The New York Times reported Wednesday that the negotiations, which resulted in a $4 million deal for a book on the Cuomo administration’s response to the pandemic, occurred at the same time aides worked to make edits on an impending Health Department report.
The newspaper, citing sources with knowledge of the book bidding process and an examination of the timeline of talks, reported an overlap between the negotiations for Cuomo's book and efforts to intervene in the Health Department report.
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Melissa DeRosa, one of Cuomo’s top aides involved in the effort to withhold the true coronavirus death toll in nursing homes, also helped Cuomo with his book’s development by attending meetings with publishers and editing drafts of the book, according to the Times.