Cuomo pressured to return $1M in Glenwood donations

Governor received bulk of the $3.6 million Leonard Litwin spent on state politicians

From left: Bill Samuels, Leonard Litwin and Governor Andrew Cuomo
From left: Bill Samuels, Leonard Litwin and Governor Andrew Cuomo

Former Democratic fundraiser Bill Samuels is calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo to give back the roughly $1 million in campaign donations he received from Leonard Litwin’s Glenwood Management.

Samuels is saying that the governor should “lead by example,” according to Capital New York. In total, Glenwood pumped $3.6 million into state politicians. The 102-year-old Litwin has contributed money through roughly two dozen limited liability companies, but only one LLC is registered to Glenwood’s actual address, according to Capital.

Litwin was also named as “Developer 1″ in the complaint against Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who was arrested in January.

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“Here’s what the governor must do if he is to regain any credibility here: he needs to lead by example, and by example the easiest thing to do is say he’s outraged by what he’s seen here with Glenwood and (senior vice president Charles) Dorego, and that he is going to return every dollar, to avoid suspicion,” Samuels told the website. Dorego, a senior vice president at Glenwood, is reportedly cooperating with federal authorities in the case against Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and his son.

Cuomo has not responded to Samuels, the website reported. [Capital NY] — Claire Moses