10 March 2021: SUNY Chancellor Dodges Questions About Role in Doctoring Data in NY DOH Report

Cuomo's Nursing Home Scandal Raises Questions for One of His Senior Aides

This report reveals how Cuomo adviser Jim Malatras contributed to the New York Department of Health's report, ensuring it did not acknowledge the full extent of COVID-19 deaths among New York nursing home residents. After it was written, he was awarded a job as chancellor of the State University of New York.

The reporters wanted to see if he had anything to add in the face of the recent revelations of the doctoring of the data used in the report. Spoiler alert: he declined to answer:

ProPublica contacted Malatras again this week, and asked why he hadn't previously disclosed the removal of the hospital deaths from last July's report, whether he'd agreed at the time with the decision to remove the additional deaths, and whether he stood by the integrity of the health department's work and his defense of it.

Citing ongoing federal and state investigations into the Cuomo administration's handling of the COVID-19 crisis in the state's nursing homes, Malatras issued a short statement: "Thank you for your follow up. As I'm sure you can appreciate, given the nature of the various inquiries, I'm not going to respond to any questions beyond what I said the other day. My focus and my energies are on my job as Chancellor of SUNY, which I will continue to do every day."

It seems Maltras' appointment to that position was somewhat irregular, raising red flags:

Lawmakers from both major parties raised alarms about the appointment of Malatras, objecting to the decision not to conduct a national search and questioning whether someone so close to Cuomo could truly be an independent protector of the state university system. The Board of Trustees was unmoved.

Since Governor Andrew Cuomo has been in office since 2011, it's a fair bet nearly all appointed to serve on SUNY's board owe their position on the board to him.