ALBANY — Nine years ago, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo was asked about a topic that was generating controversy across the Capital Region. It concerned a food truck that his administration had banned from the Empire State Plaza.
The truck was called the Wandering Dago. New York’s proudly Italian-American governor told reporters that the term "dago" – a common ethnic slur for those of Italian descent – was "obviously offensive.'
"If someone didn’t find it offensive, I would question that person," Cuomo said.
A year later, a criminal case involving a far pricier food product emerged: Eight men were arrested for poaching baby eels – known as "elvers" – off the coast of Long Island. The translucent eels can sell for up to $2,500 per pound in Asian markets.
While seemingly unrelated, those two unusual events converged in the settlement of a civil lawsuit in February, resulting in a former state worker, Andrea Loguidice, receiving a $270,000 payment. The state agreed to settlement terms days before a trial was scheduled to begin over whether Loguidice, the owner of the Wandering Dago, had been unlawfully fired by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Loguidice’s legal team had contended that ethical standards were enforced unevenly within the agency and that DEC's action had been driven by a fear of upsetting the governor.
Before joining the agency, Loguidice had filed a federal lawsuit that contended the administration had violated her free speech rights by banning her...
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