Monday, July 18, 2016

Cuomo Aide Refuses to Release Emails Related to Economic Development Contracts


An aide to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo refuses to make public a trove of records that could shed light on the state’s economic development contracts, including the Buffalo Billion contracts that have sparked a federal investigation.

Mongthu Zago, the governor’s Freedom of Information Law officer, recently denied The Buffalo News’ request for phone logs, visitor logs, calendar entries and other notes that were created during the normal course of business – and would have been sent to federal prosecutors in Manhattan to respond to their subpoena.

Zago said the records can be withheld under New York’s Open Records Law because they were compiled  for law enforcement purposes and would somehow interfere with a criminal investigation, specifically the “publicly disclosed ongoing law enforcement investigation with which we have offered our cooperation,” she told The News in a denial letter.

While The News intends to appeal, one of the state’s foremost authorities on New York’s sunshine laws, Robert J. Freeman, finds flaws in Zago’s reasoning. 

Click here for the full article.

Source: The Buffalo News and the Empire Report New York

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