ALBANY — New York State Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro — a former aide to disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo — resigned from her position Friday in the wake of a revived probe into the office’s past investigation of an illegal leak involving one-time Cuomo confidante Joe Percoco.
“Yes, she has resigned. We have no further comment,” department spokesman Lee Park told The Post, adding that Executive Deputy Inspector General Robyn Adair will be elevated to serve in an acting capacity until Gov. Kathy Hochul names a replacement.
“The executive deputy will serve as acting Inspector General until a new Inspector General is appointed by the governor,” said Hochul spokeswoman Haley Viccaro.
Tagliafierro was appointed to the post by Cuomo in 2019 and before that served in multiple roles in the executive chamber including deputy secretary for intergovernmental affairs, special counsel to the governor and special counsel for public safety.
She previously served as the executive director of the state’s top watchdog panel, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, between 2013 and 2015.
Meanwhile, her role as the former ethics agency head came under fire in 2019, when a whistleblower complaint launched a state Inspector General’s office inquiry into an alleged leak from a private JCOPE meeting involving Cuomo and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-The Bronx).
The leak was apparently tied to discussions by JCOPE commissioners during executive session, as to whether or not they would launch their own inquiry into alleged misconduct by Percoco — a convicted felon and former Cuomo confidante.
Tagliafierro recused herself from the investigation citing her prior role and allowed her ex-deputy director Spencer Freedman — who recently landed a job at SUNY — to lead the probe.
The office concluded they could not substantiate the complaint.
But JCOPE voted earlier this week to make a referral to state Attorney General Letitia James to launch a criminal investigation into the leak.
A second, separate motion that would begin a criminal probe into the IG’s own inquiry into the leak failed during the public session of the meeting.