Saturday, September 24, 2022

Hochul declared COVID emergency days after donor tied to $637M rapid-test deal held fundraiser; Hochul stands by Medicaid contractor tied to campaign donations that feds say cost taxpayers up to $195 million; Evidence of Hochul pay-to-play outrage mounts, and other C-Virus related stories

Carlo Allegri/Reuters
Hochul declared COVID emergency days after donor tied to $637M rapid-test deal held fundraiser
Political donor Charle Tebele hosted a campaign fundraiser for Gov. Kathy Hochul last November — just four days before she declared a state of emergency that paved the way for his company to receive $637 million in no-bid state contracts.
The stunning revelation — uncovered by the Times Union on Tuesday — has sparked renewed calls for state or federal officials to investigate the alleged pay-to-play scheme involving New Jersey-based distributor Digital Gadgets, which was inked just weeks after the Nov. 22 fundraiser.
The state bought 52 million tests from Digital Gadgets at roughly twice the price paid by places like California that bought directly from a manufacturer — all while Tebele and family members funneled $300,000 to Hochul’s campaign.
“Kathy Hochul gave a no-bid $600M+ contract to a top campaign supporter after she unilaterally suspended NY’s competitive bidding law. The same day the donor offered to be the middle man for the COVID tests, Hochul agreed to pay twice the price,” her Republican challenger, US Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) of Suffolk County, tweeted Tuesday.
“Where’s the AG, DA, & Comptroller?” he added. --->READ MORE HERE
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Hochul stands by Medicaid contractor tied to campaign donations that feds say cost taxpayers up to $195 million:
Gov. Kathy Hochul is standing by a contractor — tied to more than $100,000 in donations to her campaign — that federal probers say botched the Medicaid transportation program in New York City, potentially costing taxpayers as much as $195 million in paybacks to the US government.
The recent US Department of Health and Human Services inspector general report ordered the state to reimburse the federal government for at least $84.3 million in state Medicaid payments because of a lack of record keeping to justify billing for transport services for Medicaid patients during the calendar years 2018 and 2019.
Medical Answering Services was the chief contractor that served as the state Health Department’s “transportation manager” to supervise and arrange transportation services with providers — such as taxi rides and ambulette services — during the period and its contract with the state for the Big Apple region was extended through November 2023.
As The Post previously reported, the firm’s owner, Russ Maxwell and his spouse, Morgan McDole, have dropped more than $300,000 combined into the campaign coffers of Hochul, of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Hochul-controlled state Democratic Party.
The couple has also dumped more than $100,000 combined into the campaign coffers of Hochul, as governor and before that lieutenant governor under Cuomo — and the Hochul-controlled state Democratic Committee. They have dropped another $236,000 into Cuomo’s coffers over the years.
The firm has been awarded more than $400 million in state contracts since 2011. --->READ MORE HERE
Follow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:

Evidence of Hochul pay-to-play outrage mounts

How much in favors does $34 million in donations buy, governor?

USA TODAY: Coronavirus Updates

WSJ: Coronavirus Live Updates

YAHOO NEWS: Coronavirus Live Updates

NEW YORK POST: Coronavirus The Latest

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