18 September 2021: Former Cuomo Aide Who Became State Inspector General Resigns

State inspector general resigns amid controversy

A former Cuomo aide who became the New York State Inspector General read the writing on the wall and has chosen to resign. This report describes the circumstances influencing her choice to resign now:

State Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro, a longtime aide to former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, has resigned from her post as the executive branch's top internal-affairs watchdog, according to her office.

Her resignation was effective Friday, according to spokesman Lee Park. The inspector general's office is empowered to investigate wrongdoing by state employees across the vast network of state agencies under the governor's control.

Tagliafierro's departure comes less than a month after Cuomo's resignation and two weeks after a majority of the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics voted to ask state Attorney General Letitia James to investigate the conduct of the inspector general's office in its probe of an illegal leak of confidential information from JCOPE to Cuomo in January 2019.

Earlier this week, James rejected JCOPE's referral of that matter as well as the ethics panel's request to see the attorney general's office investigate the leak itself. James cited what she concluded was JCOPE's failure to follow rules that require gubernatorial appointees to approve investigations that involve the governor. On Tuesday, the commissioners voted again to approve the referral of the leak investigation — and mustered a sufficient number of gubernatorial appointees to support it — but failed to sustain the referral regarding the performance of Tagliafierro's office....

Former JCOPE Commissioner Julie Garcia, who first reported the leak, told a state Senate panel earlier this month that the inspector general’s office was either “incompetent or corrupt” in its 2019 investigation of the apparent disclosure.

When given a choice, many like Tagliafierro choose to resign rather than risk being fired in similar circumstances. Andrew M. Cuomo certainly did.

State inspector general resigns

Speaking of "writing on the wall", City and State NY's coverage of the story emphasizes the 'cause and effect' of the events preceding Tagliafierro's resignation:

State Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro, a longtime ally of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has stepped down, according to an email from Tagliafierro to staff obtained by City & State. In her resignation email, Tagliafierro said she had a good experience as inspector general, but did not offer an explanation for her exit nor an indication of who may replace her. A spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul confirmed she received Tagliafierro’s resignation letter and said that Chief Deputy Inspector General Robyn Adair will serve as acting inspector general until Hochul picks a replacement.

The resignation comes amid renewed criticism of Tagliafierro over an investigation into an alleged 2019 leak from the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics. At the time, Cuomo somehow learned how individual commissioners voted in a private executive session held around the time JCOPE was deciding whether to investigate the ex-governor’s top aide Joe Percoco. The inspector general’s office secretly looked into the alleged leak in early 2019, but could not substantiate the complaint. Tagliafierro, despite having recused herself since she was a former JCOPE executive director, came under scrutiny when details about the investigation emerged showing her office interviewed neither Cuomo nor Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, whom Cuomo allegedly contacted about the private vote.

The leak and subsequent inspector general probe may become the subject of a criminal investigation after JCOPE twice voted to refer the issue to the state attorney general.

JCOPE's second vote passed the threshold set by New York's state attorney's general for initiating a criminal investigation of the Inspector General's role in the 2019 leak probe. We think the action is likely what directly precipitated Tagliafierro's sudden departure from power.