
The most independent member of New York's ethics board has quit after he called for a federal probe into what he calls corruption on the board.
Ravi Batra resigned Friday. He has been a critic of the secrecy and control of the potentially powerful Joint Commission on Public Ethics, which was created by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
After Batra called for a federal probe of JCOPE, Cuomo criticized Batra and the lawmaker who appointed him, Senate Democratic leader John Sampson. Cuomo spoke in a radio interview.
Batra had said the secrecy the panel requires of commissioners may have become a cover for unspecified illegality. In a letter to reporters Friday, he criticized the commission for press leaks and said it's driven by politics.
The commission had no immediate comment.