New York State Takes $200 Million In Lottery Money Earmarked For Schools, Gives It To Horse Racing Association Instead

Buzzfeed News:

The state of New York diverted hundreds of millions of dollars from education to a scandal-plagued horse racing operator, Buzzfeed News has found.

Seven years ago, the state legislature carved out a special agreement that so far has taken more than $200 million in lottery revenue — money that otherwise goes to New York’s beleaguered schools — and given it to the New York Racing Association (NYRA), a not-for-profit corporation known for running of one of America’s most glamorous horse races, the Belmont Stakes, but also for allegations of corruption ranging from racetrack tellers laundering drug money to the chair buying the favor of a top legislator. The sweetheart deal was intended to help the racing organization regain solvency and repay a large state loan, but in the end NYRA managed to keep the loan as a gift — and to keep the sweetheart deal, too.

...

Now the Audit Director of the Office of the New York State Comptroller has told BuzzFeed News that the state agency has completed an examination of possible misuse of NYRA’s capital expenditures. The results of its audit will be released in the coming weeks.

NYSUT responds to the story:

The $200 million carveout — the full extent of which has not previously been reported — is only a tiny fraction of New York state’s overall schools budget. But according to Carl Korn, of the union representing New York state teachers, directing that money to the racing association instead of to schools has deprived teachers and students of much-needed resources.

“As this deal was being made, New York state was in the process of dramatically cutting education, leading to 30,000 job losses — roughly 22,000 in teachers,” Korn says. “And what is most outrageous is the poorest districts were hit with a disproportionate amount of these cuts.”

Governor Cuomo made one of his fundraisers, Anthony Bonomo, chair of NYRA, but Bonomo had to step down from the position when it was revealed he had given a no-show job to indicted former state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos' son Adam and was cooperating with the feds in the investigation.

In turn, Bonomo's son works for Governor Cuomo's administration.

Here is the back story on the Bonomo/Cuomo/Skelos relationship:

In March, Bonomo gives a $50,000 contribution to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s campaign committee. A few days later, Cuomo appoints Bonomo the head of the New York Racing Association or NYRA ( a job that people close to the Administration insist he was qualified for, since he was very knowledgeable of horses and racing. Fair enough ). About a month later, Skelos and his son are slapped with federal corruption charges. And in early June, just four days before the Belmont Stakes – one of the biggest days in racing – Bonomo steps down from his position at NYRA, and presumably starts cooperating with the Feds against Dean and Adam. A month after that the new indictment drops with two new charges including personal details about Adam’s behavior. This signaled to some that federal investigators were likely getting information from Bonomo which helped build the second set of charges.

And the backstory on Bonomo's son working for Cuomo:

The son of Anthony Bonomo, a prominent insurer linked to the federal investigation of Sen. Dean Skelos and who until days ago led the New York Racing Association, began working for the Cuomo administration last year, state records show.

Anthony Bonomo Jr. started in 2014 as an executive assistant for the Office of Storm Recovery, which was launched by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to help residents rebuild after superstorm Sandy and other recent hurricanes. Bonomo, who handles constituent services on Long Island, was hired for the $55,000 per year job in May 2014, a spokeswoman said.

Anthony is a hard worker and a smart young man who has done terrific work for the Office of Storm Recovery,a said Barbara Broncaccio, agency spokeswoman.

Now we learn that NYRA got lottery money earmarked for schools, something that was supposed to be a loan meant to help it out of financial woes, then never paid the money back because, why bother when you can just donate to candidates and keep the money (and the lottery funds carveout) instead?

Subsequent events also called into question what the sweetheart deal itself was for. According to Richard Rifkin, one of Gov. Spitzer’s lead negotiators, it was granted to keep NYRA afloat and ensure that the organization would be able to repay the state’s $105 million loan. Amid the political chaos of Gov. Spitzer’s scandal-driven resignation, New York agreed to a let the bankrupt NYRA keep the money. But it also kept the lottery carveout that was supposed to help the organization repay the loan. The carveout is in effect until at least 2033.

Soon after getting its bailout and emerging from bankruptcy, NYRA expanded its political contributions, according to online disclosures and analysis by Bennett Liebman, then an Albany Law School professor and NYRA board member who later became deputy secretary for gaming.

“In prior years, NYRA […] did not play the political game to any great extent,” Liebman writes in his analysis, which shows that NYRA became the largest political donor among gaming interests by late 2009.

Between April 2008 and the next major election in November 2010, its PAC made over a quarter million in political donations, including $50,000 to Gov. David Paterson, Eliot Spitzer’s successor, and roughly $200,000 to legislative candidates and political parties.

Governor Cuomo's New York - a cesspool of corruption and cronyism.

Funny how often NYRA is at the middle of that.

If This Is The Best Cuomo Can Do...

In the battle between Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo, I figured a few hacks would come out of the woodwork to back Cuomo.

David Paterson, Cuomo's handpicked head of the State Democratic Committee, seemed like a likely candidate.

Sure enough, we get this news on the NY Post gossip page today:

David Paterson, the former governor and current head of the New York State Democratic Committee, is being urged to run for mayor.

“He hasn’t said ‘no’ to anyone,” a friend of his told me. “He would beat the pants off [Bill] de Blasio.”

Paterson confirmed “a number of people have mentioned it to me out of nowhere,” but he told me he isn’t interested.

Oh, please run David, please!

I'm dying to see you get some more scrutiny for the witness tampering incident, where you talked the woman your aide beat out of showing up in court against him:

Last fall, a woman went to court in the Bronx to testify that she had been violently assaulted by a top aide to Gov. David A. Paterson, and to seek a protective order against the man.

In the ensuing months, she returned to court twice to press her case, complaining that the State Police had been harassing her to drop it. The State Police, which had no jurisdiction in the matter, confirmed that the woman was visited by a member of the governor’s personal security detail.

Then, just before she was due to return to court to seek a final protective order, the woman got a phone call from the governor, according to her lawyer. She failed to appear for her next hearing on Feb. 8, and as a result her case was dismissed.

Many details of the governor’s role in this episode are unclear, but the accounts presented in court and police records and interviews with the woman’s lawyer and others portray a brutal encounter, a frightened woman and an effort to make a potential political embarrassment go away.

If Paterson is the best Cuomo can do to take aim at de Blasio, Cuomo's in bad, bad shape...

Let Us Count The Ways Andrew Cuomo Is A Despicable Human Being

Yeah, I know - technically this is Sandra Lee that was hit with a lawsuit for being a deadbeat, but don't forget who shares that home with her:

Food Network star Sandra Lee has made good on an $800 overdue bill from a Putnam company that removed snow from the roof of her $1.2 million home earlier this year, a court clerk said Tuesday.

Lee had been scheduled to appear in Town Court last Thursday after The Honey Do Men Gutters and Roofing Corp. of Mahopac sued her for $800 plus interest, claiming she paid only part of a $4,000 bill after company workers spent two hours clearing snow from her roof in February.

But the matter was settled prior to Thursday evening's court date, which was then canceled, the clerk said. The company's attorney, Francis J. O'Reilly, confirmed Lee paid.

A message left through the website of Lee, 47, seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Lee is known for her "semi-homemade" cooking method in which she primarily uses prepackaged products along with fresh products. She shares the New Castle home with her boyfriend, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo,

In the lawsuit filed in Town Court, the company claimed a representative of Lee, a woman named Irma Martinez, called them Feb. 20 to remove snow from the roof of Lee's home at 4 Bittersweet Lane.

Honey Do Men said it did $4,294 worth of work but that Lee only paid them $3,494 after they contacted her three times for payment.

Now if only Deadbeat Cuomo would let the town assessor into his home to do a proper assessment of improvements he and Sandra Lee had done to it:

Lee's home has been in the news in recent weeks after lohud.com Tax Watchdog David McKay Wilson reported that Lee had made many improvements to the property without town approval.

By improving the home without proper permits, Lee likely had avoided paying higher taxes because town officials had not been aware of any changes that could potentially increase its value, Wilson concluded.

In the wake of Wilson's reporting, a town assessor visited the house and came up with a tentative reassessment raising its value by 29 percent. The value was based on an exterior inspection of the home because the assessor was not allowed inside. Cuomo later told Wilson he was not aware the assessor was not allowed inside.

Can you imagine what the Cuomo campaign would be doing if his GOP challenger, Rob Astorino, were as big a deadbeat as Sheriff Andy Cuomo and Sandra Lee are?

Hell, Cuomo sent David Paterson out after Astorino yesterday to dredge up some political corruption Astorino's father was involved in over 20 years ago.

I noted the following in a comment on State of Politics:

Wait, so Paterson calls the girlfriend of his aide who's filed domestic abuse charges to get her to drop the charges against his aide, but he's bringing up a 20 year old criminal conviction of Astorino's father?
 
Seriously?

I'm a Democrat, been one since I could first vote, but I have to tell you, the criminality and sheer gall that comes out of the Democratic Party leadership in this state makes me sick.

David Paterson should be in jail for witness tampering.

Had there been a real attorney general at the time and not Quid Pro Cuomo in that office, maybe there would have been a real investigation into Paterson.

Hey, you know what? Maybe you folks at State of Politics can ask Paterson where he gets the nerve to let these statements go out with his name attached after he barely got out of Albany without a perp walk?

There's just so much to despise about Andrew Cuomo and his consorts, both political and otherwise.

Sleazy, nasty, criminal deadbeats.

That's Cuomo and Company.

And yeah, I'm including Sandra Lee in that mix.

Cuomo Puts A Criminal In Charge Of The State Democratic Party

From State of Politics:

Former Gov. David Paterson on Wednesday was formally installed by the state Democratic Committee as its next chairman, assuming the post from Harlem Assemblyman Keith Wright.

Paterson, addressing the delegates on the first day of the Democratic convention here in Melville, naturally opened with a joke.

“So you thought you were rid of me,” Paterson said.

A woman in the crowd yelled, “We love you David.”

Paterson, not missing a beat, said: “Give it a few minutes.”

It was only four years ago that Paterson declined to run for re-election as Democrats in the state coalesced around Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

Now Paterson is assuming a more overtly political role for Cuomo, and his speech reflected that, hitting on similar themes the state party wants to get across at the convention.

What State of Politics fails to report is the reason why Paterson didn't run for re-election as governor himself - because he had engaged in witness tampering and perjury:

New York Governor David Paterson in 2010 was accused of witness tampering to protect an aide accused of abusing his girlfriend and lying under oath about whether he intended to pay for 2009 World Series tickets at Yankee Stadium. In the wake of the scandals there were calls for him to resign as governor. Paterson suspended his campaign for re-election. Five staff members have resigned. However no criminal charges have been brought against him although his aide has been charged in the abuse case.

The witness tampering claim came to light in February 2010 involving staffer David W. Johnson after New York State Police and his staffers talked to the woman to get her to drop the case. Paterson was accused of talking to the woman personally a day before the case was dropped.^[1] Paterson dropped his re-election bid on February 26 but has maintained his innocence and rejected calls for his resignation.

On March 3, 2010, charges were made he had lied under oath with regard to charges that he through Johnson had solicited free tickets from the Yankees for the World Series.

Timeline

• October 28, 2009 – Paterson and Johnson attend the opening game of the 2009 World Series at Yankee Stadium. Included in the party is Paterson's 15-year-old son, a friend of his son and another member of his staff, allegedly using free tickets provided by the Yankees. Paterson would be formally accused of improperly accepting the tickets by the New York State Commission on Public Integrity on March 3, 2010.^[2]
• October 31, 2009 – Johnson (born in 1972) who is six feet seven, upon finding his live-in girlfriend Sherr-una Booker and a female friend dressed in Halloween costumes he did not like is accused of choking Booker and throwing her against dresser and ripping off the costume. When she tried to call the police he took her phone and left. New York City Police who have jurisdiction in the case in the Bronx arrive at 9:50 p.m. Police reported there were no visible signs of injury but she later reported she had been bruised.^[3][4][5]
• November 1, 2009 – Johnson attempts to contact State Police superintendent Harry J. Corbitt to discuss the case. Failing that he contacts Charles Day, head of the governor's security unit, who gets permission from First Deputy Superintendent Pedro J. Perez to talk to Booker even though the state does not have jurisdiction in the case.^[6]
• November 2, 2009 – Booker gets an order of protection against Johnson and complains that the state police are harassing her. Police say they are just offering her counseling options. No charges are filed against Johnson.
• November 4, 2009 – Booker in court says that Johnson is avoiding being served on the order.
• December 17, 2009 – In court Johnson's lawyer refuses to accept the order on his client's behalf.^[7]
• Late January–Early February 2010 – Paterson asks press secretary Marissa Shorenstein and staffer Deneane Brown, who actually knew Booker, and arranged for Booker to call the governor.^[8]
• February 7 – Booker at Brown's request calls the governor. Paterson says he did not bring up the assault allegation in the conversation. He said he just offered her his help and said he wanted to check that the woman was all right.^[6]
• February 8 – Booker does not attend a hearing on the order and the case is dropped.
• February 9 – In another high-profile abuse case, the New York State Senate expels Hiram Monserrate, who was convicted of assaulting his girlfriend with a broken drinking glass.^[9]
• February 9 – Rumors circulate that the New York Times has a story that will force the governor to resign or drop out of the governor's race. Rumors speculated it would be about womanizing or drug use.^[10]
• February 16 – The New York Times runs a profile on Johnson and his rise to power from being Paterson's intern and chauffeur to being his closest adviser. The Times reports on the abuse case.
• February 17 – Paterson denounces the New York Times for reporting on Johnson and stands by his aide, saying as to Johnson's conduct, "I profoundly believe in this principle of redemption and giving young people a second chance." ^[11]
• February 20 – Paterson formally begins his bid for election in a speech at his former law school Hofstra.
• February 24 - The New York Times reports on the state police connection and Paterson's involvement. Paterson suspends Johnson and asks State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate.
• February 25 - Denise E. O’Donnell, deputy secretary for public safety which supervises the state police, resigns in protest saying that State Police superintendent, Harry J. Corbitt, had assured her that the state police were not involved in the case.^[12] Corbitt was quoted in the media saying state police visits were customary in episodes that might attract media attention—a comment that the Times "dismissed as false by many inside and outside the State Police." Corbitt denied that he misled O'Donnell.^[4]
• February 26 - Paterson withdraws in a speech in New York City during the Third North American blizzard of 2010. Paterson says "It hasn't been the latest distraction; it has been an accumulation of obstacles that has obfuscated me from bringing my message to the public...I give you this personal oath: I have never abused my office - not now, not ever - and I believe that when the facts are revealed the truth will prevail."^[13]
• March 2 – Gillibrand calls for Paterson to resign saying, "At the end of the day, if the allegations of abuse of power are true, then the governor will be unable to govern and he will have to step down,’’ ^[14]
• March 3 - Corbitt announces he is taking an early retirement Corbitt had earlier retired but came back at the request of Paterson. Corbitt said, “I'm not an elected official; I'm a public servant, I'm a cop. And a good cop. So to continue to face that pressure, and even pressure from my family, the media showing up in my driveway — that's unacceptable. So for my own health and for my own sanity it's the right thing to do.”^[15]
• March 3 - Long-term ally Charles B. Rangel resigns his chairmanship at least temporarily from the House Ways and Means Committee as he faces his own ethics issue. The local NBC station notes that Rangel's and Paterson's problems further indicate decline in power and influence for "Harlem's Gang of Four" (Rangel, Basil Paterson (the governor's father), David Dinkins, and Percy Sutton (who died in December 2009)).^[16]
• March 3 - The New York Commission on Public Integrity acting a complaint from the New York Public Interest Research Group issues a report saying Paterson lied under oath with regards to the five World Series tickets behind home plate that had a face value of $425 each. The Commission said that Paterson testified he intended to pay for them and that he backdated a check for them. The report said that Johnson had asked for the tickets because Paterson was to play a ceremonial role in the game but he did not participate in any formal way and was not introduced.^[17][18]
• March 4 - Communications director Peter Kauffmann, top spokesman for Gov. Paterson resigns saying, "Unfortunately as recent developments have come to light, I cannot in good conscience continue in my position." Kauffmann's email and testimony were taken in the World Series scandal.^[19]
• March 9 - Perez announces his early retirement, saying in his letter, "My retirement is not premised on the current investigation by the attorney general, as I know my decisions were honest and rightly motivated,”^[20]
• March 11 - One day after Paterson said he was recusing himself from decisions on the Aqueduct Racetrack "on the advice of his lawyers," his office announced that the office was no longer supporting Aqueduct Entertainment Group's bid and that the Division of Lottery will handle a new bidding process that is "transparent" and "apolitical."^[21]
• March 12 – Andrew Cuomo recuses himself from investigating the case saying, "I wish to avoid any possible appearance of any political interest or conflict whatsoever." Judith Kaye, who had sworn Paterson in as governor, was named independent counsel with powers to bring criminal charges in the cases.^[22]
• March 16 – Paterson’s new attorney Ted Wells released an email exchange between the Yankees on October 7–8 showing that the Yankees had invited Paterson to the playoffs. Paterson declined the tickets but said he would be interested in World Series tickets.^[23]
• March 17 – Shorenstein resigned, saying, “Due to the circumstances that have led to my unwitting involvement in recent news stories, I can no longer do my job effectively.”^[24]
• March 18 – WNYC releases a story detailing how New York governors have used the state police to meddle inappropriately dating back to George Pataki when he in meddled in the parole board.^[25]
• March 18 - Paterson told John Gambling of WOR (AM) that he was the person who leaked the information about the February 7 conversation with Booker saying "the individual who first made it clear that there had been a conversation was myself." The New York Times responded by saying the Administration (via Kauffman) only responded after the Times specifically asked about the conversation.^[26]
• March 24 - The New York Times reported that Paterson on February 16, 2010, instructed an assistant in office to send an email to Booker asking her to issue a statements to the press saying that Booker’s and Johnson’s breakup months earlier “had been unfriendly but not violent, and that any charges related to the altercation had been dropped.” Booker declined. The Times said Paterson and Booker spoke several times as the Times was preparing its February 24 article. The Times article also said that State Police Maj. Day spoke to Booker between the October 31 altercation and the arrival of the New York City police. Paterson’s attorney Wells was quoted in the story as saying “he will not comment on a piecemeal basis to incomplete and often factually inaccurate press reports.”^[27]
• July 28 - Judith Kaye in a 54-page report says Paterson showed "remarkable lack of judgment - but violated no criminal laws" and recommended against any prosecution although the final decision could be made by the Bronx District Attorney.^[28][29]
• August 12 - Johnson is formally charged with third-degree assault, three counts of criminal mischief, menacing and harassment. ^[30][31]
• August 17 – Kauffmann testifies before State Commission on Public Integrity that after being contacted by a New York Post report he advised the governor the “smartest thing to do was to pay for all the tickets” but the governor refused initially. Executives for the Yankees testified that they had not given the tickets to Paterson as a gift. The Commission could fine the governor $93,000 for the infraction. Paterson or any representative for him do not attend the hearing.^[32]
• August 26 - Kaye in a report on the World Series tickets issues says that Paterson may have lied under oath to members of the state Commission on Public Integrity investigating the matter. The report leaves it up to Albany District Attorney David Soares to decide whether charges would be filed.^[33]
• August 31 - Paterson says he plans no formal action against Clemmie Harris (an aide who had the earlier contact with Booker) or Johnson. Harris remains on the staff and Johnson has not been paid since February.^[34]
• December 20 - The Commission on Public Integrity says Paterson lied about the tickets and fines him $62,125.^[35]
• March 2, 2011, Johnson pleads guilty to misdemeanor second-degree harassment. If he stays out of trouble for a year it will be removed from his record.^[36]

David Paterson doesn't belong running the New York State Democratic Party for Andrew Cuomo.

He belongs in prison.

At the very least, he ought to be drummed out of politics for good.

But Cuomo has brought him back into the public sphere and made him the public face of the State Democratic Party.

Which I guess is pretty emblematic of circumstances these days.

Ravitch: Andrew Cuomo Had His Tentacles In The Paterson Administration

Richard Ravitch is publishing a memoir that says Andrew Cuomo's been running things longer than you think:

In the summer of 2009, Republicans who lost their half-century control of the Senate mounted a coup with three dissident Democrats. That power struggle gridlocked the legislature for weeks until the dissidents struck deals for lucrative leadership posts in return for going back into the Democratic fold.

"It was about this time that Andrew Cuomo, now viewed as the inevitable victor in the 2010 gubernatorial election, began to make his presence felt within the Paterson administration," Ravitch writes.

"It was nothing formal. But Paterson, after the string of scandals that beset his administration, never recovered his authority; people on Paterson's staff, as well as senior civil servants, became increasingly responsive to public and private statements made by the governor-in-waiting."

Cuomo behind the scenes

Ravitch wrote "it was clear" that Lawrence Schwartz, both Paterson's chief of staff and now Cuomo's top aide, "was already taking directions from the attorney general. Cuomo had the good taste not to try to pre-empt Governor Paterson's authority explicitly, but everyone inside the apparatus had a clear sense that the transition of power was well on its way."

Ravitch said Cuomo's criticism sank the fiscal rescue Ravitch was appointed to create in the wake of the state's worst fiscal crisis since the Great Depression. Later, when speculation ran rampant that Paterson would resign, Ravitch said Cuomo called to ask whom Ravitch would appoint as lieutenant governor.

Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi had no immediate comment yesterday. Paterson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ravitch, a Democrat who had key roles in the 1970s in saving New York City from bankruptcy, will release his memoir, "So Much To Do: A Full Life of Business, Politics and Confronting Fiscal Crises," on April 23. Public Affairs is the publisher.

Cuomo essentially calling the shots as governor even when he was still just attorney general.

Classic control-freak behavior from a classic control freak.

Poor Paterson

NY Governor-By-Hooker, uh,-Accident David Paterson is sad that he's going to have to give up all the free stuff, including help, he gets in his current place of privilege:

When he thinks about his future life after office, David A. Paterson, the legally blind governor of New York, is most unsettled by something more elementary: how to cross the street.

For years, a small army of state employees has done for Mr. Paterson what his predecessors did for themselves: they read him the newspaper, guided him up stairs and around corners, fixed his collar when it was sticking up, and even grabbed a quart of milk for him at the supermarket.

Many politicians who leave office struggle to adapt to civilian life, with its everyday letdowns and indignities — the sudden absence of solicitous aides and gun-toting bodyguards, jam-packed schedules and an ever-ringing telephone. But for Mr. Paterson, who can see nothing out of his left eye and only color and large objects out of his right, the transition will be extraordinary: after three decades in government, he must now relearn the basic routines and rituals of living on his own.

Hey, "Governor" - get over yourself.

There are plenty of blind people who have to deal with all those fears that you listed in the Times every freaking day who don't whine and complain to the Times.

Instead they bravely go about their lives, ask for help when they need, do things on their own when they can.

I know, because I have a friend who is in this position.

I am always amazed and inspired by the everyday courage of blind people who manage to live their lives in New York City.

You, on the other hand, are a privileged whiner who needs to STFU.

Frankly, Governor, you're lucky you're not going to jail for the actions you took in the abuse case involving your wife-beating aide or the Yankee tickets you stole because you thought you were due them.

NY Governor Doles Out Pork Barrel Spending Even As He Prepares To Layoff State Workers

More hypocrisy from the people who supposedly want to balance the budget:

ALBANY - Fiscal crisis be damned, lame-duck Gov. Paterson is on a multimillion-dollar spending spree.

Paterson has quietly doled out nearly $17 million in pork-barrel spending, including $5 million to promote the 2014 Super Bowl at the new Meadowlands Stadium - in New Jersey.

State budget director Robert Megna approved the spending spree Nov. 30, just after Paterson ripped lawmakers for failing to close a $315 million budget gap.

...

The governor's pork spending, first reported in the Times Union in Albany, prompted the state's largest public employees union to call on Paterson to rescind the nearly 900 pink slips he's planning on sending out.

Elizabeth Lynam, of the nonpartisan Citizens Budget Commission, said Paterson "has lost the moral high ground by spending this money on member items."

I don't think Paterson ever had the high moral ground, but it just another case of politicians actually having the money to handle an economic crisis but choosing to use it on something other than saving jobs.

Paterson Perjured Himself

Liar, liar, beard on fire:

Gov. David A. Paterson misled investigators for the state ethics commission when he testified that he had intended to pay for free tickets he obtained to last year’s World Series, according to a report issued on Thursday by an independent counsel investigating the matter.

But the independent counsel, Judith Kaye, said it was up to the local district attorney in Albany, P. David Soares, to decide whether Mr. Paterson should be prosecuted for perjury.

Aides to Mr. Paterson obtained five tickets to the first game of the 2009 World Series, which Mr. Paterson attended along with two aides, his son, Alex, and a friend of his son.

The tickets eventually came under the scrutiny of the state Commission on Public Integrity, which found that Mr. Paterson had never intended to pay for his own ticket and only paid for his son and son’s friend after media inquiries on the matter.

The commission also concluded that Mr. Paterson had lied during his testimony about the tickets, a matter the commission referred last spring to Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, who in turn asked Ms. Kaye to investigate.

...

“Evidence developed in the investigation indicates that, contrary to the Governor’s testimony, he had not formed an intent prior to the game that the tickets other than his own would be paid for,” Ms. Kaye found.

“Evidence indicates that his decision to pay for the tickets for his son and his son’s friend was made following a press inquiry the day after the game. In addition, evidence indicates that, contrary to the Governor’s testimony, he did not partially prepare and bring a check for $850 to the game to pay for tickets for his son and his son’s friend.”

At a minimum, portions of Mr. Paterson’s testimony “were inaccurate and misleading,” the report concluded, and “warrants consideration of possible criminal charges by the District Attorney, who will make the ultimate decision regarding whether or not charges should be brought.”

Nothing will happen to him, of course.

Cuomo has already decided to stay as far away from Paterson scandals as possible in order to keep the way to his election to the governor's mansion clear.

And Paterson is beyond shame.

He "persuaded" a woman beaten by his chief aide to not follow through on criminal charges.

The same investigator looking into the ticket matter said Paterson was guilty of an "error in judgment" in the domestic abuse case, though she did not recommend criminal charges be filed against the governor.

Paterson himself thinks he did nothing wrong in either case.

As Arlo Guthrie noted so many years ago, this is just another case of American blind justice.

Politicians can scheme and steal and get away with it.

So can hedge fund managers and CEO"s and Wall Streeters.

Ah, but the rest of us, we need to be held "accountable," as Arne Duncan said this week.

Jail For Everybody!!!

Wow - read through this TPMmuckraker piece about the latest Paterson scandal involving the Queens "racino".

Then count the number of current or former pols who ought to go to jail for their criminal shenanigans in it.

I count three - Gregory Meeks, Floyd Flake and David Paterson.

Add that number to the embattled Charlie Rangel, the soon-to-be imprisoned Joe Bruno, the already-in-prison Bernie Kerik, the ought-to-be in prison Malcolm Smith and it's like New York has turned into New Jersey.

Wonder if anybody paid off Arne Duncan to help NY make the RttT finals. Maybe Arne can go to jail too!!!

Does This Finish Paterson?

I think it does:

ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson personally directed two state employees to contact the woman who had accused his close aide of assaulting her, according to two people with direct knowledge of the governor’s actions.

Mr. Paterson instructed his press secretary, Marissa Shorenstein, to ask the woman to publicly describe the episode as nonviolent, according to a third person, who was briefed on the matter. That description would contradict the woman’s accounts to the police and in court.

Mr. Paterson also enlisted another state employee, Deneane Brown, a friend of both the governor and the accuser, to make contact with the woman before she was due in court to finalize an order of protection against the aide, David W. Johnson, the two people with direct knowledge said. Ms. Brown, an employee of the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, reached out to the woman on more than one occasion over a period of several days and arranged a phone call between the governor and the woman, Mr. Johnson’s companion.

After the calls from Ms. Brown and the conversation with the governor, the woman failed to appear for the court hearing on Feb. 8, and the case was dropped.

These accounts provide the first evidence that Mr. Paterson helped direct an effort to influence the accuser.

So when Paterson said Friday "I give you this personal oath...I have never abused my office — not now, not ever," he was either lying or in complete denial

Either way, he's a dead man walking now.

Dem leaders will make it clear to him he's gotta go.

Kinda like when Barry Goldwater and a few other Repubs broke the news to Nixon in 1974 that it was time to hit the bricks.

And they would be right.

UPDATE: And as Atrios says, what Paterson has done is much worse than the sex scandal that brought Spitzer down.

Paterson's Gotta Go

Both the Daily News and the Post are calling for Paterson to resign.

Bloomberg just threw him under a bus during a press conference about the snow and said something like "Well, I think the governor has a serious decision to make about this, but it is a very serious matter..."

Not exactly an endorsement of support from Paterson's charter school buddy.

Can't say I've ever said this before, but I agree with the News, the Post and Bloomberg.

It's time, governor.

Resign.

You're a creep.

To send your security detail to the woman who alleges that your top aide beat her to talk to her about the incident, well, that's pretty horrific.

Then to call her to see if she'd drop the charges, that's even worse.

And to top it off, to be doing all of this while you're calling for Hiram Monseratte to go for beating his girlfriend, well, that's just way too much gall.

So forget about just ending your re-election campaign, governor.

Time to go for good.

Resign.

Immediately.

Paterson Losing Support

Governor Paterson lost a respected member of his cabinet today in protest over allegations that Paterson and his personal state trooper contingent tried to (and may have succeeded) in getting a woman allegedly assaulted by Paterson's top aide to not pursue assault charges.

Here is the story from the Times:

Updated, 2:26 p.m. | The cabinet official who supervises the State Police has resigned in the wake of reports of intervention by the State Police and Gov. David A. Paterson into a domestic-assault case against a senior Paterson aide.

The official, Denise E. O’Donnell, commissioner of the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, issued a statement Thursday after inquiries from The New York Times.

“The fact that the governor and members of the State Police have acknowledged direct contact with a woman who had filed for an order of protection against a senior member of the governor’s staff is a very serious matter,” she wrote. “These actions are unacceptable regardless of their intent.”

The resignation, at 2 p.m., came on a day when New York’s political establishment reeled at the news of Mr. Paterson’s involvement, with some of the beleaguered governor’s few remaining allies publicly suggesting that he should end his campaign for election.

Ms. O’Donnell, a former federal prosecutor and social worker, wrote that she found the breach “particularly distressing” in an administration “that prides itself on its record of combating domestic violence.

“The behavior alleged here is the antithesis of what many of us have spent our entire careers working to build,” she added, “a legal system that protects victims of domestic violence and brings offenders to justice.”

O'Donnell says the State Police Superintendent lied to her about the involvement of the state police in the alleged cover-up.

So far, there have only been calls for Paterson to put an end to his re-election campaign.

But given the disgusting nature of these allegations, I would not be surprised to see more damaging facts come out and Paterson ultimately have to go.

Paterson was calling for Hiram Monserrate's expulsion from the State Senate for assaulting his girlfriend at the same time he was trying to get a woman who was assaulted by his chief aide to drop the assault charges against the aide and he was using the state police to help him in the cover-up.

Yeah, gotta say, that's worthy of a resignation.

Paterson Covered Up Assault Incident Involving His Chief Aide

OK - this is bad:

Last fall, a woman went to court in the Bronx to testify that she had been violently assaulted by a top aide to Gov. David A. Paterson, and to seek a protective order against the man.

In the ensuing months, she returned to court twice to press her case, complaining that the State Police had been harassing her to drop it. The State Police, which had no jurisdiction in the matter, confirmed that the woman was visited by a member of the governor’s personal security detail.

Then early this month, days before she was due to return to court to seek a final protective order, the woman got a phone call from the governor, according to her lawyer. She failed to appear for her next hearing on Feb. 8, and as a result her case was dismissed.

Many details of the governor’s role in this episode are unclear, but the accounts presented in court and police records and interviews with the woman’s lawyer and others portray a brutal encounter, a frightened woman and an effort to make a potential political embarrassment go away.

The case involved David W. Johnson, 37, who had risen from working as Mr. Paterson’s driver and scheduler to serving in the most senior ranks of the administration, but who also had a history of altercations with women.

On Wednesday night, in response to inquiries from The New York Times, a senior administration official said Mr. Paterson would request that Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo investigate his administration’s handling of the matter. The official also said the governor would suspend Mr. Johnson without pay. He declined to answer any specific questions about the governor’s role in the matter.

The woman’s lawyer said Mr. Paterson’s call came sometime between Feb. 1 and Feb. 8, the scheduled court date.

The lawyer, Lawrence B. Saftler, said that the conversation lasted about a minute and that the governor asked how she was doing and if there was anything he could do for her. “If you need me,” he said, according to Mr. Saftler, “I’m here for you.”

Mr. Saftler said the governor never mentioned the court case, but he would not say if the call had influenced her decision not to return to court.

The call also came as The Times was examining the background of Mr. Johnson, whose increasing influence with the governor had disturbed some current and former senior aides to Mr. Paterson.

The woman’s lawyer asked that she not be identified by name because she feared retaliation, in part because she works at a public hospital.

She told the police that Mr. Johnson had choked her, stripped her of much of her clothing, smashed her against a mirrored dresser and taken two telephones from her to prevent her from calling for help, according to police records.

How does Paterson survive this?

Incredibly Lame Paterson Expose In Times

Dunno what all the fuss was about the past few weeks concerning Governor Paterson.

There were all kinds of rumors floating around such as Paterson and his wife are swingers and have sex parties in the governor's mansion or Paterson's a coke fiend who enjoys doing lines off the naked bodies of dead hookers.

Quality stuff like that.

The Times was supposedly investigating these rumors and was going to blow the doors out of Albany with an expose about Paterson.

Now that stuff I detailed above may be true for all I know, but the Times either doesn't have that info or plan on publishing it if it does.

What they do have is a story about Paterson's chief aide, David Johnson, a 6 foot 7 fellow nicknamed D.J. who was arrested for selling coke to the cops as a teenager and has been involved in at least three domestic abuse cases, the last one as recently as last October.

Paterson's other aides do not like Johnson and think he has too much power and influence over Paterson.

Johnson used to be Paterson's driver, now he's functioning as a quasi-chief of staff to the governor.

Granted Paterson is a hypocrite for calling for Hiram Monserrate's expulsion from the state senate for a misdemeanor conviction in a domestic abuse case while keeping Johnson, a man with his own domestic abuse problems, as his chief aide.

And granted, that Paterson would essentially give so much power to this "Benson" figure with a violent past and at least one felony drug conviction (his other conviction came when he was underage and has been sealed) is a bit scary and shows, uh, an interesting bit of judgment on Paterson's part.

But surely this story doesn't call for Paterson's resignation.

So either there is more to this story that the Times didn't get into or Paterson was right about somebody being out to get him.

Rubber Room For Corrupt Politicians: Bloomberg, Malcolm Smith Edition

It's good to be connected.

The NY Daily News reports this morning that three charter schools with connections to Mayor Bloomberg or State Senate President Malcolm Smith are receiving a nice financial hug and kiss this post-Valentine's day:

Three politically connected charter schools are expected to receive millions in city money for new buildings, an Education Department plan shows.

In the city's capital plan, two charter schools with ties to Mayor Bloomberg - Brooklyn's PAVE Academy and Harlem Promise Academy - are slated to receive a total of $72 million for new buildings, about a third of the city money available for charter construction.

Peninsula Preparatory Academy in Queens, which state Senate President Malcolm Smith helped found, will also receive funds, though an exact amount has not been settled on.

Critics say with limited resources for school construction, the city should build public schools where they're most needed - not where elected officials have pet schools.

"It pays to have friends," said Community Education Council 15 Co-President Jim Devor, criticizing the choice to spend public dollars on a new school for Red Hook, Brooklyn, which doesn't have an overcrowding problem.

"You have a neighborhood whose school facilities are underutilized. You gratuitously add a school building where none is needed."

The Promise Academy school is run by education reform "hero" Geoffrey Canada and may constitute a quid pro quo bribe between Bloomberg and Canada.

Canada loudly supported Bloomberg's efforts to maintain mayoral control of the New York City public school system last summer when the law was up for renewal.

Now he's receiving a new school building courtesy of Mayor Bloomberg and city taxpayers at the expense of school children and parents in other areas of the city that suffer from school overcrowding.

City Controller John Liu and Public Advocate Bill De Blasio need to look into just how it is that Geoffrey Canada's school, along with the other politically connected charters, got NYCDOE largesse at a time when funds for school construction are so limited.

As for Malcolm Smith, the Daily News reported last month that he steered $100,000 dollars of state aid to the charter school he helped found, Peninsula Preparatory Academy.

While steering the money toward the charter school he founded is not illegal, it does raise questions of a conflict of interest for Smith. What may be illegal are the political donations Smith received from the for-profit company, Victory Schools Inc., that runs the charter.

The owner of Victory Schools Inc., Steven Klinsky, denied there was any quid pro quo arrangement between his company and Smith and said the donations were simply to reward Smith for supporting raising the charter school cap, but the deal certainly smells bad on the face of it.

Adding to Smith's woes, the NY Times reports this morning that Smith and some of his aides are being investigated by federal prosecutors in both Manhattan and Brooklyn for money transfers between Smith and non-profits he has ties to:

Four current or former officials of a Queens nonprofit group or a related charity founded by State Senator Malcolm A. Smith and Congressman Gregory W. Meeks — a group to which Mr. Smith has directed some $56,000 in state funds — have spent some time on the Senate payroll working for Mr. Smith, and two were among his highest paid staff members, public records show.

Federal prosecutors are investigating the nonprofit group, the New Direction Local Development Corporation, and a related charity set up to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina, and they issued a subpoena at the beginning of February for records from Mr. Smith’s Senate office that show all the money he had directed to community groups over the past decade, a person with knowledge of the subpoena said last week.

But while the prosecutors who issued the subpoena, from the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan, wrote it broadly, the person said that investigators made clear that they were focused on New Direction, which was incorporated in 2000 and says in its tax filings that it was created to encourage local development in Southeast Queens.

...

It is unclear whether the investigation by Manhattan prosecutors, which is in its earliest stages, or another apparently associated inquiry by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, are related in any way to the activities of the four people who spent time over the years on Mr. Smith’s legislative payroll. No charges have been filed, and the United States attorneys’ offices in both Manhattan and Brooklyn declined to comment on Sunday.

But three of the four people who either are or were on Mr. Smith’s payroll appear to have played major roles in the nonprofit group over several years, according to its tax filings and Web site, and two hold posts that suggest they are or were close to Senator Smith or are deeply involved in his political affairs.

Connections between the lawmakers who make grants and the nonprofit groups that get them have come under growing scrutiny from prosecutors in recent years, especially in connection with the State Legislature and New York City Council, which together give out tens of millions of dollars in local awards each year.

There is no law prohibiting a state legislator from directing a grant to a charity that employs or has on its board a friend, family member or staff member of the legislator’s. But under an agreement with Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo in 2007, the recipient of any grant, often known as an earmark, must disclose such connections in a signed statement, under penalty of perjury.

Smith's mentor, Reverend Floyd Flake, is also embroiled in a quid pro quo scandal involving the awarding of a gambling contract to a company connected to him by the state. After Flake's company won the bid, Flake pulled back from his public support of Andrew Cuomo in this year's Democratic primary for governor and says he may now support David Paterson, the man who helped his company win the gambling contract.

Finally the Daily News reports that Mayor Bloomberg bought a political crony a house in Forest Hills Garden for helping Bloomberg win his third term as mayor.

The scandals involving New York City and New York State political figures - from Bloomberg to Smith to Flake to Paterson - are coming fast and furious.

It is clear these people think state and city coffers are their own and any taxpayer funds they steer toward their own non-profits or the non-profits run by their supporters or to companies run by supporters are just the spoils of office.

It is also clear that quid pro quo deals are daily occurrences at City Hall, at Tweed, and in Albany.

Maybe there needs to be a rubber room for corrupt politicians where Bloomberg, Paterson, and Smith can languish for months on end while prosecutors investigate their cases.

And maybe there needs to be a rubber room for non-profit operators and charter school management company operators like Geoffrey Canada and Steven Klinsky of Victory Schools, Inc. involved on the other end of quid pro quo dealings

Paterson Scandal Rumors

The NY Times hasn't published it's rumored "Paterson scandal" story yet.

Paterson says there is nothing to the rumors, that they're part of "a coordinated effort to stop him" from running for re-election.

Dunno why anyone would coordinate an effort to stop a guy with an approval rating in the 20's from running for re-election.

But you know, maybe in Paterson's little world, that makes sense...

Paterson Rumors

Apparently all Albany is abuzz with rumors that the NY Times is about to reveal Governor Paterson is involved in some sex scandal that makes the "Spitzer Schtups Prostitutes" scandal look like the weather report.

Dunno the details. Don't want to wager a guess what they are either.

But if true, boy oh boy, that would be two governors in less than four years down to scandal.

It's like NY wants to be Illinois or something...

Paterson Races To The Top

Governor Paterson was very busy this weekend with important government business:

Gov. Paterson was spotted nuzzling, neck-kissing and cooing like a smitten schoolboy with a pretty young woman -- not his wife -- in a New Jersey steakhouse yesterday afternoon, The Post has learned.

"I saw him kissing her neck," said Sharon Farrell, a lawyer sitting two tables away from Paterson and his mystery gal pal at the River Palm Terrace in Edgewater. "He was right on her neck, nudging, like back and forth."

Paterson's spokeswoman later said the governor's dining partner was just a friend, and that he never got romantic with her.

The governor himself told The Post that the woman "works with me."

But Farrell said, "No way it was a business meeting . . . It was very intimate."

Farrell's friend and dining companion, special-ed teacher Carol McGuirt, said Paterson and his lady friend, a leggy Latina in her 20s, were ensconced in a cozy, curved banquette for several hours during lunch, and clearly were enjoying each other's company -- immensely.

"A young, young girl was with him," McGuirt said of Paterson, who was stylishly accoutered in a shiny purple dress shirt and slacks. "I would say they looked like a young couple who are very into each other . . . and enjoying themselves."

"She was very attractive," McGuirt said of Paterson's friend. "They were very close together. He was leaning over and very touching. They were like teenagers."

Coincidentally, or not, the same steakhouse has been frequented by Eliot Spitzer -- whose 2008 resignation as governor after being exposed as a prostitute-loving horn-dog put Paterson in charge of the Empire State.

On the day Paterson was sworn in, he confessed he had carried on extramarital affairs in the past, as had his wife, Michelle.

Paterson made some effort to keep a low profile yesterday, McGuirt said.

"Every time I went to the ladies room and I came back, he put his head down and his hand over his head," she said.

Still, McGuirt said. "He was laying up against her . . . they were up against each other in every intimate way."

When a Post photographer entered the eatery after being tipped to the pair's presence, and sat down at McGuirt's and Farrell's table, the governor got up and walked over to the women.

As the lensman snapped a photo, Paterson said, unprompted, "She works with me."

His spokeswoman Marissa Shorenstein said, "Gov. Paterson was having lunch with a friend at a public restaurant and any insinuation of improper behavior is absolutely false."

Asked whether the governor was kissing the woman on the neck between bites, Shorenstein responded, "He says that's absolutely false."

Shorenstein refused to identify the woman but said she is not a state employee.

I think Paterson should get a hotel room to conduct his government business in.