According to two people familiar with the talks, federal prosecutors are investigating whether Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration had preferential access to rapid coronavirus test results for the governor’s family and other prominent people. Investigators from the Eastern District of New York were looking into Mr. Cuomo’s office’s handling of data on nursing home deaths. According to the people, their attention has recently shifted to concerns about a priority research programmed that benefited Mr. Cuomo’s close family members, including his brother, Chris Cuomo, in the early weeks of the pandemic.
According to two people familiar with the tests who spoke to The New York Times, Giorgio DeRosa, a top Albany lobbyist and the father of the governor’s most senior aide, Melissa DeRosa, was among those who got exclusive access to testing and fast results during that period. In the early weeks of the pandemic, the governor’s family and others were given preferential access to research, according to the governor’s office.
But, according to The New York Times, the preferential care for Mr. Cuomo’s family has lasted much longer than previously thought, at least until last month. One of Mr. Cuomo’s daughters, Mariah Kennedy Cuomo, and her partner, TellefLundevall, were screened at a state-run site in Albany, N.Y., on April 3, the day before Easter, and the samples were classified a priority — “specials,” as they were known within the Health Department — before being rushed for testing at the state’s Wadsworth Center laboratory nearby.
According to two people familiar with the situation, the samples were analyzed within hours. They were given priority for a personal reason: they were visiting the governor for the holidays. The couple’s special care highlighted how a device designed to ensure quick test results for high-priority situations, such as those involving potential outbreaks, was repeatedly used for Mr. Cuomo’s immediate family and other powerful people.
Research is now commonly accessible in New York, unlike at the start of the pandemic. According to the two people, when the samples for Mr. Cuomo’s daughter and Mr. Lundvall were sent to the state’s top lab in a hurry last month, people within the Health Department were frustrated. The request came only days after it was revealed that the governor’s family had been treated similarly last year.
Mr. Cuomo’s executive staff and guests are regularly screened on a portable rapid evaluation system, either at the Capitol or at the governor’s mansion — a practice often used at the White House and other state chambers. However, since it was Easter weekend, no one was available to run the computer for the governor’s daughter and her partner, according to state officials.
The couple’s use of the priority system at Wadsworth was unusual, and others in the Health Department were concerned that the governor’s family was once again receiving care not available to other New Yorkers. Health officials were perplexed as to why the pair had not sought testing at one of the many locations now available in New York. The couple did not respond to a request for comment.
