Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who once called Alain Kaloyeros a genius and “New York’s secret weapon,” acted Friday like he barely knew the guy he entrusted with the corruption-ridden “Buffalo Billion” project.
Cuomo’s remarks came just a day after a federal jury in Manhattan delivered bombshell guilty verdicts in the corruption trial against Kaloyeros, who oversaw the governor’s massive $1 billion to revive struggling upstate communities.
“Can you stop people from doing stupid things? No. Can you stop people from doing venal things? No. Can you stop people from doing criminal things? No,” Cuomo told reporters during a stop in Brooklyn.
“But you can have a system in place that says if you do something wrong, we will be as aggressive as the law allows in prosecuting you.”
He also attempted to distance himself from the SUNY nano scientist.
“You could say that Dr. Kaloyeros predated me. I didn’t hire Dr. Kaloyeros. He worked for Governor Pataki. He worked for Governor Spitzer. He worked for Governor Patterson,” the governor said, when pressed about why he shouldn’t be held accountable for Kaloyeros’ conduct.
Jurors in New York City convicted Kaloyeros and three others of rigging contracts that primarily went to two developers, LPCiminelli and COR Development, whose executives were major Cuomo donors.
The governor wouldn’t say if his campaign would give back the donations it received from both firms.
“We segregated the money that they gave when we first heard about it, and we’ll talk to (federal prosecutors in Manhattan),” he said. “I want to make sure I get their input on what we should do with the funding. But we have segregated it.”
In his stunning remarks, Cuomo also attempted to shift blame to other parts of state government for failing to root out the corruption before prosecutors got involved.
“The Attorney General does sign off on contracts, so on the question of, ‘Well, who’s to blame?’ the Attorney General’s office signs off on contracts, the Inspector General’s office signs off on contracts, the SUNY board was doing oversight. I have a state inspector general who does oversight,” the governor told reporters.
But, he later admitted, “I’m responsible for everything that goes wrong,” when asked if he bore any responsibility.
Thursday’s verdict was only the latest set of corruption allegations and convictions to rock Cuomo’s administration — and the state capital.
Jurors convicted Cuomo confidant Joe Percoco in March on charges he used his position to sell access to the administration in a pair of pay-to-play schemes that netted him $300,000.
Cuomo, a self-admitted micromanager, again expressed shock at Percoco’s conviction on Friday.
“Joe Percoco is someone who was close to me. I was shocked. I was heartbroken,” the governor said. “I would never have imagined that he would have done what he did, 100 percent.”
Cuomo’s Democratic challenger, Cynthia Nixon, took to the steps of the Manhattan federal courthouse, where both the Percoco and “Buffalo Billion” verdicts were delivered, to demand the governor allow the state’s Attorney General to investigate his administration.
“It seems that every decision Cuomo makes as governor is driven by two things: the money he has been given and the more money he is hoping to get,” Nixon said. “This is the same Andrew Cuomo, who was elected governor in 2010, on a promise to clean up Albany.”
She added: “But after eight years of corruption and scandal, expecting Andrew Cuomo to clean up Albany is like expecting the bull to clean up the china shop.”
Under state law, Cuomo would be required to refer the matter to the AG before the probe could begin, Nixon’s campaign said.
But Cuomo quickly nixed the idea on Friday.
“The US Attorney handled the cases,” he said. “The way the legal system works is the AG is basically civil, and the US Attorney is criminal, and when the US Attorney is finished, it means he or she has investigated the entire matter.”
Nixon also assailed Cuomo for failing to implement many of the reforms he promised when word of the “Buffalo Billion” investigation first leaked in 2016.
“Specifically, he said he would bar campaign contributions from companies bidding for state contracts, he said he would appoint a chief procurement officer to review every contract and appoint new Inspectors General for CUNY and SUNY,” she said. “More than a year and a half later, he has done literally none of these things.”
Cuomo’s office hasn’t been the only source of corruption indictments in Albany in recent years.
Former state Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) was convicted again in May on charges he sold his office for $4 million in kickbacks.
Meanwhile, another federal jury in Manhattan began deliberations Friday in the retrial of former state Senate president Dean Skelos (R-Nassau County), who is accused of using his office to line up do-nothing gigs for his son, Adam.