Gov. Kathy Hochul’s husband, Bill, has continued receiving money from the same hospitality and gambling company that provided state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie with luxury Boston Celtics tickets, The Post has learned.
Financial records show that Bill Hochul received nearly $200,000 in “deferred compensation” from his former employer, Delaware North, despite previously stating that he had severed ties with the company. Delaware North recently benefited from an $18 million state tax break.
After taking office in 2021, Hochul recused herself from official state actions involving Delaware North because her husband was then the company’s top attorney and senior vice president.
In 2023, however, Hochul issued a memo lifting the recusal. She said there was no longer a conflict of interest because her husband was leaving the hospitality and gaming company and would “have no financial connection to Delaware North following his departure.”
The memo stated that Bill Hochul “will not receive payment of any kind from Delaware North or its subsidiary entities” and would not receive “any other thing of value.”
Government watchdogs are now urging an investigation into whether the payments made to the first gentleman during the past two years violated state ethics rules.
“The 2023 letter rescinding the governor’s recusals from matters involving Delaware North does so because her husband will no longer receive payment of any kind or any other thing of value from Delaware North or its subsidiary entities,” said Alex Camarda, a senior policy adviser at Reinvent Albany.
“Yet the governor’s own financial disclosure form appears to contradict that.”
Under the recusal policy, Delaware North was required to obtain executive approval before lobbying the governor’s office and was prohibited from making direct campaign contributions to the two-term Democrat.
State records show that Delaware North nevertheless directly lobbied Hochul’s office and the state budget division this year, as the company and other gaming operators sought a major tax break on slot machines.
The company also reported directly lobbying the state Gaming Commission and Heastie over the tax break, according to the records.
Delaware North’s billionaire owners, including Chairman Jeremy Jacobs Sr. and other members of his family, donated $170,000 to Hochul’s re-election campaign. It was the first time the family had contributed to her campaign in more than a decade.
Several weeks after the tax break was quietly included in the state budget and approved in May, Delaware North sent Hochul’s campaign another $2,500. The company had also donated $10,000 to the state Democratic Party during budget negotiations.
“Campaign contributions have no impact on government decisions,” a Hochul spokeswoman said in a statement Friday.
“As publicly disclosed in the governor’s tax and financial disclosure statements, these withdrawals are part of the first gentleman’s deferred compensation plan, akin to a 401(k) or other retirement plan,” she said.
“This is compensation he earned during his time at Delaware North and elected to receive after leaving the company.”
Deferred compensation plans allow highly paid executives to postpone receiving part of their earnings without the contribution limits that apply to traditional 401(k) plans.
The state’s top ethics board said confidentiality rules prevented it from commenting on whether a potential investigation into the payments existed or what its status might be.
“The Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government is steadfast in its commitment to bringing integrity, trust, and transparency to state government and to administering the State’s ethics and lobbying laws and regulations zealously and fairly,” a spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, it was revealed this week that Heastie and members of his staff received nearly $14,000 worth of luxury-suite tickets from Delaware North for a Boston Celtics game at the company-owned TD Garden in March, less than three months before the tax break was approved.
Heastie, the powerful leader of the state Assembly, plays a key role in shaping the state budget. This year’s spending plan included a total tax break of $242 million for slot machine operators, including the $18 million granted to Delaware North, as first reported Thursday by New York Focus.
The Buffalo-based gaming company is a registered lobbying client, a designation that would normally prevent it from giving state lawmakers gifts worth more than $15.
However, the company donated the luxury suites to the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee, which Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, helps lead. As a result, the tickets did not qualify as a gift under state ethics rules, according to the report.
Heastie declined to answer questions about the tickets. He also walked away from a Post reporter Friday at the Somos political conference in Puerto Rico, directing the reporter to his communications team. The team did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
