New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo unexpectedly met last week with a leading advocate for a bill to expand the statute of limitations for clergy sex abuse cases.
Michael Dowd, who was campaign manager for Cuomo’s father's 1977 mayoral run, was meeting with Cuomo’s chief counsel to discuss the bill when the governor showed up unannounced, insiders told the
New York Daily News.
Despite the fact that Dowd made his case to Cuomo and that Dowd is connected to Cuomo's father, Cuomo did not make any promises on the controversial measure, a source said.
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A Cuomo spokesman confirmed the meeting but said the governor has not taken a position on the bill which the Catholic Church vehemently opposes.
A New York City lawyer, Dowd has represented more victims of clergy sexual abuse in the New York metropolitan area since 2002 than any other attorney, according to his
website. He was the first attorney to go to trial against a New York area diocese, winning $11.45 million on behalf of two persons who were molested by a youth minister in a Catholic parish.
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Dowd also has represented victims against the Boy Scouts of America, the Harlem Boys Choir, a synagogue and a number of large corporations.
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