WXXI: Cuomo Probes Member Items (2008-04-29)

On a day dedicated to reform in Albany, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says he's been busy sifting through thousands of legislative member items, also known to critics as pork barrel spending, and has found that many don't stand up to scrutiny.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, addressing advocates on a reform lobby day, says he's progressing with an inquiry into the thousands of legislative member items. Member items are grants allotted to individual lawmakers and legislative leaders to fund pet projects in their communities, ranging from Little League to senior citizen centers.

Cuomo, under an agreement made last year with legislative leaders, now has the right to require verification of the individual member items. He says, so far he's gone over 3785 of the grants. 42% of the contracts have been rejected until further questions are answered.

Cuomo says he found a number of problems with the proposed grants, including contracts with not- for- profits that had not filed with the state charities bureau, which is required under law. Other grants were for operating expenses, which are not considered a public purpose. Some funds were designated for businesses, but the Attorney General says it wasn't clear that the money would benefit anyone other than the particular company getting the money.

Recipients of the member item grants now have to attest in writing that there are no conflicts of interest, like having a relative work for the organization, and must verify that the money truly goes for a public purpose. If the recipient does not tell the truth, they could be charged with perjury.

"There's an old expression 'locks keep honest people honest'," said Cuomo. "Knowing that someone is going to review the contract and review the process in and of itself increases compliance."

Cuomo says he has not heard back from many of the groups. And he says nearly 2500 of the designated grants from last year have not been submitted to his office at all, meaning that the money will remain in limbo. Afterward, the Attorney General would not characterize the member item allocations as fraudulent. He says there is simply no way to know that right now.

"You're hard pressed to find a government program or private sector program that doesn't have some level of fraud," said Cuomo, who said he's brought new scrutiny to the member item grants.

"People are now looking at those certifications and they're thinking twice before they sign them," Cuomo said. "As they should."

Cuomo would not make the list of the contracts for proposed grantees public, because he says he's still in negotiations with them.

A number of member items have come into question in recent years, including grants that went to organizations run by relatives of lawmakers. One Assemblyman, Brian McLaughlin of Queens, was charged with, among other things, skimming $95,000 from a Little League fund that he'd set up using member item grants.

The Attorney General does not have the power to review grants handed out by the New York City Council, which have come under increased scrutiny over a scandal involving phantom not for profits in the office of the City Council Speaker. Cuomo says if those grants were subject to the new rules set up for state legislative member items, they would not have been approved.