Research

Scope and Content Note

The series consists of correspondence, memoranda, copies of legal opinions, reports and litigation, investigation files and other subject files produced and maintained by the Department of Law during the tenure of Louis J. Lefkowitz as attorney general of New York State. Also included are two "training films" apparently produced at the direction of Attorney General Lefkowitz to help educate consumers. Significant reports found in the series document work of the Temporary State Commission on Living Costs and the Economy on state nursing homes, and the subsequent Moreland Commission investigation (initiated by Governor Carey) into residential health care facilities.

The records pertain to special legislative sessions and a wide variety of issues, including: the attorney general's participation in state fiscal matters (sale of bonds, spring borrowing, conditions of banks, etc.); correspondence and legal opinions requested by Governor Hugh Carey and Comptroller Arthur Levitt; legal cases involving the New York State Retirement System and public employee unions; the Moreland Commission investigation of the state's nursing homes (Hynes Commission); and the purpose of the state's Organized Crime Task Force, and work with Maxwell B. Spoont, its acting deputy attorney general, investigating the state's harness racing industry.

The two motion picture films in the series were apparently produced by Bertram A. Weinert, director of consumer education in the attorney general's office. They are: "The Fine Art of Fraud," one 10.5" reel of 16 mm color film; and "Caveat Emptor," one 12" reel of 16 mm black and white film. The films are undated, brittle, and broken (mended with tape) in some places.