JCOPE gives no salary or start date for new director

The state’s ethics commission might have struck a blow against transparency when it refused to disclose how much its new executive director will be paid or when he’ll start.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics voted once again to hire an ex-aide to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to be its executive director. Seth Agata, former counsel to the governor, becomes the third straight insider to lead the agency which has been criticized for its lack of independence.

After the agency announced Agata’s appointment, Newsday asked about his salary. Commission officials declined to answer. Neither did they say when the new boss would take over.

— Yancey Roy