New York’s COVID corruption stands out only for – Latest News
New York’s COVID-era corruption fallout continues to be raining down, years after the final masks mandate expired.
Former Deputy State Budget Director Sandra Beattie simply bought dinged a measly $5,000 positive by the pathetic state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government for serving to a buddy get a chunk out of a fats $11 million contract to run then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “Excelsior Pass” app, which did . . . one thing he insisted was urgently needed.
Beattie vacationed usually on the Florida home of linked lobbyist Michael Balboni whereas his shoppers had business pending together with her workplace; the positive is for failing to clear these journeys with ethics officers and even report them.
Shortly after her sunny jaunts, Beattie wedged Balboni’s firm into the Excelsior project as a guide and lobbyist for Deloitte, its prime contractor.
Over two years, Balboni pulled down $300,000 in charges, all Beattie-approved.
He has since leveraged his connections into the presidency of Adelphi University, a gig that pays within the vary of a million bucks a 12 months.
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Balboni is “the leader best positioned to secure public-private partnerships,” introduced Adelphi in May — a positive euphemism for his confirmed expertise in leeching of taxpayer {dollars} into non-public fingers.
Of course, if it weren’t for self-dealing, New York state would make no offers in any respect.
Recall how Gov. Kathy Hochul, then simply three months in workplace, in November 2021 declared a “state of emergency” within the identify of expediting pandemic counter-measures — and proceeded to award a no-bid $637 million contract for 52 million COVID assessments to Digital Gadgets, the company of Charlie Tebele, who simply days earlier than had (with kinfolk) shoveled $300,000 into her marketing campaign coffers.
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Digital Gadgets didn’t even make the assessments; it simply performed intermediary to show a 100% revenue whereas the state paid far more than it needed to.
As an added bonus for the household’s good works, Hochul’s marketing campaign even employed Tebele’s son.
And this of course adopted King Cuomo’s exploitation of his media-awarded standing as America’s COVID savior to rating a $5 million e book contract tooting his own “leadership” horn.
Never thoughts his care-home mandates, which needlessly endangered seniors and developmentally-challenged adults by forcing still-infected people into care amenities — purely to fulfill the gov’s hospital-lobbyist donors.
Also, please pay no consideration to the state staff who truly wrote the e book, or the bogus ethics waiver Cuomo bought to stamp the deal as kosher.
Nothing uncommon in New York state, the place pay-to-play is as venerable and honored a custom as fudging per diem bills or routine 20% raises for elected officers.
The COVID corruption actually only stands out as a result of it got here from “leaders” who had been posturing because the public’s saviors at the same time as they dipped their fingers within the until.
