Westchester County District Attorney
Janet DiFiore to Chair JCOPE

POSTED: JANUARY 2012

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and legislative leaders announced their appointments to the new Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE).

JCOPE is an independent enforcement unit with broad oversight of New York State government. The Commission has robust enforcement powers to investigate violations of law and financial disclosure requirements for all elected officials and their employees in both the executive and legislative branches. JCOPE also has expanded powers to oversee lobbyists due to newly expanded disclosure rules and a broader definition of lobbying.

Governor Cuomo appoined Janet DiFiore (in photo), Chair. Elected in 2005 and reelected in 2009, District Attorney DiFiore is the chief law enforcement officer of Westchester County. She also serves as the president of the District Attorney’s Association of the State of New York. Prior to her current position, she served as a Judge of the Westchester County Court and as a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court. District Attorney DiFiore was also appointed by former-Chief Judge Judith Kaye to serve as the Supervising Judge for the Criminal Courts in the 9th Judicial District and was appointed by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman to serve as Co-Chair of the New York State Justice Task Force. District Attorney DiFiore received her J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law and her B.A. from C.W. Post College, Long Island University.

“The Joint Commission on Public Ethics is an independent monitor that will aggressively investigate corruption and help maintain integrity in state government,” Governor Cuomo said. “I am confident that under the leadership of Chair DiFiore and the other board members, the Commission will be the toughest ethics enforcer in our state’s history.”

The bipartisan Commission consists of six members appointed by the Governor, at least three of whom must be enrolled members of the major political party that is not that of the Governor. It also consists of eight members appointed by the legislative leaders. The Senate Majority Leader and the Speaker of the Assembly each appoint three members and the minority leaders of both houses each appoint one member. The Governor appoints the chair from among the Commission members.

JCOPE has jurisdiction to investigate and impose penalties on executive branch employees and lobbyists. JCOPE also has jurisdiction to investigate potential violations of law by legislators and legislative employees and, if violations are found, issue findings to the Legislative Ethics Commission, which will have jurisdiction to impose penalties. Any potential violations of federal or state criminal laws will be referred to the appropriate prosecutor for further action.

JCOPE was created as part of Governor Cuomo’s historic ethics reform package passed earlier this year to address major inadequacies in the state’s ethics system and to restore public trust in government. The Public Integrity Reform Act of 2011 contained some of the most comprehensive ethics enhancements in modern history, including reforms that create unprecedented transparency, require strict disclosure, and increase penalties for ethics violations.

Senate Minority Leader John Sampson said, “The appointment of this commission is an important step in the process to restore the public’s faith, trust and confidence in our state government. This commission will help clean up Albany and give New Yorkers the more accountable and responsible state government they deserve. I salute Governor Cuomo for his leadership and perseverance in the fight for true ethics reforms.”

Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos said, “The creation of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics is another step forward in restoring the public’s trust in state government. While the vast majority of people enter public service for all the right reasons, this bipartisan commission will ensure that every legislator continues to be accountable to the people they work for. I am confident that former Senator Rath, Justice Covello and George Weismann will do outstanding work alongside Chairwoman DiFiore and the other representatives of this commission.”

HTML Comment Box is loading comments...