New York Inspector General Lucy Lang released 34 investigative letters in November focused on issues at agencies across state government.
Will Waldron/Times Union
ALBANY — A fire inspector who couldn’t possibly be in 12 places at once. A state Department of Motor Vehicles worker accused of snooping in secure databases for information about a friend’s romantic partner. The director of parking management at Empire State Plaza tied to an alleged quid pro quo for a discounted towing fee.
These cases, and dozens more, were detailed in investigative letters released in November by the state inspector general’s office. The 34 letters span the last three years and focus on issues at agencies across state government. They detail alleged misconduct, policy failures and lapses in oversight. Others speak of allegations of welfare and other public benefit fraud.
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For this story, the Times Union is highlighting some of the more egregious cases.
The most recent letter is dated Sept. 11 and found that officials at Sing Sing state prison failed to consistently measure, document or standardize temperature checks this summer. It said the short-staffed prison system kept people locked in sweltering cells and dorms for extended periods.
The release of investigative letters is a significant shift from previous administrations. The state inspector general’s transparency waned under Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, and letters that summarized investigations were largely kept secret until 2022, a year after Gov. Kathy Hochul had appointed Lucy Lang, a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan, as New York’s 11th inspector general.
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In releasing the letters, Lang said at the time that the disclosure is meant to bolster public trust by showing how her office investigates complaints and pushes agencies to correct problems.
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“Oversight can’t happen in the dark,” Lang said.
Nearly all of the letters released by the inspector general’s office last month blacked out names state employees and other information.
When asked about the redactions, a spokesman for Lang’s office said the letters are published voluntarily and “it is our view that the purpose of the publication of these letters is to make the public aware of the work being done by OIG and the challenges facing New York state government, and those objectives are satisfied without inclusion of specific names.”
The Times Union filed records requests for a handful of unredacted copies of letters and agency responses to them. The newspaper was told that some records were not being disclosed because investigations were ongoing, or that others were redacted to protect the privacy of people and other implicated parties of complaints which the investigation did not substantiate.
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However, that position is contradicted by a Court of Appeals decision in February that police records which include complaints that were unsubstantiated are subject to public disclosure under the provisions of the state Freedom of Information Law.
In the Empire State Plaza investigation, the inspector general’s office redacted the parking manager’s name. While investigators stopped short of conclusively proving an explicit exchange of favors, they determined there was “credible evidence” supporting the allegation and that a coworker’s testimony created “at the very least, an appearance of impropriety.”
Here is a summary multiple cases:
A senior state parking official allegedly leveraged his position to obtain a steep discount on towing for his personal vehicle, then helped steer state business to the same company, according to a January 2024 inspector general’s office letter sent to Jeanette Moy, commissioner of the Office of General Services.
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The inspection began after inspectors received a complaint in April 2023 which alleged that the director of parking management at Empire State Plaza told coworkers his truck had been towed in Rensselaer County the previous month. He allegedly said he negotiated a reduced fee in exchange for promising future towing referrals from state parking facilities.
Four of the five OGS parking employees interviewed by the inspector general’s office said they overheard the director discussing the arrangement. Three said he bragged about paying $100 for the tow.
The account was corroborated by the towing company’s owner, who told investigators the director identified himself as “the boss at OGS,” handed over his business card and suggested future state work if the company cut him a deal.
Shortly after the tow, investigators found the company was added to the Office General Services’ approved list of towing contractors, something it had never been eligible for in records dating back to 2017. The company was then called twice to tow vehicles from Empire State Plaza in March and April.
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When questioned, the director denied any quid pro quo. He acknowledged adding the company to the list but said he did so only after seeing firsthand that it was well-equipped while retrieving his own vehicle.
A view of the Empire State Plaza in Albany.
Matthew Hamilton/Times Union
The inspector general’s investigation exposed loose oversight inside the Office of General Services. Investigators found no written policy governing how towing companies were selected and no vetting or qualification process before vendors were added to approved lists. Because towing fees are paid by vehicle owners, not the state, the office does not contract directly with towing companies.
The case was referred to Office of General Services and the state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government. The ethics commission declined to comment, citing confidentiality rules.
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Officials with the Office of General Services said the parking director was “formally counseled,” emphasizing that his conduct must be “above reproach” and not create the impression he could be influenced. The department said the employee acknowledged the importance of avoiding even an appearance of impropriety.
In response, the agency also stripped parking management staff of oversight of the towing list and adopted a written policy requiring approved towing companies to be used on a rotating basis, unless specialized equipment is needed.
“All staff are expected to maintain the highest standards of integrity,” the agency told the Times Union in a statement.
Prisoners at New York’s Sing Sing Correctional Facility warned the inspector general’s office in June that dangerously high temperatures inside the prison were putting them at risk.
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The complaints came amid a sweltering summer marked by multiple National Weather Service heat advisories and a state of emergency declared by Gov. Kathy Hochul in Westchester County, where the prison is located.
On some days, the heat index reached as high as 105 degrees.
Investigators said the prison’s 200-year-old infrastructure and lack of air conditioning in housing units worsened conditions for both inmates and staff, according to the September letter to Daniel F Martuscello III, commissioner of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
The state investigated the allegations in late July, touring the Sing Sing facility, reviewing documents and speaking with staff, inmates and family members.
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While the analysis remains ongoing, Lang urged Martuscello to immediately improve how the department tracks and responds to high temperatures to prevent a potential health crisis.
Investigators found that staffing shortages led to programmatic changes that kept some incarcerated people confined to their cells for extended periods without air conditioning and, unless purchased from the commissary, without fans. Access to showers, outdoor time and common areas with natural airflow was also limited.
Although state law was amended in January to require an annual heat mitigation plan for prisons, no deadline was set for its completion. Lang urged Martuscello to expedite the plan and incorporate findings from Sing Sing, stressing that it should be followed regardless of staffing levels.
The letter also criticized inconsistent temperature monitoring practices. While instructions were issued in early July to record temperatures in housing units in each shift, investigators found uneven compliance and incomplete records.
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“Even more concerning, our inquiry revealed that there are no standards for determining when the temperature rises to a critical level, nor any standardized mitigating steps to be taken by staff when such level is triggered,” Lang wrote.
The inspector general’s office said steps have since been taken to improve temperature tracking, but warned that without clear standards and a finalized heat mitigation plan, inmates and staff remain vulnerable during periods of extreme heat.
A state fire inspector resigned in July after investigators concluded he filed bogus safety inspections at a dozen central New York facilities serving people with disabilities, according to an August letter sent to Jackie Bray, commissioner of the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.
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Roger Neff, who was a fire inspection specialist with the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, was accused of claiming he inspected 12 facilities under the supervision of the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities in a single day in 2023.
The facilities were in Herkimer and Oneida counties, and his ability to inspect so many facilities in the short time raised red flags, prompting the inspector general’s investigation.
The probe began after a facility employee reported receiving an automated notice saying they were present for an inspection, even though they were not. A review found Neff did not visit all 12 sites and spent 15 minutes or less at most locations, far short of the 40 minutes to an hour that a proper inspection requires.
During a 2023 inspector general’s office visit, staff said many cited violations were temporary or may not have existed at the time, including blocked access to fire equipment, a disconnected dryer vent, and holes in walls and ceilings. They said other issues were long-standing, such as cracked, uneven driveways and water-damaged windows, but had been addressed through repairs or work orders.
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He was placed on administrative leave and later resigned.
The inspector general’s office recommended tighter oversight and periodic review of fire safety inspections and retraining fire inspectors, changes the homeland security agency said it has since implemented.
A state Department of Motor Vehicles employee allegedly accessed personal driver information from the agency’s database without authorization. That information allegedly belonged to a friend’s romantic partner, according to an April letter sent to Mark J.F. Schroeder, commissioner of the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
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The letter, which is redacted, noted that the woman worked at the motor vehicle office in Coney Island, and her duties granted her regular access to a system used to process licenses and registrations.
Investigators said she accessed the system three times from 2023 through 2024, searching for records for the same person.
Customers are seen at a state Department of Motor Vehicles office in Albany. A department employee in Coney Island allegedly used a work computer to look up information about a friend’s romantic partner.
Will Waldron/Albany Times Union
She told investigators she did not recall the searches but said they may have been done at a friend’s request. She acknowledged that any such search would have been personal and a violation of the department’s policies. The man whose records were accessed denied ever visiting the Coney Island motor vehicle office or requesting the search.
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Federal law bars unauthorized access to motor vehicle records. The inspector general’s office concluded the employee violated computer-use policies and recommended disciplinary actions.
The inspector general’s office declined to release the employee’s name or the department’s response to the letter, citing exemptions to the state Freedom of Information Law regarding ongoing law enforcement or judicial proceedings.
“NYS DMV takes these situations very seriously and works continuously to protect the data we are entrusted with,” said Walter McClure, a spokesman for the department. “To that end, we routinely review our policies, procedures, and mitigating controls to ensure they remain effective, and we require annual training for all employees who access customer records. While we cannot discuss the specifics of personnel matters, we can confirm that effective action was taken against the employee involved.”
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