Cuomo Takes $200,000 In Bribes To Give $35 Million In Tax Breaks To Real Estate Developer

What else would you call this but bribery?

A top development company donated $100,000 to Gov. Cuomo just days before he signed a bill that quietly showered the firm with lucrative tax breaks.

Two corporations tied to Extell Development each contributed $50,000 to Cuomo’s campaign, which recorded the checks on Jan. 28 — the same day the Assembly passed a housing bill that contained tax breaks for five developers, including Extell, records show.

Cuomo signed the legislation two days later.

The twin $50,000 donations were made by Elco Master LLC and 134 W 58 LLC. Each listed the same Louisville, Ky., address of Extell Financial Services, which is part of Extell Development. It was the first time either company contributed to Cuomo, state records show.

And less than three weeks after the bill became law, Extell President Gary Barnett donated $100,000 to a state Democratic Party account that Cuomo was tapping to finance ads pushing his agenda. Records dating back to 1999 show it was the only time he gave to the state party.

The Daily News first disclosed the tax breaks for the five developers in June. At the time, the sponsors couldn’t say who picked the projects for special treatment.

The benefit for Extell’s 57th St. luxury apartment tower is projected to cost the city $35 million over 10 years.

Extell and the other four companies who benefited from the legislation have been subpoenaed by a special commission created by Cuomo to investigate corruption in state government, including the connection between campaign donations and legislation.The commission is looking at circumstances surrounding the bill’s passage.

Jaron Benjamin, president of the Metropolitan Council on Housing, called the timing of the Extell donations "disgusting" and said they should be also probed.

“It certainly looks like quid pro quo and if it’s not--somebody’s got a lot of explaining to do,” Benjamin said.

Cuomo's office responded furiously to any suggestions there was a quid pro quo here.

But let's look closely.

This Kentucky company wants $35 million in tax breaks.

They give Cuomo $100,000 two days before he signs those tax breaks into law.

Then the owner of the company gives the Democratic Party another $100,000 three weeks after the tax breaks are signed into law, money which is used to run ads touting the governor and his agenda.

Cuomo's office can say there is no quid pro quo there, these were not bribes from the company to pay back Cuomo for signing the tax breaks into law.

But they are full of it.

Cuomo still won't reveal the corporate donors to his Committee To Save New York, the group that raised millions of dollars and ran pro-Cuomo, anti-union ads when Cuomo was pushing through his "pro-growth" agenda early in his term.

We do know that the Committee To Save New York took $2 million from overseas gambling interests just before Cuomo signed an expansion of casino gambling into law.

That money was again used to tout the governor's agenda across the state and run ads saying Cuomo is the bestest thing in New York since DeWitt Clinton. 

Cuomo has been successful at hiding most of his campaign finance funkiness for now, but when he runs for president, these are the kinds of things that are going to come out.

I, for one, look forward to that.

Run, Andy, run.

Let's see you get some scrutiny.