Cuomo exit isn't stopping push for answers on nursing homes

Sexual harassment allegations cost New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo his job

Sexual harassment allegations cost New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo his job. Now, many want to see him answer for a scandal that cut to the heart of his reputation as a pandemic hero and may have had life-and-death consequences — his administration's handling of outbreaks in nursing homes. Months before a blistering investigation found Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women, the same attorney general concluded that the administration understated the true death toll in nursing homes by thousands and that fatalities may have been fueled by a state order that forced nursing homes to accept recovering COVID-19 patients. Whatever action may lie ahead on the harassment claims, families of the more than 15,000 New Yorkers who died in nursing homes say they want accountability, too, and are urging state lawmakers and the U.S. Justice Department to keep investigating Cuomo after he leaves office. “This is the man who helped kill my mother and all of her friends,” said Haydee Pabey, whose 72-year-old mother, Elba, died in a New York City nursing home that had accepted patients under the state order. “Now that he has been exposed, I’m hoping and praying that we get some answers.”