The name of a freshman State Senator from the Rochester area came up in the case against Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and his son.
Rich Funke, a Republican from Perinton, was chosen this past January to deliver the Republicans’ response to Governor Cuomo’s State of the State address.
Funke’s speech included a reference to the billions in settlement money due New York State and how Republican lawmakers think it should be invested in modernizing the state’s infrastructure, including roads, bridges, sewer and water systems.
The federal complaint alleges that Dean Skelos had Funke insert that language into his remarks, at the same time that Skelos’ son Adam was being paid by an environmental firm that would benefit from that water infrastructure spending.
Funke’s chief of staff, Matt Nelligan, issued this statement :
“It is standard procedure in an address of this magnitude for multiple drafts to be discussed and edits to be suggested before the text is finalized. We were aware of the insertion and it was approved without hesitation because it reflected the Senator’s position on the need for more infrastructure investment in general. The Senator had no prior knowledge of the allegations in the criminal complaint and was simply one of many voices around the State advocating for increased infrastructure investment this year.”
In terms of the Skelos charges, Funke released this statement:
“Allegations like these are always disappointing. My top priority is to ensure we are able to do the people’s work so I can continue to put Monroe and Ontario counties first. I will be discussing where we go from here with the Conference later today.”
Speaking with WXXI's Karen DeWitt in Albany, Funke said that he and his fellow Republicans had already agreed that the settlement money the state received should be spent on infrastructure and Funke says that was something he had campaigned on.
Funke says the federal complaint may be “connecting dots that are not connectable.”
In terms of Skelos’ future, Funke says he’s concerned about the allegations against the leader, but says due process has to play out. Funke does say he feels this will be a big distraction at a time when lawmakers have a lot of work to do, and he says the right course would be for Skelos to temporarily step aside as leader.
