Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul is "not happy" with fellow Western New Yorker and now-former Empire State Development employee Sam Hoyt.
The former regional head of ESD in Buffalo, Hoyt surprisingly left his post earlier this week to take, what he said, was a job in the private sector. However, it was revealed yesterday by the Buffalo News that he is under investigation by the state's Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) and paid $50,000 to a woman he admitted to at one time being in a "consensual and inappropriate relationship." Hoyt, who also served as an assemblyman for close to two decades, was disciplined by the chamber in 2009 for having an inappropriate relationship with an intern.
Hochul, who praised Hoyt Monday after he departed ESD, sang a different tune Wednesday in Albany. She said he never mentioned the allegation or investigation to her. The lieutenant governor was in Albany for the opening of an exhibit at the State Museum celebrating the "Suffrage Centennial."
