Amid Cuomo book scandal, ethics agency beefs up review of outside income

The state’s ethics agency tightened its rule for scrutinizing the outside income deals of statewide elected officials after being criticized for mishandling Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s controversial $4 million book contract.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics had delegated the authority to its staff to review and sign off on the terms of Cuomo’s memoir — “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-10 Pandemic.” Some JCOPE commissioners complained they never had the opportunity to inspect, let alone approve, the terms of the reported $4 million book contract.