The federal probe of former state Senate Majority Leader John Sampson vindicates Gov. Cuomo’s decision against backing Democrats in their Senate leadership battle with Republicans, sources close to the governor said yesterday.
“For the last two years, we’ve been waiting for another shoe to drop,” said an Albany insider with ties to Cuomo.
The Post yesterday confirmed that the feds were tailing Sampson as part of a probe into Queens Rep. Gregory Meeks. The central figure connecting Sampson to the Meeks investigation is shady Queens real-estate developer Edul Ahmad.
The feds are looking at Sampson’s real-estate dealings with Ahmad, who is now cooperating with authorities, sources said.
Ahmad had given Meeks a $40,000 loan that the congressman didn’t initially report on his congressional disclosure forms — prompting a House ethics review that didn’t come back with any charges.
Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto denied that the federal inquiry of Sampson had any role in Cuomo’s decision to stay out of the Senate leadership fight.
Speculation had been swirling for months among Senate Democrats that Sampson was in the cross hairs, sources said.
Last month, Senate Democrats dumped Sampson as their leader.