Cuomo’s continuing legal woes could cost public at least $9.5M
ALBANY, N.Y. — Resigning from office probably didn’t end former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s legal problems, and no matter what happens next, taxpayers are likely to wind up with a hefty bill.
The state has already agreed to pay up to $9.5 million to lawyers representing and investigating Cuomo and his administration over sexual harassment allegations and other matters, according to The Associated Press’ review of available contracts.
That figure — which represents the maximum amount that could be spent, not actual bills submitted so far — includes up to $5 million for lawyers who have represented Cuomo’s office, up to $3.5 million for lawyers hired by the state attorney general to investigate sexual harassment allegations against the Democrat, and at least $1 million in bills for lawyers hired by the legislature as part of an impeachment investigation. It doesn’t include the legal fees of Cuomo’s private attorney, Rita Glavin, whose bills are being paid by his campaign committee.
Cuomo’s successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, can decide whether the state will continue to pay lawyers to defend the former governor and his administration.
Cuomo, a Democrat, and his administration face the possibility of civil lawsuits from women who have accused him of sexual harassment. The Albany sheriff is investigating a groping allegation. The state attorney general is looking into Cuomo’s use of state employees to help with a book he wrote. Federal prosecutors are investigating his administration’s handling of nursing home death data. He’s also facing a state ethics commission inquiry.
“We will be reviewing all legal contracts and making appropriate decisions on the need for legal representation and whether to continue any contracts,” Hochul’s spokesperson, Haley Viccaro, said.
Cuomo resigned from office following an investigation overseen by Attorney General Letitia James that concluded he sexually harassed 11 women. Cuomo — who denies touching anyone inappropriately or intending to make suggestive comments — accused the women of exaggerating or misinterpreting his behavior.
If Cuomo or the state is sued over his alleged conduct, the public could wind up covering legal fees and any settlement — normally, individuals sued over their conduct as state employees are defended on the state’s dime.
$5M reward for fentanyl trafficker:
The U.S. State Department announced Tuesday that it is offering up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of a Chinese national suspected of leading an international fentanyl trafficking operation that authorities uncovered after an overdose death in North Dakota.
Jian Zhang is one of a handful of Chinese and Canadian nationals among more than 30 people accused of dealing large amounts of the powerful opioid. The reward also applies to information leading to Zhang’s location.
Zhang, also known as “Hong Kong Zaron,” and his biotechnical company were sanctioned by the Treasury
Department in 2018, a move that was meant to prevent them from doing business with anyone in the U.S. It was the first time the department had sanctioned an alleged fentanyl trafficker.
The investigation began when 18-year-old Bailey Henke was found dead inside a Grand Forks, North Dakota, apartment building in January 2015. Deaths from fentanyl supplied by Zhang also have been reported in North Carolina, New Jersey and Oregon. Several others suffered serious injuries, authorities said.
US aid for Ukraine: The United States is promising up to $60 million in military aid to Ukraine in advance of a White House meeting on Wednesday between President Joe Biden and his counterpart in Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Biden administration said in a notification to Congress that the aid package for Ukraine was necessary because of a “major increase in Russian military
activity along its border” and because of mortar attacks, cease-fire violations and other provocations.
Zelenskky is set to meet Biden as part of a White House visit that the administration hopes will demonstrate support for Ukraine’s sovereignty in the face of Russia’s seizure of Crimea and backing of armed separatists in the country’s east.
Murder conviction in fatal arson case dropped: Authorities are dropping a murder conviction against a man who is serving a life sentence for a fire that killed five children in suburban Detroit after critical evidence that cast doubt on the case was never shared with the defense before the 2006 trial, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
The evidence includes a video interview with a survivor who told police that Juwan Deering didn’t set the fire, Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said.
Deering, now 50, was convicted of murder in a
2000 house fire in Royal Oak Township. Authorities at the time said the fire was revenge for drug debts, though Deering repeatedly declared his innocence.
McDonald declined to say whether the case should be dismissed entirely.
Iran prison: Iranian prosecutors opened criminal cases against six guards at the country’s notorious Evin prison, the judiciary reported on Tuesday, after footage showing the widespread abuse of detainees at the facility leaked last week.
The judiciary’s three-day investigation into mistreatment and grim conditions at Tehran’s Evin prison had landed “some” prison guards in detention, said judiciary spokesman Zabihollah Khodaeian. Authorities also summoned two guards and punished others, Khodaeian said, without elaborating on the penalties or identifying the suspects.
The revelation comes days after The Associated Press published parts of the
videos and a report about the abuse at the facility in northern Tehran.
Gaza blockade: Israel allowed dozens of truckloads of construction materials into the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, easing a tight blockade it has maintained on the Hamas-ruled territory since an 11-day war last May.
The imports came during a period in which Hamas activists have launched incendiary balloons into Israel, sparking wildfires across the border, and staged a series of sometimes violent demonstrations along the separation fence with Israel.
An Israeli soldier who was shot by a protester on Aug. 21 died of his wounds on Monday. Two Palestinians, including a 12-year-old boy and a Hamas militant, have also been killed from Israeli gunfire.
Despite the tensions, Israeli officials this week allowed the entry of the building materials for Gaza’s private sector.