Former governor Andrew Cuomo spent almost $ 453 million in the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic storage medical team, such as fans that have become almost completely unused, a new condemnatory audit by the state comptroller found.
State Comptroller Tom Dinapoli discovered that only three of thousands of thousands bought by the former governor’s office were sent to the hospitals, according to the report.
“The state of New York bought hundreds of millions of dollars in medical equipment at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, including fans and X-ray machines, which is now unused in the storage facilities in all radomelandic ownership,” Dinapoli wrote in a statement.
The audit found that the Doh reservation, called Medical Emergency Response Cache, grew from around 4,800 pieces of equipment before the pandemic, to 252,000 items now.
Of the approximately 248,000 pieces of equipment bought the duration of the pandemic, only three were deployed, the auditors found after reviewing the databases that are supposed to monitor the items.
The auditors also visited the warehouses and found that some articles were missing.
“Doh’s officials said it was possible that they were in use at some point and they were not registered,” the report said.
Despite a special committee within the Doh accused of discovering what to do with the reservation in 2021, much of the team remains intact and is wasted in state stores.
The auditors pointed out that the Department of Health refused to provide documents that provide details on how decisions were made on what to do with Arsenal.
Governor Kathy Hochul’s office did not respond to a request for comments.
In March 2020, the Office of the Office of Cuomo on leading the pandemic response for the State. Responding to an increase in hospitalizations and fears that the crisis could the state hospitals, the Cuomo administration gave the consulting firm McKinsey & Company $ 5.1 million to tell him how much equipment to buy for his reservation.
Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi, who served in the administration at that time, said McKinse and overestimated how much team would be needed.
What followed was a crazy fight for the team that Azzopardi blames, in part, by the decision of the first Trump administration not to centralize the acquisition.
“It was a career to the fund that promoted prices, but time was essential and the law recognizes that in thesis situations the normal acquisition processes do not work,” said Azzopardi pointing out that the overages was something good, Veterus the State.
“Now the field marshal on Monday morning can, but then I was looking to save lives and not doing anything was not an option,” added Azzopardi.
He also questioned the accuracy of Dinapoli numbers, claiming that the administration sent many supplies to hospitals.
Duration The Scrable, Cuomo accepted a donation or 1,000 fans of China. Last year it was revealed that the gift was created in part by Linda Sun, an employee accused of spying on the Chinese government.
A company with connections with SUN invoiced the State $ 700,000 for handling the logistics of sending the fans endowed, the accusation against the old aid alleged.
Dinapoli’s audit shows that only 51 team duration teams were donated, which means that Chinese fans were probably never counted as part of the reserve.