NEW YORK — New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is demanding yet another probe into Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his administration.
Cuomo is already facing an attorney general’s investigation into sexual harassment claims, a federal probe into his withholding the release of data on COVID-19 nursing home deaths and a state Assembly impeachment inquiry — not to mention questions about the structural integrity of the bridge named after his father.
To top that all off, longtime Cuomo ally Larry Schwartz came under fire Sunday for contacting county officials to gauge their political support of Cuomo while also discussing the distribution of vaccines, raising the question of whether he was tying the two things together.
“What we’ve heard from the governor and his team trying to link vaccine supply to political support — that is the definition of corruption,” de Blasio said Monday morning. “It is disgusting. It is dangerous. There are lives on the line, and it cannot be tolerated.”
De Blasio noted that he hasn’t spoken directly with Cuomo in weeks and called for a “full investigation” into Schwartz’s conversations with county officials, which were first reported by The Washington Post and The New York Times.
“I’ll tell you something. Better not call me. Because I’ll tell him what he can do with that,” de Blasio said. “It’s unacceptable, and we are not going to stand for it. And if we see any effort to reduce the vaccine supply to New York City as political retribution, we will bring it right out in the open.”
Two county executives have said that Schwartz contacted them in recent weeks to talk about Cuomo’s political situation, the Times reported. During one of those conversations, Schwartz then changed gears to discuss vaccine distribution. On the other call, Schwartz contacted the official immediately after another administration official had called about vaccine distribution.
Beth Garvey, the governor’s acting counsel, defended Schwartz.
“Any suggestion that he acted in any way unethically or in any way other than in the best interest of the New Yorkers that he selflessly served is patently false,” she said.
