The Cuomos hate Godfather references in stories about them. I’m skirting that issue by posting a poster for the 1957 film noir, The Brothers Rico. It does, however, star Richard Conte who played Don Barzini in the Coppola classic. And it *is* about a family enmeshed in the mob, which the Cuomos are not. And it’s based on a novel by the French master of suspense, Georges Simenon. It doesn’t get classier than that.
The Brothers Rico was featured on TCM’s Noir Alley last weekend, which is why it’s on my mind as well as on my DVR. It’s the story of an older brother who goes legit and gets pulled back into a life of crime by his bumbling brothers.
Cue obligatory Michael Corleone GIF:
The Brothers Cuomo find themselves embroiled in a controversy over a conference call.
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo advised his brother, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, and senior members of the governor’s staff on how to respond to sexual harassment allegations made earlier this year by women who had worked with the governor, according to four people familiar with the discussions.
Cuomo, one of the network’s top stars, joined a series of conference calls that included the Democratic governor, his top aide, his communications team, lawyers and a number of outside advisers, according to the people familiar with the conversations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private sessions.
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The cable news anchor encouraged his brother to take a defiant position and not to resign from the governor’s office, the people said. At one point, he used the phrase “cancel culture” as a reason to hold firm in the face of the allegations, two people present on one call said.
This is, of course, a violation of journalistic ethics. It is also stupid and arrogant.
The stupid is supplied by kid brother:
The arrogance is supplied by big brother:
I think Andrew’s awesome dog, Captain, is off the hook. The blanket, however, is under investigation.
If anyone thinks this is the first time a journalist advised a politician they’re dead wrong. Of course, when Ben Bradlee advised JFK, he had the good sense to do it privately and not on a conference call. Hell, both FDR and LBJ were advised by freaking Supreme Court Justices but they all had the good sense to do it privately.
Nobody has ever accused Chris Cuomo of having good sense. I’ve also never called him a journalist before. He specializes in infotainment, which is why CNN is letting him off easily.
“I can be objective about just about any topic, but not about my family,” he said on his CNN show. “Being a journalist and a brother to a politician is unique and a unique challenge, and I have a unique responsibility to balance those roles. It’s not always easy.”
“I understand why that was a problem for CNN,” he continued, referring to the conference calls he took part in with the governor and the governor’s staff. “It will not happen again.”
As to Andrew Cuomo, it’s another example of the arrogance and hubris that has gotten him into so much trouble. Rules and norms are for peons, not the Brothers Cuomo. If they don’t want to be compared to movie gangsters, they should stop acting like movie thugs.
Let’s circle back to the post title. The last word goes to the trailer for The Brothers Rico:
I worked for a wealthy family in Westchester County, NY back in the day.
The clients brother was the one who had the affair with Andrew Cuomos then wife.
It made all the headlines in the NY papers.
You could have knocked me out with a feather.