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NY Governor Andrew Cuomo Directs the Concealing of Damning Information and Documents

Jonathan Carey "Champion for the Disabled" Born September 12,1993 Killed by caregivers on February 15,2007

According to AP news and State Officials, Gov, Cuomo ordered changes following the NY Times “Abused and Used” investigative reporting series

The shift was a reaction to an embarrassing story — a 2011 New York Times series on abuse of the disabled in state care that was based largely on public records.”
— Travis Proulx - former director of communications for OPWDD

ALBANY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, October 12, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The AP News has done extensive investigative reporting to date on Governor Cuomo’s renamed and relocated Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs (Justice Center) formerly called the Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities. The investigative news reports reveal major systemic failures within this State agency under the governor’s control that directly contradicts what the governor himself has claimed to 1,000,000 New Yorkers with disabilities, their families, the media and the general public. In a nutshell, this agency is without question corrupt and they certainly are not protecting people with special needs from abuse, neglect or premature death, but instead their abusers. This agency is basically a call center and a whitewash entity operating fraudulently to hide and conceal and keep most reported crimes, as well as criminally negligent deaths within Cuomo’s agencies from ever getting to local police, County elected District attorney’s and County Medical Examiners and Coroners, for the purpose of covering most of them up.
The AP news story titled “Cuomo’s office tightly controls public records” http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-cuomos-office-tightly-controls-public-records-2014oct23-story.html makes clear reference to Governor Cuomo making distinct changes to accessing public records following the New York Times “Abused and Used” investigative reporting series. This series, which numerous State documents were used, were obtained through Freedom of Information (FOIL) requests and they uncovered the massive abuse, neglect and cover-ups, as well as the systemic protection of the abusers.
As directly quoted from this AP news story; “Gov. Andrew Cuomo took office four years ago promising the most transparent administration in history, but journalists and advocacy groups say his office instead tightly controls requests for public records on anything controversial and routinely delays or denies their release.
For decades, responding to requests under New York's Freedom of Information Law was the responsibility of individual state agencies. Current and former state officials say that began to change a year into Cuomo's administration, and now such requests are often routed through the governor's legal counsel.

Travis Proulx, former director of communications for the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, said the shift was a reaction to an embarrassing story — a 2011 New York Times series on abuse of the disabled in state care that was based largely on public records.”

“Since the change, FOIL officers immediately notify higher-ups in their agency, as well as the governor's office to flag any information requests that "might not come across as favorable to the administration," Proulx said. When all the information is compiled in response to the request, it is sent to the governor's office, and the counsel's office reviews it.

Several current state officials backed up that account but weren't authorized to discuss it and declined to be quoted, even anonymously, for fear of punishment.”

The awarding winning New York Times “Abused and Used” investigative reporting series http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/nyregion/abused-and-used-series-page.html which was a runner up for a Pulitzer Prize exposed the extremely dangerous and deadly New York State mental health care system which is rampant with physical and sexual abuse and death. This series exposed the fact that New York State never reformed its system by never putting almost all of the most basic safety and abuse prevention measures in place to actually protect the extremely vulnerable residents with disabilities or mental health problems. To date, 7,800 calls are reported to Governor Cuomo’s State operated abuse hotline for the disabled every month. Between 11-13 people in New York State’s residential care system are dying on average every single day, yes, every single day. To put the scope of deaths alone right now in perspective to the horrific Las Vegas mass killing and massacre, dozens more of innocent people with disabilities are dying every week in Gov, Cuomo’s mental health agencies than what just happened in Las Vegas. Not all of these deaths are homicides obviously, but a very large number are due to abuse or neglect and criminal negligence. State documents reveal that close to 35% of the deaths reported to Gov, Cuomo’s death hotline, the cause was not even determined, one to two years later The acting Executive Director, Jay Kiyonaga, of Gov. Cuomo’s wrongfully titled Justice Center in writing directed State and private provider agencies to investigate deaths occurring in their own facilities and group homes which is illegal, see the document for yourself by clicking on this link. http://www.justicecenter.ny.gov/sites/default/files/documents/JusticeCenterDeathReportingClarification12-17-15.pdf .
The law requires County Medical Examiners or Coroners to be investigating all of these deaths, not facility hired staff. It is the independent Medical Examiners and Coroners within each county that are to be immediately notified, investigate at the scene of the death, do an initial written report after speaking with witnesses, take possession of the body and do a thorough autopsy to determine the true cause of death. How can County authorities such as the Medical Examiners or Coroners, as well as the local police and County elected District Attorney’s do their job and prosecute criminally negligent deaths or homicides of this vulnerable population if the Gov. Cuomo’s supposed Justice Center does not notify them? State and County documents reveal a distinct pattern by the Justice Center to not notify County authorities purposefully so that most negligent deaths, as well as physical and sexual assaults and rapes are covered-up.
The average person reading would say, why would they do such a thing and how could the State of New York actually think they could continually get away with such massive criminal cover-ups? The answers to why, the main motives are; first Medicaid Fraud and secondarily to protect the State or State sub-contracted facilities from lawsuits. The second part regarding New York State thinking they could continue get away with these cover-ups and the massive Medicaid fraud is because of the level of corruption in New York State, starting at the top, the Governor himself, and throughout his agencies. Pride and arrogance and thinking nobody can touch me, leads people in control to think they can do anything they want, including to violate all sorts of State and federal laws and both the NYS and US Constitutions. People with disabilities are equal people, their disability or disabilities do not disqualify them from their constitutional right to equal protection of laws. Control freaks think they have the ability to control everything and everyone through an atmosphere of fear, anger and retaliation. Many top State officials are afraid of Governor Cuomo and his tactics or they simply want to remain silent and complicit and run out the clock and retire and live happily ever after. But in all reality how many innocent and extremely vulnerable children and adults with disabilities or those struggling with mental health issues were severely harmed and damaged further or died because of their involvement, their silence and their complicity?

Michael Carey
The Jonathan Carey Foundation
518-852-9377
email us here

The incredible life and tragic preventable death of Jonathan Carey, who was disabled, had autism, was non-verbal & only 13 when he was killed by his caregivers

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