A political bombshell was dropped Monday night with the revelation that multiple probes of the notoriously corrupt state Legislature have included secret video surveillance of a shadowy medical storefront that took in millions from elected officials but had few actual patients.
Gov. Cuomo’s anti-corruption panel also said several legislators were suspected of “double dipping” on expenses, receiving reimbursement from both their campaigns and the state for driving to Albany.
“Our investigation thus far reveals a pay-to-play political culture driven by large checks, anemic enforcement of the weak laws we have on the books, and loopholes and work-arounds that make those laws weaker still,” the Moreland Commission panel said in a scathing 98-page report.
The panel described what it called a “tide of corruption” sweeping Democrats and Republicans alike — with the Independence Party acting as a well-funded front for the GOP.
The most startling example of the corrosive culture was a small storefront in the city that apparently housed several interconnected nonprofits that receive state funds to provide medical services.
One group involved in the operation received $3 million from “some of the state’s most powerful lawmakers,” the commission said.
But when investigators mounted a camera on a pole outside the storefront, it discovered “little foot traffic” over a 25-day period.
Inside the storefront, a single worker admitted she was the only on-site employee.
“Investigators also visited the organization’s other claimed offices in New York and New Jersey and they appear to be private homes,” the commission said.
The report didn’t name names to avoid “compromising the integrity and confidentiality” of ongoing investigations, which could end up as criminal cases, the panel said.
Other explosive findings included:
- Various laws passed by the Legislature were “custom tailored” at the behest of a single influential lobbyist.
- Ten current and former legislators collected at least $220,000 in vehicle expenses from their campaign funds, and then received about $170,000 more in reimbursement from the state for travel to and from Albany.
The report recommended a series of reforms, including implementing a public campaign-finance system, lowering campaign-contribution limits, and creating an independent entity to investigate election abuses.