A Freedom of Information Act request by America Rising reveals Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (Ny.) administration misled the public when it claimed "there were no records of its contacts with an anti-corruption commission involving the Real Estate Board of New York," the New York Post reports.
America Rising requested all communications and meeting records between Cuomo and the anti-corruption commission last fall. The response was that no records existed. The Cuomo administration told America Rising it was "wasting its time," according to the Post.
Three months prior to that claim, the administration had ordered the panel not to issue subpoenas to the real estate group.
According to the Post:
Actually, there were extensive contacts between the commission and Cuomo aide Larry Schwartz in August, according to an article in The New York Times last week.
"Mr. Schwartz, the secretary to the governor, telephoned one of the commission’s three leaders in a fury, according to four people briefed on the call. There would be no subpoena to the real estate board," the Times reported.
Members of REBNY, who have donated $4 million to Gov. Cuomo since 2010, eventually turned over documents sought by the panel voluntarily.
The New York Times article detailed the extent of Cuomo’s administration tampering with the anti-corruption commissions investigations.