Photos and Story By Geoffrey Walter

Following investigations into abuse from school district attorneys across New York State, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo now has his cross-hairs trained on the Town and Village levels. In a move designed to make his office more responsive to Nassau County residents, Cuomo revealed his intentions at a community forum held at Clinton G. Martin Park last Tuesday night. Calling the abuse in which lawyers were listed on payrolls in multiple school districts, where they received both pension and health care benefits from multiple districts "widespread" across Long Island and the State, Cuomo said that "we have a proliferation of governments in this State that is ever increasing and is now bordering on the absurd." There are approximately 10,000 levels of government in New York State, and Cuomo hypothesized that even if there were no abuse on any levels, that is still a tremendous amount of overhead and office expenditures. "So much of what (my children) see on TV and politicians on TV is not the role-model that you'd want them to see," Cuomo concluded.

The Attorney General is in the process of touring the State and holding these forums in an effort to give residents the opportunity to speak with representatives from his office in person. This is about "getting government to come to you to explain what we can do and how we can help and to listen. The Attorney General's office is your law firm. We can access the laws for you," Cuomo said. "It really is a pleasure to be able to give our residents the opportunity to speak to our Statewide elected officials," North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman added. "In these times there are a lot of issues where we need support from government, we need our elected officials to step up, provide information to us, give us direction, make sure that we understand what we're facing and how to deal with it. I think that this ongoing dialogue is really extraordinary."

Much of that information focused on three areas: healthcare, student loans, and consumer fraud regarding companies, home improvement contractors, appliances, etc. Cuomo touted efforts the State has made in changing its laws regarding loans to college students, so much so that the U.S. Congress has legislation pending which is based on the New York State model. In the past student loans were synonymous with government loans. However, the decrease in government loan programs combined with rising tuition costs have created a funding gap which private banks have stepped in to fill. Today, a student can expect to graduate college with an average of $100,000 in student loans. "It's like a mortgage without the house," Cuomo commented. Fraud was found to have occurred where colleges would recommend students go to "preferred lenders" to secure their loans, of which 90 percent did so. However, the "preferred lender" bank would subsequently disperse to the school fees or interest paid by the student without that student's knowledge.

Cuomo's office receives more complaints in regards healthcare than in any other area. Due to mergers and consolidation in the industry, "they're in a position where they can literally decide who lives and who dies by who they decide to cover and who they don't cover," the Attorney General charged. He cited a doctor ranking program introduced by one company where if patients went to the highest rated doctor listed, their co-pays would be reduced. Upon investigation, the "best" doctors were found to be the cheapest. This in turn created an atmosphere where doctors began cutting their rates by foregoing tests and not spending any time with patients. "Nothing surprises me anymore about what these HMO companies do." Residents with questions or concerns can call the Office of the Attorney General's helpline at 1-800-771-7755 or visit their website at: http://www.oag.state.ny.us for more information.