NY legislative staffer fired for killer whale flap
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A New York legislative staffer has been fired following a news report that a senator's bill memo appeared to have copied text from a high school student's Huffington Post article on killer whales.
State Sen. Greg Ball's office released a statement Thursday saying that the unidentified staffer responsible for the memorandum about a bill banning New York aquariums from keeping killer whales has been "terminated."
The Times-Union of Albany reported that nearly identical passages appeared in a Huffington Post piece written by a 17-year-old Chicago high school junior about the documentary "Blackfish."
The statement from Ball's director of operations says the office took immediate action to investigate once they were notified and are reviewing the staffer's previous work.
Ball is a Republican representing a suburban area north of New York City.
