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U.S. ends probe into premature closure of New York corruption panel
Source: Reuters
Politics | Mon Jan 11, 2016 2:35pm EST
U.S. ends probe into premature closure of New York corruption panel
NEW YORK | BY NATE RAYMOND AND EDWARD KRUDY
The top federal prosecutor in Manhattan said Monday that there was "insufficient" evidence to prove any crimes occurred when New York Governor Andrew Cuomo disbanded an anti-corruption panel only nine months after he had convened it.
The announcement lifts a cloud over Cuomo, a Democrat, and his administration after what became a series of investigations by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's office that brought down the leaders of the state's two legislative houses for corruption.
Those legislators, former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, and former New York Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, a Republican, were found guilty in separate federal trials in December.
Cuomo established the Moreland Commission in July 2013 only to disband it in March 2014. The Commission to Investigate Public Corruption, as it was formally known, was convened after the state capital Albany had been plagued by a series of scandals involving lawmakers.
It was meant to investigate violations of campaign finance laws and other matters but was hobbled from the start by demands from the governor's office, despite a promise of independence, The New York Times reported in 2014.
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U.S. ends probe into premature closure of New York corruption panel
NEW YORK | BY NATE RAYMOND AND EDWARD KRUDY
The top federal prosecutor in Manhattan said Monday that there was "insufficient" evidence to prove any crimes occurred when New York Governor Andrew Cuomo disbanded an anti-corruption panel only nine months after he had convened it.
The announcement lifts a cloud over Cuomo, a Democrat, and his administration after what became a series of investigations by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's office that brought down the leaders of the state's two legislative houses for corruption.
Those legislators, former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, and former New York Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, a Republican, were found guilty in separate federal trials in December.
Cuomo established the Moreland Commission in July 2013 only to disband it in March 2014. The Commission to Investigate Public Corruption, as it was formally known, was convened after the state capital Albany had been plagued by a series of scandals involving lawmakers.
It was meant to investigate violations of campaign finance laws and other matters but was hobbled from the start by demands from the governor's office, despite a promise of independence, The New York Times reported in 2014.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-corruption-morelandcommissio-idUSKCN0UP27D20160111