Biting hand that feeds firm $637M
A New Jersey company tied to an alleged $637 million pay-toplay scheme involving Gov. Hochul is now suing her administration — accusing Albany of wrongfully denying it additional business.
Dayton, NJ-based Digital Gadgets claims Hochul’s Department of Health violated its own contract rules by negotiating a deal for rapid COVID-19 tests last spring before opening up the bidding to other businesses who could not offer goods of the same quality.
“Digital Gadgets brought this lawsuit to ensure the state consistently complies with the rules they established along with the bid process,” company spokesman John Gallagher told The Post after the suit was filed in Albany County state Supreme Court.
According to the lawsuit, officials blocked repeated requests for an explanation of why Digital Gadgets did not get concessions to supply more rapid tests after delivering millions between December 2021 and March of this year, amid an Omicron-variantfueled spike in cases.
The company also alleges the state tweaked bidding requirements to benefit other firms.
Spokespeople for the department and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who is also named in the suit, declined to comment Thursday about the pending litigation, first reported by WSKG radio in Binghamton.
The lawsuit marks an ironic turn for the company, which got $637 million in no-bid business after Hochul suspended normal contract rules in late 2021 while declaring a state of emergency as COVID-19 cases spiked.
Meanwhile, company founder Charlie Tebele and his family gave some $300,000 to Hochul’s re-election campaign while Digital Gadgets charged New York nearly twice as much as states like California for the same tests.
“This was a disastrous deal from the beginning. But even by Albany standards, it’s quite a plot twist. The Hochul administration being sued by the same people who benefitted from a no-bid contract It would be comical if it didn’t demonstrate how dysfunctional this entire situation is,” Assembly Minority Leader William Barclay (R-Fulton) said Thursday.
“Awarding a $637 million contract to a major campaign donor screams ‘pay-to-play’. Of course Democrats swept it under the rug, but It will be interesting to see what comes out in court.”