First:
ALBANY — Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino refused to give a top Independence Party leader a patronage job in exchange for the party’s ballot line, he claimed Friday.
Gov. Cuomo’s anti-corruption panel had conducted a preliminary probe of accusations that Westchester Independence Party chairman Giulio Cavallo was trading jobs for endorsements.
Astorino, a Republican now running for governor, says he was told in 2009 that he’d have to find a job for Cavallo if he wanted his party’s endorsement.
“Chairman Cavallo demanded that I give him a job with benefits after the 2009 election,” Astorino told The Post. “I had been told by multiple sources that Mr. Cavallo has a history of shaking down public officials for no-show jobs. I refused to hire him, and the Independence Party dropped its support of me right there and then.”
And:
A political dissident who asked Gov. Cuomo’s anti-corruption panel to look into a top Independence Party official thinks the way things turned out just stinks.
Two months after Tom Reddy’s last interview with an investigator, the commission closed for business — and soon after Cuomo won the Independence Party ballot line.
“They were looking into it. The next thing you know, the Moreland Commission was disbanded and Cuomo gets the Independence Party endorsement,” said Reddy, a former Westchester detective.
In a letter to the panel and Cuomo last August, Reddy pleaded for an investigation of Westchester Independence Party leader Giulio Cavallo.
“Mr. Cavallo has been boasting for years about his ability to squeeze elected officials for patronage jobs in exchange for the IP party line,” Reddy wrote.
He also claimed Cavallo personally benefited by holding down a number of government jobs “for which he has done no work.”
Initially, Reddy said the Moreland Commission panel took his charges seriously.
He said he was contacted by chief investigator Robert Addolorado in December 2013 and again in January 2014.
In March, the commission was disbanded.
In May, the Independence Party endorsed Cuomo for re-election.
“It was amazing, we didn’t hear anything [back]. Now the commission is defunct,” Reddy said.
A commission source confirmed it was looking into no-show patronage scams to determine if people got phony full-time or part-time jobs to qualify for state pension and health benefits.
“There were multiple targets,” the source said.
Records show Cavallo has held several state jobs. From 1999 to 2005 he was a “project coordinator” for the state Health Department with a salary of $87,366. From 2005 to 2009, he served as a “community aide” on the payroll of the state Senate making about $50,000 a year. From 2009 to the present, Cavallo was a “special health adviser” to the state Senate, making about $57,000 a year.
His workplace in Manhattan is at 250 Broadway, across from City Hall.
But a former employee in that same office said she has never seen him and doesn’t know who he is.
“I have never heard of this fellow. This fellow’s name does not ring a bell with me at all,” said Judith Stupp, former downstate coordinator for Senate Republicans.
Cavallo claims the second story was planted by the Astorino campaign to make both the Independence Party and Cuomo look bad.
I have no doubt that's true.
Nonetheless that doesn't take away the impact of both stories - Astorino says he was shaken down for the Independence Party ballot line in the past and Cuomo received the Independence Party ballot line this time around after the Moreland Commission, which was looking into possible corruption of Independence Party officials, was disbanded.
As Arsenio Hall used to say back in the day - "Things that make you go 'Hmmmm...'"
Giulio Cavallo is connected heavily to many judges in Westchester County. His wife, Carmela Cavallo is a court stenographer in White Plains. He is a fake doctor who possesses a degree from Italy, but has failed his attempts to be licensed here in the states. He is as crooked as they come. His residence is 9 Miller Place in Bronxville. He has several no show jobs where he collects. These positions were given to him by elected officials. Westchester District Attirney Janet DiFiore has a history with him whereas she too was threatened, however finally breaking free from his sick antics. He is dubbed "The most powerful man in Westchester" because his party, The Indeoendance Line, swings votes and elects plenty of officials. The Spano family has benefited tremendously from him in Westchester. His wife's great connections at her position in White Olains courthouse makes it even easier for him. Giulio Cavallo is a slime ball who is very close with Andrew Cuomo. He has been promised the moon. Cavallo is untouchable. Don't bother trying to take him down as he cannot be defeated. This has been going on for over a decade.
ReplyDeleteThe Independence Party has long been a cesspool, overdue for serious criminal investigation, going back at least to its use as a front and a patronage vehicle for political cult leader Fred Newman and his associate Lenora Fulani. Readers may also recall that Bloomberg also greased Newman/Fulani/Independence Party to gain their endorsement and voting line when he ran for Mayor.
ReplyDeleteThese people are political whores, Cuomo is their John, and if public resources were used to lubricate their political intercourse, that sounds like potential fraud, larceny and conspiracy.
This thread could develop into something far more than just an annoyance to our Reptilian Governor.