Andrew's cousin lobbied state

From the Daily News:

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's cousin tried to help a client cash in on state pension fund business last year - a move made amid the attorney general's probe of a pay-to-play scandal.

Matthew Cuomo set up a June 23, 2009, meeting for Advanced Recovery - an upstate electronic-equipment recycling firm seeking a $5 million pension fund investment - with state Controller Thomas DiNapoli.

His face-to-face meeting marked one of the rare times last year that DiNapoli met with an investment-seeking company, a copy of his 2009 schedule shows.

Andrew Cuomo, who is running for governor, has for three years been investigating pension fund shenanigans under disgraced former Controller Alan Hevesi.

Firms wanting to do business with the fund were often forced to fork over campaign donations or kickbacks to Hevesi's political consultant, Hank Morris.

Andrew Cuomo is also targeting unlicensed politically connected middlemen who were paid big bucks by companies to help them get pension fund business.

Matthew Cuomo, a lawyer, said he was "outside counsel" for the upstate Port Jervis company. He was hired despite having no background or certification in the securities industry.

Asked why an outside counsel with no securities background was needed to pitch a multimillion-dollar investment deal, Matthew Cuomo said, "I think I know how to get in touch with people and contact people and make a pitch and that's all I was able to do - get to the right people and make the pitch for the client."

Hey, how's that Claire Shulman investigation going? Oh, wait, Bloomberg endorsed you. Never mind.