A History of Corruption in New York Politics

“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!” -Sir Walter Scott

A True Look Into the Events that Led Up to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Public Disaster

As we look more into the allegations surrounding Governor Andrew Cuomo we have to take a look at the people who are making the accusations. And in doing so we have gone down a rabbit hole which we will probably never leave. We have become fascinated with New York politics. And not just what is going on right now. The drama surrounding Gov. Cuomo is far older than he is. 

The first incident dates back to 1913 when Governor William Sulzer was impeached after he left office. Sulzer rose to power through the Tammany Hall political machine, which had backed former President Grover Cleveland. Sulzer had also served as Speaker of the House. When he became Governor he chose to part ways with Tammany Hall and buddy up to the Democrats instead. Tammany Hall retaliated and threw him under the bus, successfully getting him impeached. And thus began the bloodbath in New York politics. 

Then we take you on a trip forward in time to meet Assemblyman Mario Biaggi. Biaggi was charged with corruption for accepting bribes from Meade Esposito. He ended up serving 2.5 years in prison. He was determined to reclaim his spot in the Assembly and gain a pardon. His requests fell on deaf ears. He was particularly irked that Governor Mario Cuomo, Father of Andrew Cuomo, did not help him reduce his sentence or earn a pardon by vouching for him. 100’s of other politicians and influential people wrote letters on Biaggi’s behalf, but Mario Cuomo was silent on the issue. The families have been at odds ever since because Mario Cuomo was the Governor at the time Biaggi was convicted and many feel the Governor could have put a stop to it. To us, it seems like if Mario Cuomo had defended him he probably would have sunk with Biaggi.

You may be familiar with Mario Biaggi’s Granddaughter Alessandra Biaggi. She is currently a member of the New York State Senate. Much like the Hatfields v McCoys Alessandra has a score to settle. She went to a Women’s Leadership Council in 2018 with Charlotte Bennett. Bennett was one of Andrew Cuomo’s early accusers of sexual harassment. Did they plan to take out Andrew Cuomo together? It certainly looks so. Alessandra should be recused from the impeachment probe and if it goes to vote, she shouldn’t be allowed to vote. It is a dangerous conflict of interest.

Before we tackled Charlotte Bennett we would be remiss if we skipped Lindsey Boylan. She is Governor Andrew Cuomo’s first accuser. She is the one who opened Pandora’s Box. So who is Lindsey Boylan? Boylan worked for Gov. Cuomo a few years ago. Something happened and she wound up quitting. A few days later she begged for her job back but was told no. Clearly, she’s not someone who is used to hearing the word, “no.” Her story can’t even stay the same. In December of 2020, when Gov. Cuomo’s name was on the list of people being asked to be President Biden’s AG, she reared her ugly head. And we don’t mean she is ugly, we mean her behavior is. Originally she said she felt harassed, but that ultimately nothing happened. It was as if she were putting feelers out there to see if anyone caught the bait. Then she wrote a Medium article which she published on 02/24/2021 where she made claims that he kissed her and made jokes about playing strip poker while they were on a plain alone together. Gov. Cuomo’s team cannot verify her story, because he never travels alone. There are always 8-10 other people there. Then she changed her story and said he “tried” to kiss her. Which one is it, lady?

Boylan has held multiple anti-Cuomo rallies and hunted people down to join her team. She joined forces with Assemblyman Ron Kim, who we will go into more detail about. She openly made phone calls and possibly Zoom meetings looking for other women to throw Gov. Cuomo under the bus. And she found some other women who jumped at the chance. We personally believe that this type of revenge and slander should be illegal. Boylan should not have been allowed to coerce other people to come forward. Boylan has gone crazy on Twitter and other social media platforms. Attacking everyone who disagrees with or questions her. She’s blocked many people while continuing to act insane. Meanwhile she is running for Manhattan Borough President. She will never have our vote. 

It has also come to light that Boylan’s mother sent Gov. Cuomo loving tweets in 2020. If the Gov. was allegedly so awful to her daughter why would she support Cuomo?

And then there’s the picture of Lindsey Boylan looking at Gov. Cuomo with a look of longing in her eyes. She seems smitten. Perhaps she views herself as a lover scorned?

In walks Charlotte Bennett. A known sexual harassment liar. Bennett also used to work for Gov. Cuomo. Her story is ridiculous. She claims Gov. Cuomo asked her inappropriate questions about her sex life. She claimed that Gov. Cuomo was “grooming her for sex,” even though he never touched her. Who has ever asked someone to have sex with them without touching them? We’ve never seen it. She also alleged that Gov. Cuomo forced her to memorize the song Danny Boy and sing it on command. However, we also know that, according to Andrew Cuomo’s first book, the Kennedys made him do this very thing. She looks like a liar! Bennett voiced a complaint against her boss, Gov. Cuomo, and was subsequently moved across the building. She was happy there until Boylan approached her. And then she just couldn’t let sleeping dogs lie. She had to get her 15 minutes of fame. 

Then we hear a story about someone named Anna Ruch. And they have a picture this time! Because, you know, no one has ever photoshopped a picture! Ruch asserts that Gov. Cuomo approached her at a wedding, grabbed her, and asked if he could kiss her. We have looked at this picture over and over again. There are a lot of things about it that don’t make sense. It looks doctored. As if someone changed it. It doesn’t even look like Andrew Cuomo, it looks like Bill de Blasio. We’d like to see the original with a time stamp. 

Have you heard of the fabled kiss on the hand and light touch on the back? Well, that would be the story from Ana Liss. She is also upset Gov. Cuomo allegedly asked her inappropriate questions about her personal life. If someone asks you personal questions you are under no obligation to answer them. How very strange these girls couldn’t just say “MYOB!” Is it really that hard? He even supposedly called her “sweetheart.” Well, Ana sweetie, you better not ever go to the South where they call everyone “dear,” or “sugar,” or “hun.” In fact, don’t ever leave your home if you are so sensitive! Also, we’d like to know why Ana kept a picture of Governor Cuomo on her desk and tweeted him Happy Birthday last year if she thinks he’s such a monster? 

On the same day Ana Liss came forward we also heard from Karen Hinton. Her complaint dates back to 2000. She claims Gov. Cuomo gave her an inappropriate hug and became excited. This was 21 years ago. Is she sure? Was it possibly someone else? Or maybe it never happened? Is this for real?!

Enter Caitlin, the anonymous complaint. We’re not exactly sure who she is. Is she also Lindsey Boylan? This is the girl who said that Gov.Cuomo lured her over to his house alone and advanced on her aggressively. To date we have yet to see a face. 

Then a video emerges of the Gov. telling a reporter named Beth Cefalu to “eat the whole sausage,” when they were eating at the New York State Fair. It turned out to be a joke that Beth was not offended by. Apparently the delicate ears on the internet couldn’t handle it. 

Another member of the Press, named Jessica Bakeman, rises up to complain about how Gov. Cuomo aggressively posed for a picture with her. He supposedly held her so tight she couldn’t squirm away. Well, hun, giant men tend to do that to small women. They don't mean to. We recommend a good kick in the shins or a pinch will get the man away from you. 

Valerie Bauman is one of our favorite accusers. She is very upset over Gov. Cuomo’s handshake and greeting. He looked her in the eye and said “hello, I’m Andrew Cuomo.” What’s wrong with that? This all so strange. This isn't harassment. What on earth?!

And then we get to Alyssa McGrath. This one we really don’t understand. Her claim is that Gov. Cuomo enjoys looking at beautiful women. Well, most people do. That’s why models are usually beautiful. She also claims he looked down her shirt and complimented her necklace. Um, what? Maybe don’t wear a necklace next time? She is also upset he hugged and kissed everyone. And that he said Ciao Bella to her, which is Hello/goodby beautiful in Italian. She had to ask her parents what this meant. Her parents should have explained to her about Italian culture, instead, they taught her to be racist. 

Then we end with Sherry Vill who is known for her Zoom press conference with Gloria Allred. Vill invited Gov. Cuomo into her house after a flood. He helped clean up and comfort her. She claims that the Governor forcibly kissed her on the cheek. Again, this is a normal Italian greeting!!! Her husband was right there and said nothing. Her son took photos and her daughter posted them on Facebook. They got over 20 likes. She even held onto a stock letter she received from the Governor in memoriam. Later it was discovered that Vill lost her home and business in the flood and her insurance would not cover it. Ana Liss is the director of planning and development in Vill’s county. It looks like Vill is trying to butter up Liss so she can get some money. Which is illegal. Vill is also an ardent Trump supporter, and Trump’s hatred for Gov. Cuomo is known throughout the world.

What is this? A bad romance novel we read back in the 90’s when we were about 12? We’re pretty sure we’ve read this one!

So now let’s take a look at Ron Kim. He’s some State Assemblyman we had never heard of up until now when he decided to start acting like a deranged lunatic. Our first exposure to this person was on CNN. He was crying and acting hysterically because the big bad scary Governor Cuomo had allegedly threatened him in a phone conversation. We’ve read the transcript and we cannot find the threat. Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo’s secretary, says he did not threaten Kim. We believe her. 

Apparently, in 2015 Ron Kim and some other members of the NY Assembly got together and wrote a bill about nail salons. He begged Gov. Cuomo to sign it. A few weeks later he went back to the Governor and begged for it to be reversed because the nail techs were not happy with the bill. The bill was not reversed and Kim has been having a temper tantrum ever since then. Our guess is that if he cannot reverse this bill he will not be re-elected because people are not happy with him. Kim has been trying to push the blame onto Gov. Cuomo to save his own job. He has also been going crazy on Twitter attacking the Governor and the Secretary to the Governor, Melissa DeRosa. This is completely inappropriate behavior for a civil servant. Oh, wait, Trump made this ok. Perhaps Kim should join the party that accepts this behavior? We don’t even know what Ron Kim stands for or what he has done with his life. All we know is he really hates Andrew Cuomo. Good job. It doesn't take special talent to hate someone. Even if it really is a whole lot! We are very worried this man is going to snap and someone is going to get hurt. 

Ron Kim also endorsed Andrew Yang, who is running for Mayor of New York City. Yang publicly called for Gov. Cuomo to resign. Shady Yang has a connection to Lindsey Boylan through Boylan’s husband, Leroy Kim. Leroy Kim used to work for Andrew Yang’s company Venture for America. They are all connected and united in their desperate attempt to take out Andrew Cuomo.

In addition, Ron Kim plans on running for Governor against Andrew Cuomo in 2022. How does he plan on doing this if he can’t handle anything? He runs his damn mouth and that is not what the voters are looking for. What has he accomplished? Nothing. Why should anyone vote for him? Because he’s not Andrew Cuomo and he hates him? Well, there are plenty of other people who fit in that category who would be more qualified. Perhaps a spider he stepped on 3 years ago?

We all used to love Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Both from New York. Yet, faced with the all-powerful Lindsey Boylan they crumbled in fear (sarcasm!). Personally, we had been so thankful for Schumer. Until he became Majority Leader and let Mitch McConnell walk all over him. He refused to stand up to him when McConnell insisted on a 50/50 split of power. We were not really familiar with Gillibrand except that she had called for our very own Al Franken to resign during his investigation. Well, Boylan issued a public threat against Schumer and Gillibrand because they had not made a public statement asking Gov. Cuomo to resign. She said she was going to blast them. They gave in and made their statements. And guess what?! Boylan ripped them to shreds anyway. This is why you do not negotiate with crazy people! She continues to criticize them to this day because they did not stop the alleged harassment while it was happening. Because they were her bodyguards…? These two Senators have yet to call for Matt Gaetz to resign and they never called for former President Donald Trump to resign. Why do they attack Democrats and not Republicans? Did they forget which team they are on!?

Senator Schumer is no stranger to sexual harassment allegations. In fact, in 2017 his daughter supposedly came forward and claimed Schumer was having a relationship with her 16-year-old friend. The story goes on to say that she killed herself 3 years after he ended it because he broke her heart. A fraudulent legal document even appeared on his desk. All of this was debunked and proven not true. However, it did cause quite a stir around Schumer and he explained it was nothing but a smear campaign. Yet, he was among the first to call for Gov. Cuomo to resign before anything had been thoroughly investigated. He should know better than anyone how people will make up false accusations. And he should know how much it hurts to go through this. 

Senator Gillibrand loves to point the finger at other politicians who fall victim to the #MeToo movement. But, what if we told you that she’s not so clean herself?  In 2019 she had a hot and heavy moment with Senator Cory Booker. Booker is from New Jersey. She approached him and patted him down while slyly saying it was too hot for him to wear his outfit. 

Then we look at another member of Congress, Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC). Shortly after admitting on an Instagram live that she was a survivor of sexual assault, she jumps up and calls for Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign. We have been hesitant to trust her. First of all, she was protesting minimum wage during President Biden’s inauguration. A man we assume she voted for. This is incredibly disrespectful to do during such a momentous occasion. There was also major confusion regarding whether she was at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, during the attempted coup. She was not there. She also abandoned her State during a blizzard in 2021 to help out Texas during their blackout. She raised millions of dollars to help out Texas despite the fact that Texas is a very rich state and New Yorkers could have really used that money. So while Andrew Cuomo was shoveling snow and staring at people with evil eyes (sarcasm) AOC ran from the state for a quick win. So AOC and Senator Ted Cruz both fled their States in the middle of a crisis? AOC also has yet to call for Matt Gaetz to resign and never asked Donald Trump to do so either. 

President Biden, however, has been relatively silent on this issue. Despite the fact that Lindsey Boylan also threatened him. Biden is not a man easily swayed or manipulated. That is one of the reasons why he is President. The only statement Biden made was that if the investigations found Andrew Cuomo guilty then he should resign. He supports due process and does not seem to want Governor Cuomo to resign. That says a lot. 

When we look at the current Mayor of New York City we see Bill de Blasio. Or wait, is that even his real name? He was born Warren Wilhelm Jr. Why did he change his whole name? Is he hiding something? It is no secret that he hates Governor Andrew Cuomo. In fact, when Cuomo last ran for Governor he endorsed the actress Cynthia Nixon. He isn’t so squeaky clean himself. He had the NYPD move his daughter out of her apartment in 2019. The NYPD is not a moving company and not there for politicians’ personal use. He was also investigated for discrepancies in his campaign fundraising in 2013. After a thorough investigation, he was cleared, but it does make you wonder why they looked in the first place? And if de Blasio hates Gov. Cuomo so much would he do something desperate to get him impeached or worse?

In 2018 de Blasio was also accused of being too forward with other female lawmakers. Some women came forward and complained that he greeted them with a forceful kiss on the cheek. It made them uncomfortable. And yet, he vehemently calls for Gov. Cuomo to resign?! Hypocrite. The only one resigning should be him. It’s no wonder he was booed off the stage at a Stop Asian Hate rally. He’s no one’s ally.  

NY Attorney General Leticia James opened the investigation into the allegations against Governor Cuomo. As the AG this is her job. However, the NY Assembly just had to keep up with her and open their own separate investigation. In order to do this, they had to go through the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Carl E. Heastie. Heastie is a very interesting person and we think you will agree that he has no place in politics, let alone as Speaker. It all started when Heastie’s mother got caught embezzling money from a home health care agency. Miraculously his mother died 3 weeks after she was convicted of embezzling said money. Perhaps we’ve seen too much Law and Order, but this doesn’t look good. She left him the apartment and he was instructed by a judge to sell the home and pay back the money. However, he was able to wait to do this until he would make a profit due to a paperwork error. The judge didn’t push the issue because his mother was dead. He made a net gain of $200,000 from the home due to this which he used to buy the house he currently lives in. 

Interestingly enough he was de Blasio’s choice for Speaker after his predecessor, Sheldon Silver resigned on corruption charges. Silver was convicted and is currently serving his sentence at Otisville in New York. Silver, much like Heastie, decided to take on Governor Spitzer over a prostitution scandal along with another Assemblyman. After Spitzer and the Assemblyman were cleared of all charges it went downhill for Silver. His 11 term reign came to an end. The lesson we learn is that if you are going to go after a New York Governor you must A. Make sure you win. B. Make sure that your record is squeaky clean. 

If we’re going to talk about Silver then we have to bring up our very own fellow Midwesterner Charles Lavine. Lavine was the head of the Ethics Committee in 2015, now it’s Ron Kim. Why should we care about Lavine? Well, he’s currently leading the impeachment probe against Gov. Cuomo. He is the one who set up the impeachment hotline for the Assembly’s investigation. Back in 2015, Lavine set out to indict the 3 men in a room. The 3 men in a room are the 3 most powerful people in New York, the Speaker of the Assembly, the Majority Leader of the State Senate, and the Governor. In 2015 Lavine is said to have bragged about successfully sending 2 of the men in the room to prison (Silver and Dean Skelos) and that he’d get the other man. Who people generally concur was Andrew Cuomo. That sounds an awful lot like a threat that took 6 years for Lavine to act on. Skelos was convicted of corruption and is currently serving out his sentence on house arrest after contracting Covid19. 

So way back in 2019, we know it seems like a lifetime ago, when Melissa DeRosa was Gov. Cuomo’s chief of staff, he had another secretary to the Governor by the name of Joe Percoco. Percoco was a Cuomo family friend. At former Governor Mario Cuomo’s funeral Andrew Cuomo referred to Percoco as Mario Cuomo’s 3rd son. However, Percoco is currently in prison for accepting bribes. Gov. Andrew Cuomo was not accused of any wrongdoing at this time. 

Who has been releasing all of this horrible misinformation? Why, Jesse McKinley of the New York Times, of course. He is also the Albany bureau chief. The NY Times, like the New York Post, is not a very reputable source of news. It is more like a tabloid, or even Fox News. In The Critic, which was on almost 30 years ago, they joke about the NY Post blatantly making up headlines. There is even a journalist who looks eerily similar to McKinley. There is no topic that is off-limits for McKinley. He has trashed his own ex-wife. He’s trashed Broadway. And his current pinata is Governor Cuomo. Every few days he has a new ridiculous inflammatory article about Andrew Cuomo. Some of them are actually quite entertaining. He’s clearly in the wrong business as a journalist, he should write fiction. He first came to our attention when he had an interview on New Day. It is common knowledge amongst social media that Jesse McKinley is a yellow journalist. This means that his content is fluff and cannot be factually confirmed. 

Why hasn’t McKinley said anything about Representative Tom Reed? Why hasn’t anyone addressed his scandal at all? In 2017 Reed was in our own great state of MN and out on the town with his staff. As he was enjoying himself in one of our Irish bars he got a bit too handsy with a young woman who worked for him and happened to be sitting next to him. She sprang to action and asked the person next to her for help and texted a friend. Which is exactly what she should have done. He was one of Cuomo’s competitors for Governor in 2022, but not anymore. 

None of these whoppers about nursing homes or disgruntled ladies have seemed to gain any traction. It’s as if the more they try, the stupider they look. Like they are trying to hold water in their hands. So of course we couldn’t have a true story about this awkward, weird situation if we didn’t bring up the vague attempt of blaming Gov. Cuomo for some safety issues regarding the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York, which has been renamed the Mario Cuomo Bridge. Some bolts came loose and they claimed this was Gov. Cuomo’s fault. The feds have since inspected it and declared it completely safe. Now, coming from MN this is utter nonsense. When our 35W bridge collapsed in 2007 and 13 people died and 145 were injured no one blamed Governor Tim Pawlenty. Reaching much? Nice try though. 

This situation wouldn’t be complete unless they brought in Andrew Cuomo’s little brother, our friend, Chris Cuomo. You may know him from Cuomo Prime Time on CNN and Let’s Get After It on SiriusXM. Much like the two of us, they have to get into trouble together. Almost exactly one year ago, on March 31st, 2020 Chris received a blow that would shape New York’s history forever. He was diagnosed with Covid19. The claim is that Gov. Cuomo gave his family, including Chis, priority testing for Covid19. The Sheriff has since debunked that. Remember, Chris was an essential worker and Gov. Cuomo set up free testing sites for all New Yorkers throughout the state. So, people didn’t want to get tested and were mad they were being forced to be tested, but now they’re angry Cuomo’s family may have received the tests they didn’t want? Make sense people! It’s not true anyway. 

Then we get to the stupid book. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) files a complaint against Gov. Cuomo for using his campaign to sell the book and his staff to help write it. Cuomo’s staff ardently state that they volunteered their time to help write the book and were not paid. Gov. Cuomo says that he did not pocket any money and gave the proceeds to charity. Compared to the corruption charges that other New York politicians have actually been convicted of this is nothing. It also pales in comparison to Donald Trump’s use of campaign funds and the illegal use of The White House for rallies. 

What can we learn from this? Well, first, reality is stranger than fiction. And then we learn that when allegations come up against a high-profile politician certain names come up over and over again that seemingly have nothing to do with the situation. Such as the attorney Preet Bharara. Bharara was nominated by Former President Barack Obama to be the Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He was sworn into that position on August 13, 2009. We know him because he worked with CNN and frequently spoke on their shows. He was also a former advisor to Chuck Schumer. His name comes up in many of these court cases in New York’s history. He was asked to run for Attorney General but declined. Leticia James now has that job. He investigated Larry Seabrook, who was Carl E. Heastie’s former mentor. Bharara also investigated Sheldon Silver. And he also led the investigation against Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2018 over sexual harassment claims. He has also investigated Gov. Cuomo in the past. Yet, he is not involved at this time, that we know of. He is responsible for several high-profile politicians going to prison. He honestly makes us nervous as he has called out Gov. Cuomo, accusing him of manipulating the investigation. We do not know if he still works for CNN or not.

Nothing is as black and white as it seems. When investigating any complaint it is important to find out who would benefit from said person being found guilty. Is there anyone else who may be behind the claims? Is someone perhaps manipulating people to complain for some nefarious reason? Every complaint should be taken seriously and investigated, however, this has been taken too far. Just like when Trump could offer no proof of voter fraud, these people have been able to provide no evidence to verify their accusations against Governor Andrew Cuomo. It’s time to end this madness and take out the garbage.

We hope that you enjoyed this piece. We put a lot of time and effort into researching this. It took us days. Please support our work by subscribing to our YouTube channel and sharing our videos and articles with your friends and family! If you have any tips for us please email them to thegalafam@gmail.com.