The Democratic leaders of the Legislature may seek to turn the tables on Gov. Cuomo by formally requesting that his anti-corruption Moreland Commission probe Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy’s “questionable’’ dealings with a Rochester business group, The Post has learned.
Aides to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and Senate Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) Leader Jeff Klein, of The Bronx, are discussing the move with Republicans in response to what they call Cuomo’s illegal effort to have his Moreland panel probe lawmakers’ dealings with clients at their private law firms.
Duffy, a former Rochester mayor, is under intense scrutiny after the recent revelation that he secretly interviewed for a lucrative job at the Rochester Business Alliance (RBA) at a time when he headed a program to award hundreds of millions of dollars in regional economic-development grants.
That revelation produced seemingly contradictory statements by Cuomo, his aides and Duffy over the timing of the interview and what Duffy had told the governor about it.
“The question the Moreland Commission should answer is: What did the governor know and when did he know it,’’ a senior legislative aide told The Post.
“There are a lot of questions about Duffy’s dealings that need to be answered,’’ the aide said.
State Republican Chairman Ed Cox last week called for the panel to probe Duffy, saying that if the lieutenant governor failed to tell Cuomo he was seeking the RBA job, “that would represent a major violation of state ethics laws.’’
If Silver and Klein, whose four-member “independent’’ group has joined Senate GOP Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau) in a governing coalition, side with Republicans seeking a Moreland probe of Duffy, an all-out political battle would likely ensue.
Meanwhile, Cuomo is gearing up to make the Legislature’s ethics a central theme of his re-election campaign next year.
“The governor will focus on an ethics package right through the [next] legislative session and if it’s not completed, he will make it a litmus test for next November,’’ a Cuomo administration source said Sunday.
“The governor will run against any legislator who doesn’t support a final [ethics] package, Democrat or Republican,’’ the source continued.
The source called Klein’s apparent willingness to join with Republicans on several issues including the Moreland Commission, “a fundamental betrayal of the Democratic Party.”
He said members of Klein’s IDC would be “prime targets’’ of the governor’s attacks.
“The governor thinks the IDC members are most vulnerable in Democratic primaries as traitors to the Democratic Party,’’ the source continued.
The Duffy controversy, highly embarrassing to Cuomo, has sparked widespread speculation that the governor will dump his No. 2 from his re-election ticket next year.
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Cuomo’s war with the Legislature has had at least one unintended consequence: boosting the scandal-plagued Silver’s standing with his members.
“Many Assembly Democrats who were inclined to get rid of Shelly because of all the scandals are rallying to his side because they resent the governor’s attacks and they want to support their leader,’’ said a legislative insider.
“Cuomo’s attacks on the Legislature for supposed corruption have, ironically, made Shelly stronger,’’ the insider said.
Several Assembly Democrats including Keith Wright, who is also the Manhattan Democratic chairman, have been eyeing the speaker’s job in the wake of repeated scandals involving Silver.
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Cuomo and other supporters of Proposition 1 on Tuesday’s ballot fear that Bill de Blasio’s expected landslide in the mayoral race will hold down city turnout, costing the controversial plan to legalize casino gambling potentially crucial votes.
Many of the city’s biggest unions, under pressure from Cuomo and other gambling supporters, mounted a major effort in recent days to persuade their members to support Prop 1.
But “since everyone expects de Blasio to win easily, the fear is that a lot of voters won’t even bother going to the polls,’’ said a source working to help get the controversial measure approved.