(Christopher Sadowski)
Gov. Cuomo drafted Police Commissioner Ray Kelly as a “special adviser” to a powerful new commission empaneled yesterday to root out political corruption anywhere in New York government — particularly in the crime-ridden Legislature.
Kelly’s role adds credibility to Cuomo’s corruption-busting effort, making it harder for lawmakers to dismiss his Moreland Commission as a political witch hunt.
“The Moreland Commission, as the governor has stated, is looking at corruption, potential corruption in the state Legislature, and my role will be to assist, in terms of investigative techniques,” Kelly said after Cuomo announced the panel’s members.
One GOP political operative called the governor’s recruitment of Kelly a deft political move.
Cuomo was joined by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, whose office helped staff the commission and will play a major role in its work. The governor’s executive order authorizes Schneiderman to investigate and prosecute any alleged criminality unearthed by the 25-member commission.
Cuomo and Schneiderman said the panel has sweeping subpoena power that can compel testimony and records from lawmakers.
It also has the authority to investigate lobbyists and not-for-profit and local agencies, including the city’s Board of Elections.
“My hope is we will have something approaching the impact of the Knapp Commission,” Schneiderman said, referring to the ground-breaking panel that investigated police corruption in the 1970s.
Schneiderman stressed that the panel can also recommend changes to existing laws that perpetuate “pay-to-play schemes.”
Cuomo insisted that the overwhelming majority of honest lawmakers has nothing to fear.
But he also said there’s an unacceptable level of corruption in the legislative branch. Over the past year, a conga line of state lawmakers has been indicted, convicted or imprisoned, including ex-state Sens. Pedro Espada Jr., Carl Kruger and Hiram Monserrate, and state Sens. Malcolm Smith and John Sampson, both former Senate leaders, as well as Bronx Assemblyman Eric Stevenson.
“It’s not about a witch hunt,” Cuomo said. “There are cases that need to be policed. It’s inarguable at this point.”
He stressed that he moved only after the Legislature failed to pass his anti-corruption proposals and campaign-finance reforms.
The commission will be co-chaired by Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice, Onondaga County DA William Fitzpatrick and Milton Williams, chairman of the Fund for Modern Courts. Former Manhattan DA and Manhattan US Attorney Robert Morgenthau will serve as special counsel.
There promises to be no shortage of tips on where to dig up wrongdoing. Antonio Reynoso, who is running against disgraced former Assemblyman Vito Lopez for a Brooklyn City Council seat, urged the panel to probe Lopez’s dealings with luxury-housing developers within hours of the commission’s formation.
Additional reporting by Antonio Antenucci