Families of New York nursing home residents want Gov. Cuomo to answer for scandal that led to COVID deaths: 'We have not had our day of reckoning'

Sexual harassment allegations cost New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo his job. 

Now, many want to see him answer for a  the nursing homes scandal that cut to the heart of his reputation as a pandemic hero and may have had life-and-death consequences.

Months before a blistering investigation found Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women, state Attorney General Letitia James concluded that Cuomo's administration understated the true death toll in nursing homes by thousands and that fatalities may have been fueled by a state order that forced such homes to accept recovering COVID patients.

The families of the 15,745 New Yorkers who died in nursing homes say they want accountability, too, and are urging state lawmakers and the U.S. Justice Department to keep investigating Cuomo after he leaves office in two weeks.

'The nursing home people and their families have not had a day of reckoning,' said Vivian Zayas, who blames Cuomo for her mother´s death in a West Islip, New York, nursing home. 'This not a victory yet.' 'A victory is when the whole nursing home scandal is blown open.'

Vivan Zayas, left, held onto the walker of her late mother, Ana Martinez, as her family continued to set aside a place at the Thanksgiving dinner table for her. Martinez was among the 15,745 New Yorkers who died in a nursing home due to COVID-19

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, right, prepared to board a helicopter after announcing his resignation in New York on Tuesday. The decision will take effect in two weeks

A nursing home patient was removed from the Cobble Hill Health Center, in Brooklyn, and loaded into the back of an ambulance in April 17. 

New York´s Assembly had been moving toward impeaching Cuomo before the Democrat announced his resignation, and his handling of nursing homes was set to be a part of that proceeding, with more than a half-million pages of evidence gathered.

PANDEMIC HERO TO ZERO - TIMELINE OF CUOMO'S RISE AND FALL 

2006: Cuomo is elected AG of New York 

2010: Cuomo is elected Governor of New York 

2014: Re-elected, with Kathy Hochul as Lt. Gov 

2018: Re-elected, defeating actress Cynthia Nixon 

March 2020: Cuomo becomes a pandemic hero with his daily press briefings on how New York, under his guidance, was responding to the crisis. 

He routinely sparred with then President Donald Trump and he basked in people calling him the people's real president in the time of crisis  

March 25: At the height of New York's COVID crisis, Cuomo signs a directive telling nursing homes they have to accept COVID-19 patients 

May 10: Cuomo rescinds the nursing home directive amid intense criticism of it as COVID deaths climb 

October 2020: Cuomo releases his book, Lessons in Leadership, about the pandemic 

November 2020: Cuomo is awarded an Emmy for his daily COVID briefings 

December 2020: Lindsey Boylan tweets that Cuomo abused her when she worked for him 

February 2021: The AP releases a damning report into how Cuomo's administration counted nursing home deaths as hospital deaths which made the numbers smaller  

March 2021: Letitia James launches sexual harassment investigation into Cuomo 

Assembly Judiciary Committee opens impeachment investigation 

August 3: AG releases her report finding Cuomo did sexually harass 11 women

Cuomo issues statement insisting he is innocent but refuses to stand down 

August 10: Cuomo resigns, citing the good of the people as his reason for it 

James' report in January noted that while Cuomo's directive was in line with federal guidance, it 'may have put residents at increased risk of harm in some facilities.'

But the Cuomo administration has long contended that infected nursing home employees - not recovering COVID-19 patients - were the real drivers of infections and claimed that the order probably saved more lives than it cost by freeing up desperately needed hospital beds.

The order was reversed in May, and now only those who test negative for COVID-19 are allowed to enter nursing homes. 

Cuomo further claimed that nursing homes could have contacted the state at anytime if they were not equipped to care for infected residents, NBC reports.  

The administration also tallied nursing home deaths in a way that was out of step with nearly every other state: It counted only those residents who died on nursing home property, not those who succumbed after being sent to a hospital. 

After James´ report came out, the Cuomo administration finally released data that confirmed what many suspected: The official death count was off by 50 percent, a difference of more than 4,200 victims.

The AP also obtained records this year showing more than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients in New York State were released from hospitals into nursing homes under the order, more than 40% higher than what the state health department previously disclosed. 

A top aide to the governor, Melissa DeRosa, tried to explain the administration's delays in releasing data on deaths by saying officials 'froze' over worries the information was 'going to be used against us' by Trump´s Justice Department.

'So, let me get this straight! While my mom was alone, gasping for air and unable to cry out for her family's assistance, Gov. Cuomo and his team were worried about then-President Donald Trump's tweets,' Zayas wrote in the New York Post. 

'My life has been turned upside down without my mother, Zayas said during a press conference in May. 'I will not let it stand.'  

Cuomo´s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday on the investigations.

The Justice Department inquiry into possible civil rights violations at government-run nursing homes ended without triggering a full-blown investigation.

But broader examinations by federal prosecutors and the FBI remain alive, three people familiar with the matter told the AP on condition of anonymity because they weren´t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly. 

Lawmakers are now weighing whether they can and should push forward with impeachment once Cuomo is out of office in two weeks. One member of the Judiciary Committee said impeachment would amount to 'vengeance.' Other members of the committee have pushed to at least issue a report. 

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, seen during his press conferences at the Jacob Javits Center, was accused of underreporting the deaths taking place in nursing homes due to COVID-19

A family member of one of the seniors who died due to COVID-19 took part in a rally to impeach Cuomo on March 25. Cuomo still faces the possibility of impeachment

Protestors paid tribute to their loved ones outside Cobble Hill Health Center on March 21, 2021

 'If he committed a crime, just because he resigns those investigations are not going to go away,' said Assembly member Ron Kim, a Democrat from Queens, whose uncle died in a nursing home. 'Justice for the women is the first step. Getting the justice for the families who lost loved ones is a longer journey because it involves a whole ecosystem.'

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who will become governor after Cuomo´s departure, vowed her administration will be 'fully transparent' when it comes to releasing data on nursing home deaths.

The ongoing investigations are seeing if the state intentionally manipulated data on nursing home deaths and whether Cuomo and his aides provided the Justice Department with false or incomplete information, which could constitute a federal crime, one of the people said.

Early in the probe, the Cuomo administration was not cooperative with prosecutors and for months did not produce documents and other requested data, the people said.

A Justice Department spokesperson did not respond Wednesday to requests for comment on the status of the investigation.

Assemblyman Ron Kim has continued to call out Cuomo for his alleged part in contributing to the staggering deaths in the state's nursing homes. Kim's uncle was one of the victims

During the height of the pandemic, Cuomo issued nursing homes to accept COVID-19 positive patients due to a lack of hospital beds 

Vivian Zayas spoke out against Cuomo during a protest on March 25. She is part of the Voices for Seniors group, who have called for the governor's impeachment

Kathy Hochul, who will become New York's new governor, has vowed to be 'fully transparent' with the state's data regarding nursing home deaths

Among those who have been interviewed in the probe are Kim and another lawmaker who drew Cuomo´s ire for calling attention to the nursing home crisis, state Sen. Gustavo Rivera, who said he sat through three hours of questioning in May.

Rivera was flying to a conference on Tuesday as Cuomo was speaking and found himself having to muffle his delight as he watched the resignation unfold on a seatback TV. The Bronx Democrat who chairs the Senate's Health Committee said Cuomo's decisions on nursing homes were an instance of the governor 'doing something to make himself look good.'

As the virus engulfed New York in the early days of the pandemic, Cuomo did indeed look good, gaining a national audience for his tell-it-like-it-is daily briefings in which he lectured, cheerleaded and cajoled his constituents to stay 'New York tough.'

Many hailed him as a counterweight to the ineffective COVID-19 response they saw coming from the White House under President Donald Trump. Cuomo went on to write a book about leadership in a crisis. 

Grace Colucci, whose father died of COVID-19 at a hospital after being released from a nursing home, found her immediate happiness about Cuomo´s resignation dissolve into tears. She said she is fearful he will evade any real punishment for what she believes he did that cost the sick and old their lives.

'I'm afraid that they won't find out why it happened,' Colucci said. 'This may all be brushed under the rug.'

Cuomo formally resigned on Tuesday, insisting that he is innocent and has never groped anyone, but is stepping aside in the interest of the people so government can focus on COVID.

In a 20-minute speech, he addressed his three daughters, calling them his 'jewels' and saying he had 'made mistakes and learned from them', but insisting he was not the serial abuser the report made him out to be.

Cuomo - the highest paid governor in American history who was paid $225,000-a-year - could still be impeached even though he has resigned; critics say they still want to go ahead with the proceedings because it would strip him of his pension and mean he won't be able to run again.

The judiciary committee which was investigating whether or not to launch impeachment proceedings has not indicated if Cuomo's resignation will bring its work to a halt.