Andrew Cuomo’s taxpayer-funded defense lawyers are throwing him a fundraiser.
New York Focus obtained an invitation to the leading mayoral candidate’s event, scheduled for Thursday afternoon at the Manhattan office of the Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello law firm.
The invite was circulated this week to members of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers. Three of the event’s co-hosts — Rita Glavin, Theresa Trzaskoma, and Elkan Abramowitz — defended the former governor against sexual harassment allegations and a federal probe into his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. Another, Catherine Foti, defended his top aides, though never Cuomo himself. The fifth — personal injury lawyer Joe Belluck, who who served as a special counsel under former Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and shared the list of co-hosts with New York Focus — said he has never represented Cuomo or any state government official.
In the wake of a bombshell 2021 report finding Cuomo had sexually harassed multiple women, Glavin held a series of media briefings alleging shoddy work by investigators and bias from Attorney General Letita James. Glavin also sought to poke holes in the report and the account of Cuomo’s accusers, at times successfully. Taxpayers have paid Glavin’s firm, Glavin PLLC, $5.68 million to represent Cuomo.
Trzaskoma also represented Cuomo against the sexual harassment allegations. Her firm, Sher Tremonte, got $6.4 million in taxpayer funds.
Sher Tremont and Glavin PLLC are representing Cuomo in at least one ongoing sexual harassment case — filed by a member of Cuomo’s Protective Service Unit — meaning that taxpayers will continue to pay their bills on Cuomo’s behalf while they fundraise for him.
“These lawyers — and New Yorkers — saw first hand the injustice that was done.”
—Rich Azzopardi, Cuomo Spokesperson
Abramowitz represented Cuomo during a federal prosecutor’s probe into a scandal around Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes, and his firm represented Cuomo’s office in two other major scandals before that, receiving $6 million in state cash for the work. Foti, who is also a partner at Morvillo Abramowitz, represented top Cuomo aides Rich Azzopardi and Melissa DeRosa in the civil lawsuits.
From 2013 to 2021, Cuomo’s executive chamber signed three contracts with Morvillo Abramowitz, paying the law firm a total of $6 million, according to state records. None of the other co-hosts’ law firms received state contracts from Cuomo’s office.
After leaving office, Cuomo faced multiple lawsuits from women who accused him of sexual harassment. The allegations stemmed from Cuomo’s time holding public office, and a provision in state law enabled Cuomo to recoup millions in legal fees.
All of the $12 million in collective payments to Glavin and Sher Tremonte came from taxpayer reimbursements of Cuomo’s legal fees, which were issued after he left office. The payments did not stem from state contracts awarded while he was governor. Morvillo Abramowitz, which represented Cuomo aides DeRosa and Azzopardi, has been paid an additional $1.3 million through reimbursements.
According to a recent analysis by Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office, taxpayers have paid $18 million to fund legal bills for Cuomo and top advisors related to civil sexual harassment cases.
Some of Cuomo’s opponents, including city Comptroller Brad Lander, have called on him to return the funds.
Cuomo was not charged as a result of any of the investigations.
“These lawyers — and New Yorkers — saw first hand the injustice that was done and know that Governor Cuomo is the one with the experience and record needed to save this city in crisis,” said Cuomo campaign spokesperson Rich Azzopardi. “And frankly, you can’t have a better validation than from the people who best know the facts.”
Morvillo Abramowitz, the firm hosting Thursday’s fundraiser, represented Cuomo in response to a 2021 federal investigation into his administration’s underreporting of nursing home deaths related to Covid-19. Before that, it represented the Cuomo administration in response to a 2014 federal investigation into his alleged meddling with and shuttering of the anti-corruption Moreland Commission. Cuomo’s campaign paid the law firm $670,000 in that instance. Neither investigation resulted in criminal charges.
The firm also represented his office in 2016, when the federal government investigated alleged bid-rigging in upstate development projects, including Cuomo’s signature “Buffalo Billion” initiative. That investigation resulted in multiple criminal trials and the conviction of former top Cuomo aide Joe Percoco, which was reversed by the US Supreme Court in 2023.
The lawyers have received scrutiny for the tactics they employed on behalf of their client. Glavin requested the gynecological records of one woman who leveled an accusation against Cuomo, and she and Trzaskoma attempted to impose a gag order on the woman’s lawyers to prevent them from discussing the tens of millions of dollars taxpayers shelled out for his legal defense. Foti was part of a team that publicized a transcript of that woman’s testimony that a judge said should have been kept confidential.
The fundraiser does not violate campaign finance rules, according to John Kaehny, executive director of the watchdog group Reinvent Albany. “Overall, the biggest donors and intermediaries are the people that benefit the most from state contracts or policy,” Kaehny said.
Law firms commonly host fundraisers for politicians, and Cuomo is no exception. According to a person familiar with his fundraising efforts, other firms set to host Cuomo fundraisers include Paul Weiss, Sullivan & Cromwell, and Greenberg Traurig, a law firm that also has a major Albany lobbying operation.
Cuomo announced his candidacy this month and has a significant lead in early polling. The Democratic primary will be held in June.