Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Cuomo uses public aircraft for private trips

From the Huffington Post:

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo used state aircraft for 16 flights to or from his home following statewide tours in which he called for belt-tightening and budget cuts for schools and other services, records show.

Cuomo used state aircraft far less than his predecessors and there is no record of any politicking or fundraising in the trips, according to records obtained by The Associated Press under the state Freedom of Information Law.

The records show Cuomo used a state plane or helicopter to return to suburban Westchester County at the end of statewide tours 16 times from when he took office in January through June, the end of his first legislative session. He used aircraft 23 times during the period.

The state aircraft were then flown from Westchester, where Cuomo lives with his girlfriend and Food Network star Sandra Lee, to the capital of Albany to return the aircraft to their hangar as required.

The governor uses the aircraft only for "official events" and that includes Cuomo's trips to his suburban Westchester home, which the Democrat lists as his official address, Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto said Saturday. Lee owns the home, and Cuomo's daughters live there much of the time. For travel purposes, however, the executive mansion in Albany is considered a governor's home.

State ethics officials have made it clear in past advisory opinions that state aircraft should not be used essentially for commuting.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Whats worse and not being told here is the cost of the airports services. Those can easily exceed the cost of operating a jet/chopper for 70 mile puddle jumps.
A jet to go Westchester-Albany ?

Now add ground transportation (limos) to and from the airport.
What a HUGE waste of money to save an hour.

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't bend over to pick up the bar of soap I'd just dropped....if it meant turning my back on Andy!

Otherwise....WHAAAAMMM!

Anonymous said...

Isn't it cool how both parties got together to elect this mafia grandson?