SUNY Fires 2 Officials, Citing Roles in Contracts
"top Pataki appointees had intervened with a
SUNY official on Mr. Copeland's behalf, that one
document relating to those events was destroyed and
another was fabricated and that Mr. Copeland routinely
mentioned his relationship to the governor in seeking
work. "
The New York Times
March 30, 2002
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
ALBANY, March 29 - The
State University of New York
has fired two officials involved in
improper contracts with an
architect who is a neighbor and
relative by marriage of Gov.
George E. Pataki's, and a local
prosecutor is looking into the
matter, officials said today.
The developments follow the release Thursday of a report
by the state inspector general, Roslynn R. Mauskopf, into
the award of contracts to Hudson Design, an architectural
firm owned by James Copeland, who lives next door to the
governor in Garrison, N.Y., and whose brother is married
to a sister of the governor's wife, Libby.
Ms. Mauskopf found that SUNY officials had repeatedly
distorted the contracting process to favor Hudson Design
and violated numerous rules for contract awards. She also
found that top Pataki appointees had intervened with a
SUNY official on Mr. Copeland's behalf, that one
document relating to those events was destroyed and
another was fabricated and that Mr. Copeland routinely
mentioned his relationship to the governor in seeking
work.
When asked at a public appearance today in Lower
Manhattan, Mr. Pataki would not say whether he believed
Mr. Copeland had won the contracts because of his
connections to him. He said he was pleased with SUNY's
reaction to the report, and then did not take any more
questions on the matter.
The university system fired Michael D. Clemente, general
manager of the SUNY construction fund, who oversaw all
the contracts, and Ellen Biggane, an assistant general
manager, who, Ms. Mauskopf reported, faked a document
to make it appear that an improper contract award had
been handled properly.
"Those two individuals have been terminated, as of
yesterday," said David Henahan, a spokesman for the
university system, adding that the university would not
publicly discuss the reasons for the firings. As high-level
officials, Ms. Biggane and Mr. Clemente did not enjoy civil
service protection and could be summarily dismissed.
Before going to SUNY in 1997, Mr. Clemente worked in
the governor's office, as Mr. Pataki's deputy director for
state operations, and before that, he was a legislative staff
member when Mr. Pataki was in the Legislature.
Messages left at Mr. Clemente's and Ms. Biggane's homes
were not returned.
Ms. Mauskopf referred the document fabrication to the
Albany County district attorney's office.
"The report is going to be reviewed by our grand jury unit,
which handles white-collar crime, and we'll make a
determination as to whether we think there's any
potential criminal conduct," District Attorney Paul A.
Clyne said today. "And if we feel that there is, we may
take it to the grand jury to follow up on it with a criminal
charge."
Ms. Mauskopf is a Pataki appointee, and at the governor's
urging, President Bush has nominated her to be the
United States attorney for the Eastern District of New
York, a region that includes Brooklyn, Queens and Long
Island.
Today, Andrew M. Cuomo, one of the Democrats running
against Mr. Pataki, a Republican, said the governor's
sponsorship of Ms. Mauskopf created a conflict of interest
for her in handling the case. He wrote to Attorney General
John Ashcroft, asking him to direct a federal investigation
into it.
"The inspector general's report whitewashes the
seriousness of the matter, plays down the personal
relationship of the contract recipient to Governor Pataki
and the involvement of the governor's aides in the matter,"
Mr. Cuomo wrote. It "casts serious doubt on her
qualifications for U.S. attorney," he added.
Michael McKeon, Mr. Pataki's communications director,
said, "This kind of nasty attack from Andy Cuomo is so
obvious, so expected and so laughable, it's just sad."
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