ALBANY - Andrew Cuomo, who pledged to clean up Albany during his campaign for attorney general, met with two government officials Tuesday to begin coordinating efforts to rein in corruption.
In his first full day in office, Cuomo spoke with Albany County District Attorney David Soares and David Grandeau, executive director of the state Lobbying Commission.
It was Soares' criminal investigation into state Comptroller Alan Hevesi's use of public employees as drivers and errand runners for his wife that led to Hevesi's felony conviction and resignation last month.
Grandeau has led high-profile investigations of lobbyists and their dealings with numerous state government officials, including Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
“I'm sure it sends a chill up the spines of some of Albany's political elite,” said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group. “It makes it clear the new attorney general was serious when he said he intends to be the sheriff of State Street. Soares has a lot of authority in this area and Grandeau has been the most significant ethics watchdog for some time.”
Bruno disclosed two weeks ago that federal investigators are looking into his outside business interests. Those include dealings with businessman Jared Abbruzzese and some of his associates. Bruno directed $500,000 in state grants over the past two years to a private company linked to Abbruzzese, who is also being investigated by Grandeau for providing Bruno with air travel.
Other officials under investigation include Democratic state Sen. Efrain Gonzalez Jr., who last month pleaded not guilty to charges he used charity groups to hide more than $400,000 in state money taken for his personal use, and Democratic Assemblywoman Diane Gordon, who faces bribery and official misconduct charges. Soares, who has formed a public integrity unit to police government wrongdoing, said after Hevesi's resignation last month that more investigations into state and local government officials are in the works.
“We're all working on the same goal,” Cuomo said. “We want to restore public integrity in government. We want to make people feel the trust is restored in government. To the extent we can do that cooperatively and work together, that's what it's all about. There's a lot to do. No one person can do it.”
Grandeau said he and Cuomo talked about Cuomo's proposal to create a database for tracking connections between donors, lobbyists, special interests, state contracts and elected officials.
“Public integrity is going to play a very active role in what happens going forward,” Grandeau said. “If anyone else is willing to work toward improving public integrity in Albany, you have a willing partner in David Grandeau.”
In one of his last acts in office, Gov. George Pataki on Friday appointed his longtime chief of staff, John Cahill, to the State Commission on Investigation, another agency that investigates corruption, fraud, and mismanagement in state and local government. Cahill's term runs until April 2010. The commission, first established in 1958, is a temporary panel that has been renewed numerous times. Under the current law, the commission expires on Sept. 1. Changes could come after that.
Darren Dopp, a spokesman for Gov. Eliot Spitzer, said Spitzer holds Cahill “in high regard,” but wants to see “more out of the SIC.”
The body includes six commissioners. Two are appointed by the governor, two by the Senate majority leader and two by the Assembly speaker.
It was Soares' criminal investigation into state Comptroller Alan Hevesi's use of public employees as drivers and errand runners for his wife that led to Hevesi's felony conviction and resignation last month.
Grandeau has led high-profile investigations of lobbyists and their dealings with numerous state government officials, including Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
“I'm sure it sends a chill up the spines of some of Albany's political elite,” said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group. “It makes it clear the new attorney general was serious when he said he intends to be the sheriff of State Street. Soares has a lot of authority in this area and Grandeau has been the most significant ethics watchdog for some time.”
Bruno disclosed two weeks ago that federal investigators are looking into his outside business interests. Those include dealings with businessman Jared Abbruzzese and some of his associates. Bruno directed $500,000 in state grants over the past two years to a private company linked to Abbruzzese, who is also being investigated by Grandeau for providing Bruno with air travel.
Other officials under investigation include Democratic state Sen. Efrain Gonzalez Jr., who last month pleaded not guilty to charges he used charity groups to hide more than $400,000 in state money taken for his personal use, and Democratic Assemblywoman Diane Gordon, who faces bribery and official misconduct charges. Soares, who has formed a public integrity unit to police government wrongdoing, said after Hevesi's resignation last month that more investigations into state and local government officials are in the works.
“We're all working on the same goal,” Cuomo said. “We want to restore public integrity in government. We want to make people feel the trust is restored in government. To the extent we can do that cooperatively and work together, that's what it's all about. There's a lot to do. No one person can do it.”
Grandeau said he and Cuomo talked about Cuomo's proposal to create a database for tracking connections between donors, lobbyists, special interests, state contracts and elected officials.
“Public integrity is going to play a very active role in what happens going forward,” Grandeau said. “If anyone else is willing to work toward improving public integrity in Albany, you have a willing partner in David Grandeau.”
In one of his last acts in office, Gov. George Pataki on Friday appointed his longtime chief of staff, John Cahill, to the State Commission on Investigation, another agency that investigates corruption, fraud, and mismanagement in state and local government. Cahill's term runs until April 2010. The commission, first established in 1958, is a temporary panel that has been renewed numerous times. Under the current law, the commission expires on Sept. 1. Changes could come after that.
Darren Dopp, a spokesman for Gov. Eliot Spitzer, said Spitzer holds Cahill “in high regard,” but wants to see “more out of the SIC.”
The body includes six commissioners. Two are appointed by the governor, two by the Senate majority leader and two by the Assembly speaker.
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