US Attorney Preet Bharara, investigating Gov. Cuomo's suspicious closing of his own anti-corruption panel, is now threatening to probe the administration for possible obstruction of justice or witness tampering, according to a report on Thursday.
The threat of the new investigation came in a letter from the US Attorney's Office after members of the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption came out this week to defend the governor with strong public statements.
"We have reason to believe a number of commissioners recently have been contacted about the commission's work," the letter said, according to The New York Times.
"And some commissioners have been asked to issue public statements characterizing events and facts regarding the commission's operation."
Cuomo on Wednesday continued to defend the commission, citing a memo written by one of its co-chairs, Republican Onondaga County DA William J. Fitzpatrick, backing the governor's claim that the administration didn't interfere in its operations.
"Few people, if any, knew the inner workings of the Moreland Commission to a greater extent than I did," Fitzpatrick said.
"The Governor had repeatedly warned legislators that their failure to pass comprehensive ethical reforms would result in the creation of a Moreland Commission.
"The bottom line is that nobody 'interfered' with me or my co-chairs," he said.
Cuomo said other co-chairs, including Nassau DA and congressional candidate Kathleen Rice, must agree, because they haven't contacted Fitzpatrick.
But Bharara believes that some of these statements were made after phone calls from the governor and his cronies, The Times said.
One commissioner even told the paper that he was contacted by an "intermediary" of the governor and found the phone call "upsetting."
Bharara's office is taking the allegations very seriously.
"To the extent anyone attempts to influence or tamper with a witness' recollection of events relevant to our investigation, including the recollection of a commissioner or one of the commission's employees, we request that you advise our office immediately, as we must consider whether such actions constitute obstruction of justice or tampering with witnesses that violate federal law," said the letter to a lawyer for the panel.
The development came after Bharara dined with state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a key potential witness in the investigation.
Neither camp is saying whether Cuomo or his panel was on the menu.
But sources said it's more than a coincidence that the two were spotted having lunch at the City Hall-area restaurant Tuesday — a very public place where pols and government insiders dine to be seen.
"It's hard to believe they went there by accident. It's a reasonable guess that they're sending a message they're working together — whether it's tackling corruption on Wall Street or State Street in Albany," said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group.
It was Schneiderman, in his capacity as AG, who "deputized" members of the commission and gave them legal authority to issue subpoenas to targets of their probes.
Bharara has taken control of the commission's files and is investigating its operations. Cuomo shut down the panel in April, allegedly as it was subpoenaing allies.
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