STATEMENT FROM BOB COHEN
The findings in the state Inspector General’s bombshell report on the bidding process for selecting a VLT operator at Aqueduct race course are appalling. While I am disgusted that politicians can’t even manage to keep their unethical activities within the bounds of Albany’s already lenient rules, what’s more distressing is that it happened right under Senator Oppenheimer’s nose and she didn’t have a clue.
The people implicated in this report are her long-time colleagues, her party leaders that she voted to put there. Indeed, she is a member of the so-called Ethics Committee that Senator Sampson chairs and his name is all over this report. I, for one, would like to know if she will continue to support them as the leaders of her conference.
From the beginning, Albany’s career politicians rigged the process, placing personal and political gain ahead of the taxpayers. Again, New Yorkers will pay millions for Albany’s incompetence and face further embarrassment from their state government. And again, Senator Oppenheimer is asleep at the switch and it is costing taxpayers millions.