https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Cuomo-mum-on-probed-Crystal-Run-donations-12938107.php
Cuomo stays silent on federal probe of campaign donations
Updated 4:46 pm, Wednesday, May 23, 2018
ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo's campaign is refusing to answer questions about its receipt of $250,000 in political donations that are being examined as part of a federal grand jury investigation.
The Times Union reported earlier this month that the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan is investigating Crystal Run, a private and rapidly growing Hudson Valley healthcare provider whose officials or their spouses have given Cuomo's campaign $400,000.
Of that, $250,000 came from a series of $25,000 donations that were made on Oct. 29 and 30, 2013, according to state Board of Elections records.
Seven of the 10 donors had not donated to a campaign in a New York election in at least a decade before the $25,000 contributions were made to Cuomo.
Basil Smikle, the former executive of the New York State Democratic Party, told the Times Union last year that the $250,000 in donations were made at a Cuomo fundraiser.
Cuomo's campaign is refusing to answer questions about details of the fundraiser, including where it took place, who attended — and whether it was an exclusive event for Crystal Run associates —and how the donations were arranged.
“The governor hosts numerous events per year attended by a great many people who support him," said Cuomo campaign spokeswoman Abbey Fashouer. "As we have said many times, no contribution of any size influences any government action – period.”
Cuomo's government office in Albany did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday afternoon.
Cuomo's publicly released schedule shows only one campaign fundraiser during that period that began at 8:40 a.m., on Oct. 30, 2013, in Manhattan. It's not clear from the records where the fundraiser took place.
Cuomo's public schedules do not always include all the events he attends.
Besides the $25,000 gifts from Crystal Run officials, there are two other $25,000 donations that are listed in Cuomo's campaign finance filings over the two-day period at the end of October 2013. One came from First Nationwide Title Agency LLC – whose founder Steven Napolitano is a long-time Cuomo donor – and the other was from from Sacks & Sacks, a construction-accident law firm.
In a statement earlier this month, the Crystal Run spokesman said that, "Over a year ago, we received a subpoena requesting documents and we have since complied. We have no reason to believe that we are the focus of a current federal investigation."
Yet at least some federal grand jury subpoenas seeking testimony from Crystal Run employees were issued this spring, sources said.
Among those subpoenaed by a federal grand jury are six former Crystal Run doctors who filed a lawsuit against Crystal Run in December accusing the company's top management of "self-dealing." The civil complaint referenced the donations to Cuomo.
Steven Shore, an attorney for the physicians who filed the lawsuit, told the Times Union in December that he would seek information about whether the $25,000 donations made by individual Crystal Run executives were paid using "pooled" company funds.
The Crystal Run spokesman, Loren Riegelhaupt, declined comment on whether the Cuomo donations were made in that manner. It's illegal under state law to give a campaign donation using a "straw donor" to conceal the true origin of a contribution. The civil lawsuit has been settled.
In March 2016, the state Department of Health, which is under the purview of Cuomo's office, awarded $25.4 million to build two Crystal Run health care facilities, despite both having already broken ground about six months earlier.
A major contractor on both Crystal Run projects was Joe Nicolla of Albany-based Columbia Development. Nicolla recently agreed to a cooperation deal with the state attorney general's office in exchange for its dropping a bid-rigging charge unrelated to the Crystal Run projects.
