CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: In Spite of Executive Order, Cuomo Takes Campaign Money From State Appointees. “That type of arrangement — appointments go out, campaign cash comes back in — has vexed government reformers in Albany for generations. Things were supposed to change in 2007, when Eliot L. Spitzer, then the newly elected governor, issued an executive order barring most appointees from donating to or soliciting donations for the governor who made the appointment. Mr. Cuomo renewed the order on his first day in office. But a New York Times investigation found that the Cuomo administration has quietly reinterpreted the directive, enabling him to collect about $890,000 from two dozen of his appointees. Some gave within days of being appointed. The governor also has accepted $1.3 million from the spouses, children and businesses of appointees, state records show.”