Family of woman who died in NY nursing home calls for DOJ investigation of Gov. Cuomo

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NY family fighting for justice after mother dies in nursing home

Three siblings who lost their mother to COVID-19 call on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to be investigated by the Department of Justice.

A New York family is demanding "justice" for their mother, who died in a nursing home last spring after one of Gov. Cuomo’s aides admitted to hiding and fabricating numbers related to the nursing home death toll.

During an appearance on "Fox & Friends", 93-year-old Agnes Minisalle's three children said that the nursing home deaths and subsequent alleged cover-up should not be partisan issues.

They cited Letitia James, the Attorney General of New York’s scathing report as a catalyst for potential bipartisan agreement on reopening the DOJ investigation into the NY governor.

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"You pat yourself on the back and tell everyone how good you’re doing, at the same time you’re lying about the lives that are being lost," Ted Minisalle said.

"It’s just terrible, absolutely terrible."

Cindy Lizzi said that it was "devastating" to not be able to see their mother after the lockdowns last March. Before that, the three siblings would eat dinner with their mother, walk her to the nearby chapel and bring her to bed nearly every night.

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Two weeks after his mother died, Ted Minisalle lost his father-in-law to COVID-19 in the very same nursing home. The family said that if the DOJ finds wrongdoing by Cuomo in their investigation he needs to admit what he did and be brought to justice.

The three siblings also called on New York to allow family members back into nursing homes as part of the tenants' essential care.

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A top aide to Cuomo told leading state Democratic lawmakers last week that the administration had withheld data on COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes to avoid federal scrutiny.

The New York Post first reported that Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the governor, told leading Empire State Democrats that the administration feared the data could "be used against us" by the Justice Department during a video conference call and that the administration weighed whether or not to turn over important pieces of their report.

Fox News' Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.