Edited by: TJVNews.com
As it turns out, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has not completely alienated all of his female staff in the maelstrom of the sex harassment complaints against him.
According to a New York Post report, two high ranking female aides, who have covered for Cuomo while other female aides have accused the governor of inappropriate behavior and sexual harassment have “family ties to high-powered lobbyists whose firms rake in millions of dollars lobbying the governor and those in his orbit.”
Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo’s executive secretary, and the person in his administration who admitted on a video to state legislators that the numbers of those who died in New York nursing homes during the height of the pandemic were actually fudged and an inaccurate and much lower figure was offered. According to an investigation conducted by the New York Attorney General’s office, the report indicated that approximately 15,000 people perished rather than the original 8000 that was reported in the early part of 2020.
There is speculation that Cuomo may have been allegedly incentivized by monetary offers to send Covid patients to nursing home facilities in order to receive compensation. None of this has been proven or confirmed.
According to the NY Post report, Melissa DeRosa, is married to Matthew Wing, Cuomo’s former press secretary who now serves as a top communications exec for Uber. Her father, Giorgio DeRosa, is a partner and chief Albany lobbyist for the influential Bolton St. Johns firm. Brother Joseph and sister Jessica also work at the firm.
The Post also reported that yet another majoring lobbying giant is at play here. The president and co-founder of the Parkside Group, Harry Giannoulis, is the life partner of Cuomo chief of staff, Jill DeRosiers
John Kaehny of Reinvent Albany told The Post, “People are married to, and the children of, top lobbyists. So the potential for conflicts of interest abound. The sexual harassment accusations are really just a facet of an overall abuse of power. It’s just part of it.”
Uber spent more than $1.1 million in lobbying efforts in NY including talks with Cuomo, according to filings with the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE)
Other groups who are paying Cuomo for his favors are a sports betting company named Fanduel, according to the Post, that dropped at least $52,500 in 2020 for an exhaustive slate of lobbying services, which included “direct lobbying” of Cuomo’s office and his executive chamber.
Also paying for access to the governor is the energy investment firm LS Power Associates. According to the NY Post report, they gave Parkside $75,000 to directly lobby Cuomo’s executive council and his office. The NYP reported that Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association paid $35,850 and $32,700 respectively for access to the governor’s inner circle.