Bill Hochul, husband of New York Governor Kathy Hochul, has received nearly $200,000 in deferred compensation from his former employer, Delaware North, a hospitality and gambling company that recently secured an $18 million tax break from the state. Records indicate these payments were made even after Bill Hochul reportedly cut ties with the company.
Governor Hochul had initially recused herself from official state actions involving Delaware North after taking office in 2021, as her husband was then the company's top lawyer and senior vice president. However, in 2023, she lifted this recusal, citing her husband's departure and the assertion that he would have no further financial connection to the company. A memo from the governor's office stated Bill Hochul would not receive any payment or thing of value from Delaware North or its subsidiaries.
Good-government advocates are calling for an investigation into whether these continued payments, spanning two years since the governor's recusal was lifted, violate state ethics rules. Alex Camarda, a senior policy advisor at Reinvent Albany, noted that the 2023 memo rescinding the recusal specified no further payments would be made, yet the governor's own financial disclosure forms appear to contradict this.
Under the previous recusal policy, Delaware North was restricted from lobbying the governor's office directly and from making campaign contributions to Governor Hochul. However, state records show the company directly lobbied Hochul's office and budget division this year as it, along with other gaming operators, advocated for the slot machine tax break. The company also reported lobbying the state's Gaming Commission and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie on the matter.
Additionally, Delaware North's billionaire owners, the Jacobs family, made significant donations to Governor Hochul's re-election campaign, totaling $170,000. This marked the first time the family had donated to her campaign in over a decade. Several weeks after the tax break was approved in May as part of the state budget, Delaware North also contributed $2,500 to Hochul's campaign and $10,000 to the state Democratic Party during budget negotiations.
A spokesperson for Governor Hochul stated that campaign contributions do not influence government decisions and that the payments to Bill Hochul are part of his deferred compensation plan, similar to a 401(k) or other retirement plan. The spokesperson clarified that this compensation was earned during his tenure at Delaware North and elected for post-departure receipt.
Deferred compensation plans are retirement vehicles for highly compensated executives, allowing them to delay portions of their pay without IRS contribution limits. The Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government declined to comment on potential investigations due to confidentiality regulations.
Separately, reports revealed that Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and his staff received luxury suite tickets for Boston Celtics games from Delaware North, which owns the TD Garden where the team plays. These tickets, valued at nearly $14,000, were provided less than three months before the tax break's approval. As a registered lobbying client, Delaware North is typically barred from gifting items exceeding $15 to state officials. However, the tickets were reportedly donated to the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee, which Heastie helps lead, thus circumventing the gifting restrictions under state ethics rules.
Heastie has declined to comment on the ticket matter, directing inquiries to his communications team, which has not responded to requests for comment.