Elkan tells him

that since he, Andrew Cuomo, has the power to close Nassau , a public benefit corporation, on Roman Catholic Easter Sunday and Palm Sunday in preference to Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday and Palm Sunday, see NY Const Art 1, Sec. 3, that he has nothing to fear and should get on his chariot and ride!

NY needs competent crooks with character and long range vision.

Claude Solnik

(631) 913-4244

Long Island Business News

2150 Smithtown Ave.

Ronkonkoma, NY 11779-7348 

Home > LI Confidential > Stop scratching on holidays

Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012

Andrew Cuomo hires criminal lawyer to represent governor's office as scandal over Moreland anti-corruption commission grows: sources

EXCLUSIVE: Cuomo hired prominent white collar criminal defense lawyer Elkan Abramowitz in May to represent the governor’s office, sources told The News. Cuomo’s top aides, Secretary to the Governor Larry Schwartz and counsel Mylan Denerstein, have also hired their own personal attorneys, the sources said.

BY Kenneth Lovett

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Thursday, July 31, 2014, 12:54 PM

Updated: Friday, August 1, 2014, 12:35 AM

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Gary Wiepert/AP Gov. Cuomo has lawyered up as the scandal over the handling of his Moreland anti-corruption commission has grown

ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo has lawyered up in response to the growing scandal over the way he handled his anti-corruption commission, the Daily News has learned.
Cuomo hired prominent white-collar criminal defense lawyer Elkan Abramowitz in May to represent the governor’s office in U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s probe into the administration’s dealings with the Moreland Commission, sources told The News.
Cuomo’s top aides, Secretary to the Governor Larry Schwartz and counsel Mylan Denerstein, have also hired their own personal attorneys, the sources said. Cuomo separately has sought advice from several lawyers, the sources said.
Abramowitz confirmed to The News, which first broke the story on nydailynews.com, that he was hired to represent the executive chamber. He said he is serving in much the same role Denerstein might have filled if she wasn’t a potential witness in Bharara’s probe. Denerstein, who is leaving the administration soon, is scheduled to meet with Bharara’s investigators sometime this month.
Cuomo said Thursday he is done talking about the Moreland Commission scandal while Bharara is investigating. His office had no comment on the hiring of Abramowitz, who also reps filmmaker Woody Allen.

Joe Marino/New York Daily News Cuomo's counsel Mylan Denerstein who is set to soon leave the administration, is scheduled to meet with U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s (pictured) office sometime this month.

The governor apparently irked Bharara with what appeared to be a coordinated effort Monday to beat back criticism that Cuomo and his aides meddled with the panel. On a day Cuomo was set to face the press for the first time since the controversy reignited last week, four commission members released statements defending the governor’s actions.
That led Bharara to send an ominous letter Wednesday night to the lawyer representing the panel, warning that he might investigate whether the Cuomo administration engaged in obstruction of justice or witness tampering.
The letter was first reported by The New York Times.
Cuomo responded with a statement Thursday that said he was merely seeking to address “numerous inaccuracies.” Cuomo also said he’s now done talking.

Mike Groll/AP Cuomo said Thursday he is done talking about the Moreland Commission scandal while Bharara is still investigating.

“As I believe the U.S. attorney has made it clear that ongoing public dialogue is not helpful to his investigation, we will have no additional comment on the matter,” Cuomo said in a statement.
Some commission members were shocked that the governor’s desire for control — which put him in hot water in the first place — got the best of him again.
“I believe he p----- off the U.S. attorney and something that might have gone away is not going to go away so easily,” said one commissioner. “Never pick a fight with a U.S. attorney.”

Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.