Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Passport
  • Support WSKG
Donate
  • Donate
  • logo
  • logo
  • Donate
  • Home
  • News
  • TV
  • Your Radio
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Arts
  • Education
  • History
  • Science
  • Donate
  • More
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • Passport
    • Support WSKG

WSKG - Local news and arts, broadcasting NPR radio and PBS TV.

WSKG thanks our sponsors...
  • Donate your vehicle to support WSKG

WSKG (https://wskg.org/news/cuomo-no-further-reforms-needed-for-system-that-led-to-corruption-convictions/)

  • Donate
  • Home
  • News
  • TV
  • Your Radio
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Arts
  • Education
  • History
  • Science
Listen Live WSKG
Listen Live WSKG Classical

Watch Live WSKG TV
Watch Live PBS Kids
Learn at Home
Covid-19 information

Cuomo: No Further Reforms Needed For System That Led To Corruption Convictions

By Karen DeWitt | July 16, 2018
More
  • More on binghamton
  • Subscribe to binghamton

ALBANY, NY (WSKG) – The second set of corruption convictions of former associates of Gov. Andrew Cuomo has renewed calls to reform the governor’s multibillion-dollar economic development program that was at the heart of the bribery and bid-rigging cases. But Cuomo said the problem is already fixed.

The former head of SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Alain Kaloyeros — who designed the governor’s vast upstate economic development program, including the Buffalo Billion — faces sentencing in October. He and three upstate developers were convicted July 12 on 12 counts in a bid-rigging trial in federal district court.

That comes just four months after the governor’s former closest aide, Joe Percoco, was convicted of running bribery schemes in connection with the economic development grants awarded to contractors.

Blair Horner, with the reform organization New York Public Interest Research Group, said it’s another in a series of scandals that have occurred at the State Capitol, including the corruption trials of the two former majority party legislative leaders.

Horner said it’s “stunning” that Cuomo and the Legislature have not changed the laws to prevent similar corruption in the future.

“In a normal, functioning democracy, when you have scandals of this size, there would be hearings being held, there would be news conferences and proposals advanced,” Horner said. “Within Albany, there’s really nothing.”

NYPIRG and other reform groups want to reinstate the state comptroller’s authority to review the economic development contracts. They also want a public database of all taxpayer-funded projects awarded to developers.

Horner said they’d also like to see a ban on campaign contributions from developers who win large state contracts. The three developers who also were convicted in the trial have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Cuomo’s campaign, which is legal under state rules.

“We think the governor should call for a special session devoted, with a laserlike focus, on how to combat corruption,” Horner said.

Cuomo, speaking with reporters in New York City, said he already has changed the system that led to the bid-rigging by Kaloyeros and the developers. He said he switched authority over the programs from the State University system to his own Empire State Development agency. He said he made some changes recommended by a consultant to increase transparency in the deals and overhauled the boards of two entities that oversaw the projects and limited the scope of their decision-making powers.

“We overhauled the whole system,” Cuomo said.

Cuomo downplayed the scandal, saying this is only a few instances out of an over $150 billion state budget and thousands of awards to contractors who do business with the state.

Cuomo, who has said repeatedly that he didn’t know about the bid-rigging, said if he was fooled, he wasn’t the only governor who might have been misled. Kaloyeros has been working for the state since Cuomo’s father, Mario Cuomo, was governor, as well as during the tenures of Republican George Pataki and Democrats Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson.

“Mr. Kaloyeros was surprising to everyone because he was a 20, 25-year state employee,” Cuomo said. “He predated me.”

The governor also addressed the campaign donations that he received from the convicted developers. He said when the charges were announced, he set that money aside, and he plans to talk to the prosecutors about whether the donations should be returned.

Recent Posts

  • Burns To Run For Binghamton Mayor On Democratic Ticket

    BINGHAMTON, NY (WSKG) — Binghamton City Councilman Joe Burns announced his bid for mayor on Thursday. The Democrat represents Binghamton's 5th District, which includes the south side.

  • SUNY Educational Opportunity Centers Expand Free Workforce Training

    ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) - SUNY Educational Opportunity Centers are expanding their online workforce training with more options for students. That includes certifications in childhood development, emergency telecommunications and entrepreneurial skills.

  • PA School Employees Will Be Offered Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Next Week

    HARRISBURG, PA (WSKG) –– Pennsylvania is aiming to vaccinate roughly 200,000 public and private school employees against the coronavirus by no later than mid-April. The Wolf Administration will set aside a chunk of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine for the effort.

  • Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say fatal drug overdoses nationwide surged roughly 20% during the pandemic, killing more than 83,000 people in 2020. A growing body of research suggests Black Americans have suffered the heaviest toll.
    During Pandemic, Drug Overdose Deaths Surge Among Black New Yorkers

    When Latoya Jenkins talks about her mom, she likes to focus on happy memories like the games she used to play with her kids. "She used to buy two bottles of dish soap," Jenkins said.

  • Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) meets with protestors conducting a sit-in at his office in 2017. (Vaughn Golden/WSKG)
    Reed Continues To Eye Governor’s Mansion, Timeline Is “Sooner Rather Than Later”

    ENDWELL, NY (WSKG) — Southern Tier Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) is continuing to entertain the possibility he’ll run for governor in 2022. Reed, whose district stretches across western New York, the Finger Lakes, and the Southern Tier, told reporters Wednesday he is monitoring the field of potential candidates and is still gathering input and support.

WSKG thanks our sponsors...

About WSKG

WSKG connects you to local and global news and the arts online, on the radio, and on TV. NPR and PBS affiliate.

Contact Us

email: WSKGcomment@wskg.org

phone: 607.729.0100

address: 601 Gates Road, Vestal, NY 13850

DONATE

Pay an underwriting invoice

  • WSKG
  • Arts
  • Education
  • Science
  • News
  • Your Radio
  • Schedule
  • TV
  • About
  • WSKG Staff
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Public Reports & Policies
  • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
  • Protect My Public Media
FCC PUBLIC FILES
WSKG-FM
WSQX-FM
WSQG-FM
WSQE
WSQA
WSQC-FM
WSQN
WSKG-TV
WSKA
Disabled and need assistance with the online FCC public file?
Contact Gregory Keeler
WSKG
601 Gates Road
Vestal, New York 13850
607-729-0100
gkeeler@wskg.org

Stay Connected

Like Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on YouTubeFollow Us on InstagramSubscribe via RSS

© Copyright 2021, WSKG

Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Back to top ↑

Change Location
To find awesome listings near you!