A commission created last year to enforce ethics rules for New York state's employees and elected officials violates the state's constitution because it is too independent, a state judge ruled Monday in a decision that could gut the body's power to combat corruption and influence-peddling.
The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has been fighting an attempt by the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government to force him to forfeit $5 million he got for writing a book about his administration’s efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
