FBI searches home of former aide to New York Gov Kathy Hochul

MANHASSET, N.Y. (AP) — The FBI searched the Long Island home of a former aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday.

The former staffer, Linda Sun, has not been accused of wrongdoing, and an FBI spokesman declined to release details beyond confirming that agents “conducted court-authorized law enforcement activity in Manhasset.”

Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, share the $3.5 million home in a gated community on Long Island called Stone Hill. The search was first reported by The New York Times. Neither Sun or Hu returned voicemails seeking comment from the Associated Press on Wednesday. The couple purchased the home in 2021. Earlier this year, they placed the home in a trust, records show.

Sun worked in state government for almost 15 years, first as the chief of staff for a state lawmaker, then held posts in the administration of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and eventually served as the deputy chief of staff for Hochul, according to her LinkedIn profile.

In November of 2022 she moved to a job at the New York Department of Labor, where she served as deputy commissioner for strategic business development, but she departed that job just months later in March of 2023, the profile said.

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A person familiar with the circumstances of her departure said she was fired after evidence of misconduct was discovered. The matter was forwarded to law enforcement at the time, according to the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss personnel matters. The person declined to detail the nature of the alleged misconduct.

Hochul’s office declined to comment on the FBI search.

After leaving state government, Sun went to work as campaign manager for Democrat Austin Cheng in an unsuccessful run for Congress on Long Island. Cheng did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn, which covers Long Island, also declined to comment.