ALBANY, NY – JUNE 8, 2018 – This week, the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics (“JCOPE”) closed its investigation into allegations that Sam Hoyt had violated New York Public Officers Law, finding no violation of law and that the claims against him were not credible. JCOPE’s determination, based on a thorough investigation, including the review of “hundreds of pages of records” and witness interviews and testimony, fully supports Hoyt’s response that the complainant’s allegations were false in every respect and that he never abused his official position.
Hoyt’s attorney, Mark F. Glaser, a shareholder in Greenberg Traurig's Albany office, said, “we are pleased that JCOPE found ‘no evidence’ that Mr. Hoyt abused his public position or used his official position to extort any sexual favors. JCOPE also found that the weight of the evidence supports that any relationship Mr. Hoyt had with the complainant was consensual. JCOPE expressly stated that it ‘did not find [the complainant] or any of her claims credible,’ and found that her allegations were ‘inconsistent’ with the documents it collected and reviewed. Further, the Commission found that ‘forensic evidence’ established that certain evidence the complainant provided to the Commission had been ‘fabricated.’”
Hoyt also is the subject of a related pending civil lawsuit in the Southern District of New York. Carrie H. Cohen, a partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP, who is representing Hoyt in that case, says, “we also are pleased that after a thorough and complete investigation, JCOPE found the complainant’s allegations to be without merit and hope that these false allegations no longer will be used as fodder for political gain. We are confident in the arguments made in our pending motion to dismiss the lawsuit and are hopeful that Mr. Hoyt soon can put this matter behind him.”
Greenberg Traurig’s New York Government Law & Policy Practice: GT’s New York Government Law & Policy Practice, based in New York City and Albany, is one of the leading government relations teams in both the City and the State. Since the team’s inception in 1995, they have been consistently ranked among the top lobbying practices in New York City by the City Clerk’s Office and among the Top 5 law firm lobbying practices in New York State by the Commission on Public Integrity.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2017, and is among the Top 20 on the 2017 Am Law Global 100. Web: www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.