California Paid 45 Percent Less For COVID Tests NY Bought From Hochul Donor; Hochul Gave Elite Access —and Results — to Campaign Donors: Emails, and other C-Virus related stories

Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

California paid 45 percent less for COVID tests NY bought from Hochul donor:

California paid 45% less for the same COVID-19 tests that New York state bought from a company tied to $300,000 in campaign donations to Gov. Kathy Hochul — and watchdogs are calling for answers.

“The more we know the worse it looks,” John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany, said while renewing his call for an investigation into the $637 million in state business paid to the New Jersey-based Digital Gadgets.

“This is a big deal. There is a lot of money and it looks really, really bad and there is a dark cloud of pay-to-play hanging over this – and it’s not going to go away.”

The revelation, first reported by the Times Union, that New York taxpayers getting soaked on the test purchases is just the latest instance of alleged corruption involving the Democratic incumbent ahead of the Nov. 8 election.

Kaehny is hardly the only Albany watcher calling for state or federal officials to probe how the New Jersey-based Digital Gadgets was able to charge the state nearly twice as much for rapid tests as the Omicron variant swept across the state last year.

“New Yorkers are supposed to believe it’s pure coincidence Gov. Hochul bought COVID tests for $12.25 apiece from a major donor, when other companies offered tests at half that price?” Assembly Minority Leader William Barclay (R-Oswego) said in a statement.

“This is negligence, incompetence or blatant corruption — maybe all three. Either way, it demands answers,” he added. --->READ MORE HERE

Hochul gave elite access —and results — to campaign donors: emails:

Top aides to Gov. Hochul offered boutique access and customer service to elite deep-pocketed donors keen on furthering their business interests in the state, a review of emails shows.

The 161 pages of emails show a vibrant buyer’s market for those willing to pony up for the governor’s reelection campaign. So far, Hochul has hauled in $34 million for her campaign, and is on pace to snag tens of millions more by election day.

In December 2021, Robert Trobe, a former deputy commissioner for the city’s Department of Family and Adult Services, was in deep discussions with Team Hochul about a campaign fundraiser he was organizing among non-profit organizations. Trobe now serves as vice president at Alliant Insurance Services.

“If we fix the minimum contribution at $250 and get an average per participant contribution of $300, I think we should be able to raise $30,000 to $50,000,” Trobe emailed Mackenzie Wasilick, finance chief of staff for Hochul’s campaign committee.

The trove of emails, whose content was first reported by the Albany Times Union, was obtained by The Post.

But Trobe wanted something in return: Hochul to come out in favor of a cost-of-living increase for state-contracted human services workers, who assist New Yorkers combating various forms of addiction. --->READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:

Leaked docs show Hochul milked donors of more than $1M just after Buffalo massacre

Republicans push Gov. Kathy Hochul to accept Lee Zeldin debate

USA TODAY: Coronavirus Updates

WSJ: Coronavirus Live Updates

YAHOO NEWS: Coronavirus Live Updates

NEW YORK POST: Coronavirus The Latest

If you like what you see, please "Like" and/or Follow us on FACEBOOK here, GETTR here, and TWITTER here.