Albany ethics reform proposals ignore warnings of former JCOPE commissioner Ravi Batra

Ravi Batra : Albany makes sacred honor live in a spittoon

As Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-New York) negotiate ethics reforms up in Albany, Ravi Batra, a former JCOPE commissioner, says Albany wrongly refuses to grant ethics regulators the independence they need.

“If it wasn't for U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's righteous indignation for being used as a prop to sell the public a farce by Andrew Cuomo, there would be no Shelly Silver indictment or the latest hyperventilated reform proposals by a control-infected Albany,” Mr. Batra told Progress Queens.

The "Three Men In A Room" in Albany are negotiating ethics reforms in this year's state budget as U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is investigating Albany officials. Albany keeps proposing incremental reforms, which have enforcement mechanisms that deliberately lack independence, charges attorney Ravi Batra.

READ MORE As Cuomo negotiates ethics reforms, Albany proposals ignore warnings of former JCOPE commissioner Ravi Batra (Progress Queens)

Bloomberg Thanks Quinn For Use Of Discretion Over Slush Funds

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said yesterday that the slush fund operated by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn was thankfully no longer the subject of public scorn, unlike the slush fund being operated by New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Cuomo's Obsession With Secrecy

Governor Andrew "Control Queen" Cuomo

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is removing government records from the State Archives, and he is even going to so far as to destroying electronic records and denying public access to government information.

"The governor’s aides have also tried to withhold, possibly for decades, public documents created during his previous job as attorney general. Earlier this year, according to recent reports, his staff scrambled to deny public access to some documents in the State Archives after reporters from The Times Union of Albany received a box of papers relating to the so-called Troopergate investigation by Mr. Cuomo in 2007. Josh Vlasto, the governor’s spokesman, said the files were private and were released in error by the state archivist," wrote The New York Times in an editorial.

Read more : Governor Cuomo at the Controls