While authorities probe Mayor Bill de Blasio's fundraising practices, Governor Andrew Cuomo's office has confirmed that they, too, are the target of a federal investigation.
After denying for months that his office is being investigated by the US attorney, Cuomo's chief counsel confirmed that after receiving a subpoena today, the executive chamber is now under federal investigation.
At issue is the governor's signature economic development plan for western New York, known as the "Buffalo billion."
The administration is appointing its own independent investigator, Attorney Bart Schwartz, to conduct an internal review of the Buffalo billion program.
In a statement, Schwartz said, "The state has reason to believe that in ceratin programs and regulatory approvals they may have been defrauded by impropoer bidding and failures to disclose potential conflicts of interest by lobbyists and former state employees."
The Cuomo administration statement released Friday night came moments after the New York Daily News reported that longtime aide to Cuomo Joe Percoco may have been receiving unreported income from someone connected to the Buffalo billion project by serving as a consultant while simulatneously wokring for the governor. NY1 has since confirmed that information.
Percoco was very close to the Cuomo family, having once worked for Andrew Cuomo's father former Governor Mario Cuomo. He left his job with the current Cuomo administration earlier this year.
A source close to Cuomo told NY1 over the phone that members of the adminstration are "shocked and at a loss for words" about the allegations against Percoco.