy and agency management. He had formerly served as deputy secretary for energy and financial services.
Michael Kopy, a longtime state police supervisor and former volunteer fire chief in Mamaroneck, was named the new director of emergency management for the office of Gov. Cuomo in January of 2019. Kopy’s job is one of three leadership roles carved out of the Office of State Operations as Cuomo began his third term.
Last week, the New York Post reported that Cuomo’s top lawyer, Kumiki Gibson announced that she was leaving her post after less than two years on the job. This marked the latest resignation in a wave of departures from the administration.
Gibson has served as counsel to the governor, Cuomo’s chief lawyer, since September 2019. Friday, March 12th was her last day on the job as she prepares to take a job in the non-profit sector. “I informed the Executive Chamber a month ago that I planned to leave State service and have accepted a position at a nationally prominent not-for-profit organization,” Gibson said in a statement, as was reported by the Post.
On March 8th, Cuomo announced that Beth Garvey has been appointed Acting Counsel to the Governor. Ms. Garvey replaces Kumiki Gibson who has served in this position since 2019 and has accepted a new position in the non-profit sector.
“Beth Garvey is a true public servant and a brilliant legal mind who has been an integral member of this administration since she joined it,” Governor Cuomo said. “As we start to turn the corner on this pandemic, much work remains to reopen this state as safely and swiftly as we can and I thank Beth for her past and future work on behalf of all New Yorkers. Beth is one of the hardest working, most effective public servants in State government, and New Yorkers are fortunate to have her serve in this role. I also commend Kumiki Gibson for her hard work, dedication and service to the people of this great state and wish her only the best as she begins this new chapter.”
Since 2019, Ms. Garvey has served as Special Counsel and Senior Advisor to the Governor, responsible for the Governor’s budget, legislative and policy priorities. In this new role, she will continue to be responsible for these priorities, as well as serve as Chief Counsel to the Governor.
Robert Mujica, Jr was appointed Director of the Budget by Governor Andrew Cuomo and began serving on January 14, 2016. He is responsible for the overall development and management of the State’s fiscal policy, including overseeing the preparation of budget recommendations for all State agencies and programs, economic and revenue forecasting, tax policy, fiscal planning, capital financing and management of the State’s debt portfolio.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Mujica was Chief of Staff to the Temporary President and Majority Leader of the Senate and concurrently served as the Secretary to the Senate Finance Committee. For two decades, Mr. Mujica advised various elected and other government officials in New York on State budget, fiscal and policy issues.
A May 31, 2020 report by CityandState.com said that “Mujica has capitalized on a unique blend of fiscal know-how and political savvy to quietly become one of the most powerful figures in New York politics. But with the state now tumbling into its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Mujica has been tasked with assembling a package of cuts to close a multibillion-dollar shortfall – and he’ll likely have to use every budget trick he ever learned to get it done.”
Timothy Hartz was appointed as Director of Executive Operations by Cuomo in January of 2019. Prior to his position in the Cuomo administration, Hartz most recently served as a Special Assistant to President Obama and Deputy Director of Advance Operations for the White House. Previously, he served as the Director of Priority Placement with the Presidential Personnel Office and as the Director of Operations for the Department of the Interior.
In January of 2019, Cuomo’s so-called energy czar — recruited in the wake of Hurricane Sandy to reshape the state’s electric grid — announced plans to step down from that role, according to an article on the Politico web site.
Richard Kauffman has served as New York’s top energy official, coordinating the state’s disparate energy agencies and playing a key role in making and implementing policy since 2013. Kauffman remained the chairman of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, but no longer played the role of top energy official for the Cuomo administration.
Andrew Cuomo’s Lieutenant Governor is Kathy Hochul, former United States Representative from New York’s 26th district. Hochul replaced the previous Lieutenant Governor, Robert Duffy, the former Mayor of Rochester.
