New York State’s Top Ethics Board Packed with Cuomo Allies

The Utica Observer-Dispatch has this article, describing how “at least five of the seven top executives and investigators at the Joint Commission on Public Ethics have worked for Cuomo.”

Governor Cuomo has worked hard to establish his bona fides as an real ethical reformer, so the fact that he has packed JCOPE executive ranks with his allies presents few immediate concerns.  Presumably, the Governor will be able to rely upon his friends at JCOPE to help clean up Albany.

But this concentration of power may set a dangerous precedent under future Governors who may be less interested in ethics enforcement.  It also raises the specter of possible selective and/or politically-motivated prosecution of ethics investigations.