The New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics ordered the morally bankrupt former governor, Andrew Cuomo to return the $5.1 million dollars he received for his book advance. I’m glad because not only did he condemn thousands to die with his nursing home edict, but then to make a $5.1 million book advance on his handling of the pandemic was an insult to all those he sent to their deaths.
The vote was 12 to 1 for Cuomo to give the state the money he made on the book advance. I’m sure the state will spend it wisely. But, at least Cuomo won’t make a profit on those he sent to their death.
The New York Post reported:
New York’s top ethics panel on Tuesday ordered disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo to pay the state $5.1 million in book profits he made on the backs of taxpayers amid the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The extraordinary resolution was approved by the Joint Commission on Public Ethics in a 12-1 vote — a month after the ethics agency voted to revoke its prior approval allowing Cuomo to earn outside income from his book “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic” while he was still governor and New York was in the throes of the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
JCOPE rescinded its approval after concluding that Cuomo violated pledges not to use state resources or government staffers to prepare the book. He must pay the money to the state by next month.
The resolution, drafted by commissioner David McNamara, a Senate Republican appointee, said Cuomo now “lacked the legal authority to engage in outside activity and receive compensation in regard to the book” since JCOPE rescinded its approval.
It was Cuomo’s order that COVID positive patients who were released by the hospitals. This exposed our most vulnerable to a disease that killed mostly the elderly and the infirm. What could possibly go wrong with that? Nursing home deaths in states where the Republican governors banned sending COVID-positive patients to the nursing homes saw no such spike.
