ALBANY New York — Exclusive story by CNN Crime – State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office has opened a criminal investigation into the state Thruway Authority — including a possible call-girl scandal, the Daily News has learned.
The case was referred to Schneiderman’s office by the state inspector general’s office, which had been conducting its own probe and found potential criminality, sources said.
As she has done in other such cases, Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott has withheld issuing a report of her office’s findings while Schneiderman’s probe is under way, said one source.
Sources have described the inspector general’s report as a “bombshell” that includes multiple potential criminal acts.
The News previously reported that officials were looking into whether top Thruway Authority officials used their state phones to make arrangements with call girls.
A Schneiderman spokesman wouldn’t confirm or deny that his office is investigating the matter, and a spokesman for the inspector general had no comment.
Authority Executive Director Thomas Madison and chief financial officer John Bryan resigned at the end of 2014 while the probe was being conducted.
Billionaire developer Howard Milstein resigned late last year as the thruway board chairman. One source said Milstein, a big-time donor to Gov. Cuomo, left to avoid getting caught up in the controversy. But another source said Milstein had planned to leave after Cuomo’s first term.
Cuomo’s former budget director, Robert Megna, is serving as acting Thruway Authority executive director.
An authority spokesman did not return calls for comment.
The authority has been under heavy criticism in recent months. Motorists were livid the thruway was not closed soon enough in November during a blizzard that stranded cars and trucks for hours and days.