New York, NY – A New York political watchdog who claims he was twice interviewed by the now-defunct Moreland Commission with regard to possible improprieties linked to a high ranking Independence Party (IP) leader, says Gov. Cuomo benefitted from disbanding the commission by winning the IP ballot shortly after the anti-corruption panel closed shop.
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NYPOST.com (http://bit.ly/WQxgwy) reports that former Westchester detective Tom Reddy said the wheels started turning last August when he sent a letter to the Moreland Commission asking it to investigate Westchester Independence Party boss Giulio Cavallo, who, Reddy said, has bragged for years about his “ability to squeeze elected officials for patronage jobs in exchange for the IP party line.”
Reddy also accused Cavallo of being paid for a series of government jobs “for which he has done no work.”
Reddy said Moreland Commission chief investigator Robert Addolorado contacted him about Cavallo twice, once in December of 2013 and again in January of 2104, but that everything stopped once the commission was silenced by Gov. Cuomo in March.
Cuomo received the backing of the IP in May.
“It was amazing. They were looking into it. The next thing you know, the Moreland Commission was disbanded and Cuomo gets the Independence Party endorsement,” said Reddy.
Cavallo claims Cuomo’s GOP opponent Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino is behind Reddy’s complaint.
“I never traded anything,” Cavallo said. “Rob Astorino is most likely behind this.”
Reps for Gov. Cuomo’s office declined to comment on the matter.