Tedisco FOILS State Inspector General on Schoharie Limo Crash Investigation

Senator Jim Tedisco (R,C-Glenville) today announced he has filed a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request seeking all materials the New York State Inspector General Office has regarding its investigative report on state malfeasance and the potential cover-up of the lack of oversight of the limo company that operated the vehicle involved in the horrific 2018 Schoharie limousine crash which tragically took the lives of 20 people, including several of his constituents.

Tedisco submitted his FOIL request (see attached) with the Inspector General’s Office on March 10^th. The Inspector General’s Office wrote back to Tedisco on March 16^th that the Senator can “expect an answer to your request within approximately 20 business days” which would place its response on or about April 12^th. 

Senator Tedisco noted that his FOIL request is a real test of whether Governor Kathy Hochul was being sincere in her plans to increase transparency and reform the way state agencies respond to FOIL requests. 

Tedisco previously wrote the current Inspector General Lucy Lang on March 7, 2022 seeking an update to his April 14, 2021 request to her predecessor as Inspector General, Letizia Tagliafierro, to conduct a full investigation into the October 6, 2018 Schoharie limousine crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) report on the accident that said the State Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) share the blame with Prestige limousine operators as they had sufficient opportunities to permanently remove the vehicle from operation, and their efforts failed not only once, but twice. It was reported that vehicle registrations were suspended or revoked for 59 limousines that were operated by other companies similar to Prestige limousine, yet for some reason Prestige was “treated with kid gloves.” In addition, it was also reported that the state, possibly through the executive branch, interfered with the NTSB’s collection of data in compiling the report. 

“When it comes to getting answers about the investigation into the horrific Schoharie limousine crash that took the lives of 20 people, when the phone’s not ringing, it’s the state Inspector General’s Office not responding. I wrote to the Inspector General twice in the past year and heard nothing back. That’s why I’ve now filed a formal Freedom of Information Request to get some answers about the IG’s investigation and report on the limo crash and to what extent the state was negligent and the potential of a high-level cover-up to bury the truth. We need to give the families of the 20 wonderful people who lost their lives some answers and we need to know what can be done to help prevent something like this from ever happening again,” said Senator Jim Tedisco.

“If the Hochul Administration is being genuine about government transparency and openness then the IG will stop stalling and get back to me and publicly release within the next 20 days its report on the Schoharie limo crash,” said Tedisco.