Gov. Cuomo’s former chief of staff, Lawrence Schwartz — who is under scrutiny in Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara’s explosive public-corruption probe and supposedly off the state payroll — is, in fact, still being paid an astronomical sum, The Post has learned.
Cuomo officially announced Schwartz was leaving state employment on Jan. 11, saying his top aide “departs the administration for the private sector’’ and was being replaced in his $181,560-a-year post — $2,560 more than the governor is paid and one of the highest salaries in state government — by investment banker William Mulrow.
Yet Friday, 40 days after the Cuomo announcement and with Mulrow serving as chief-of-staff, Schwartz was still on the state payroll at the same large salary, according to official records checked on Friday.
Schwartz is listed as serving in the never-before-seen title of “Dir of the NY Off’’ of the governor, according to the records.
While the records show that Schwartz did, in fact, give up the job of secretary to Mulrow effective Feb. 2, they reveal that he was transferred to the new title on the same day — with no announcement by the governor.
Schwartz didn’t respond to e-mail and telephone requests for comment.
A spokesman for Cuomo said Schwartz was “transitioning out of his role and has been on accrued vacation and personal time, which is standard.’’
People are nervous about hiring Larry because they see him as ‘radioactive’ over the Bharara investigation.
But a state employment official called the arrangement “highly unusual’’ and noted that Schwartz’s new job title “was one I’ve never seen before.’’
Several Cuomo-administration sources said Schwartz, who was known as Cuomo’s tough-talking and often crude “enforcer,’’ had planned to leave for a private-sector job, possibly in the real-estate industry, but had been unable to finalize an employment agreement because of Bharara’s ongoing investigation.
“People are nervous about hiring Larry because they see him as ‘radioactive’ over the Bharara investigation,’’ said one source.
Another source said Cuomo, who has hired a prominent white-collar criminal lawyer to advise him on the Bharara probe, may be keeping Schwartz on the state payroll in “order to help Larry out at a time when Larry could possibly do the governor a whole lot of damage.’’
Two sources said there had been recent tension between Cuomo and Schwartz over the ongoing probe.
Bharara has been investigating the circumstances under which Cuomo folded his Moreland Commission anti-corruption panel last spring amid allegations that the governor and Schwartz interfered with its probes.
He’s also looking into the possibility that Cuomo and/or Schwartz may have sought to influence witnesses who were interviewed as part of Bharara’s probe.
Cuomo has denied that either he or his aides engaged in any wrongdoing.
Bharara’s investigation resulted last month in criminal corruption charges being filed against then-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan), who was forced to resign his leadership position as a result.
Schwartz, who also served as chief-of-staff to former Gov. David Paterson, is a longtime political operative and one-time deputy Westchester County executive.