Carl Paladino has hit the big stage in grand style since his defeat of Rick Lazio in Tuesday’s Republican gubernatorial primary, giving interviews to anyone who’ll have him, and saying anything he wants to . His loose lips led current Gov. Paterson and former Gov. Eliot Spitzer to call him “unfit” for office . But if a tree falls in the forest, and it’s reported in the media, do you really think Paladino isn’t going to have a vicious response ready? In response to Spitzer, Paladino’s attack dog campaign manager Michael Caputo said, ” When we hear the advice of a whoremonger, we consider the source. ” As for Paterson, he was as ruthless , calling the attack by “the most corrupt and incompetent Governor in New York history” laughable: ” David Paterson is addled and nearly all New Yorkers are counting down the days until he stops embarrassing this state .” Paladino’s viciousness with his enemies, and even his friends, has unnerved some Republicans, who are hedging their bets and trying to avoid speaking out one way or the other. Harry Wilson, the GOP candidate for comptroller, said he won’t support anyone in the Governor’s race because he is terrified of Paladino’s wrath has to focus on his own race. Republican attorney general nominee Dan Donovan avoided endorsing Paladino, while former Gov. George Pataki, who Paladino called a “degenerate idiot,” sounds like an abused spouse, jumping back and forth between kind-of endorsing him and sort-of hating him. But lest his violent threats and “baseball bat” rhetoric doesn’t seem intimidating enough, Paladino also has threatened to tear the Republican party apart if Rick Lazio’s name doesn’t disappear from the conservative ballot. Who needs allies when you’ve got Carl !
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Paladino Threatens His Enemies, Terrifies His Allies
Spitzer, moderator Michael Howard Saul, Paterson, and Pataki Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal hosted a morning breakfast forum between Gov. Paterson and his two predecessors, former Gov.’s Eliot Spitzer and George Pataki. It was a meeting that rivaled the Yalta Conference—not for historical significance, but certainly for posture and barbs . The three once and present leaders of the Empire State were friendly with one another, discussing political decisions, regrets, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, whom they all had comments for. Some highlights of the forum: Spitzer was asked about a line in his inaugural address in which he said that New York h ad slept like Rip Van Winkle during the Pataki years. He responded kindly, saying Pataki “was always a very good client when I was attorney general.” Pataki quickly cut in, “There’s a lot I could say ,” as the audience laughed. When asked what they would do differently, Paterson said after a lull, ” Appoint myself to the United States Senate .” The moderator then asked Spitzer if Paterson was the right choice for lieutenant governor, to which he responded, “He was also the right choice for the United States Senate,” confirming speculation that Spitzer had planned to appoint Paterson to Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat if she had been elected president. Pataki and Spitzer argued about the effectiveness of President Obama’s economic stimulus program, which prompted Paterson to joke, “I feel like I’m at the West Side Tennis Club.” Paterson and Spitzer both called Paladino unfit for office . Paterson said: “He transferred emails back and forth that were racist, homophobic, misogynist. These are the kinds of things we don’t need in politics. I never heard an apology. I never heard accountability.” Pataki was wary about Paladino, who once called him a “degenerate idiot.” He cautiously said he’d support him, but only if Paladino can “turn anger into a positive agenda of change” and demonstrate “the demeanor and character we want for a governor.” “It comes down to who is going to be a better leader for the state. I expect that it will be him, but I’m not sure yet,” Pataki said.
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Gov Love-In: Paterson, Spitzer, Pataki Trade Barbs
A new report released today about whether Governor Paterson perjured himself over free Yankees tickets concluded the matter “warrants consideration of possible criminal charges.” Sigh, Albany. Judith Kaye, the former top NY Judge appointed as the independent counsel to investigate the case by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, decided that Paterson’s testimony was “inaccurate and misleading” and called on the Albany County DA David Soares to decide whether or not to prosecute the Governor. You may recall that Kaye also gave Paterson his oath of office back in 2008. Last fall, Paterson and his aides allegedly solicited five free tickets to the Yankees World Series games. The tickets had a face value of $425 each, but last week the state’s Commission on Public Integrity suggested that the outgoing governor pay a $93,000 fine . The Paterson-World Series tickets saga has involved apparently forged backdated checks (by aide David Johnson, who is facing his own legal problems ) and suggestions that the Yankees only offered the governor tickets to the playoffs .
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Paterson May Face Charges For Yankees Tix Testimony
Judge Gibbons, right, in a sketch from the Tarloff trial Manhattan Criminal Court Judge James D. Gibbons, who was appointed under Giuliani, resigned abruptly on Aug. 17. Today, the circumstances around the resignation were revealed: Gibbons had a possibly conflict-ridden relationship with a female Legal Aid attorney, who he had a child with. Then in the course of that inquiry, investigators discovered pornography on his work computer. Gibbons worked as a city prosecutor for 14 years under DA Robert Morgenthau, and was appointed to the Brooklyn bench in December 2001, moving to Manhattan Criminal Court in 2003. Gibbons presided over several high profile cases, including the prosecution of cleaver-wielding David Tarloff , and Naomi Campbell , for whom Gibbons nearly issued a bench warrant when she missed a court date in 2006. The Gibbons investigation began after rumors started circling about his extra-curricular activities socializing with Legal Aid lawyers. The Post’s source said : “They were interested in him because he was spending a lot of time hanging out drinking with them… It was only after one of them got pregnant, and it came out that he was the father, that they began investigating him for possibly not recusing himself ,” in cases where the girlfriend may have stood before his bench. “Then Bam! They come across pornography.”
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Investigation Turns Up Porn On Judge’s Computer
David Paterson Governor Paterson’s decision to sign a bill outlawing the NYPD’s electronic database of everyone they stop and frisk may have its roots in his own personal history of run-ins with the po-po. During an interview on the Steve Harvey show on WBLS , Paterson revealed that he was stopped three times by the police on Long Island when he was younger. “Two times, I’ll tell you, I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I certainly felt like I had when they left,” Paterson said. Well, given Paterson’s history of drug use , it’s no surprise he felt a little guilty. Two of the stops happened when he was in his teens, and the other when he was in his 20s. (One assumes each stop ended happily when police realized who his dad was .) But “for a lot of young people, that is a negative experience,” Paterson told Harvey. Paterson’s spokesman would not elaborate on the nature of the stops, but he told the Daily News , “He wasn’t frisked. He has no idea if they kept records.” If they did, they’re now down the memory hole, thanks to the new law!
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Paterson Stopped by Cops Three Times in Past
Assembly Speaker Silver and Senate Conference Leader John Sampson Today, Governor Paterson is calling for a special Sunday session for the Assembly and Senate to discuss the NY State budget , which was due on April 1, because the Assembly and Senate have struck a budget agreement that ignores many of Paterson’s proposals to close a $9.2 billion budget gap. According to NY1, “The agreement reached by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson restores $600 million to state school aid. Another $683 million in health care cuts that were proposed by Governor David Paterson were also restored, including $46.8 million in Medicaid cuts… The agreement does not address how the state will raise revenue for the restored aid, but Democratic sources said that does not need to be immediately figured out.” Paterson issued a statement , “Yesterday the Legislature appears to have finally taken the initiative to introduce the Governor’s budget so that it can be voted up or down on Monday. Governor Paterson has been asking the Legislature to do this for months. As is its right by law, the Legislature has made amendments to the Governor’s budget bills, and those changes are being reviewed. Governor Paterson will veto any new member items added to these bills. What is clear is that the Legislature has not introduced any revenue actions, which are necessary to balance and complete the budget. In typical Albany fashion, the Legislature is now touting its spending and restorations to the Governor’s proposed cuts, while failing to provide a way to pay for them. ” According to the NY Times , this was the Legislature’s attempt to “outflank” Paterson’s budget. If lawmakers are able to pass their proposal, “Paterson would no longer be able to use the threat of a government shutdown to force lawmakers into uncomfortable votes… Yet the absence of a firm agreement on revenue remains a glaring hole.”
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Possible State Budget Showdown Looms
NY gubernatorial candidate and Tea Party fave Carl Paladino threw down an interesting, inflammatory accusation today —that Governor David Paterson is an drug addict. He told the editorial board of the Watertown Times that Paterson is a “drug addict; he’s been a drug addict his entire life.” You may recall that shortly after being sworn in, Governor Paterson admitted to using marijuana and cocaine during an interview with Dominic Carter on NY1. When Carter asked, “You have used cocaine governor?”, Paterson said, “I’d say I was about 22-23. I tried it a few times, yes.” Paladino’s spokesman later clarified : On Wednesday at a meeting in Watertown, Carl Paladino referred to Gov. David Paterson as a drug addict. Carl was referring to the Governor’s admitted use of cocaine, a highly addictive narcotic that ruins lives. As anyone who ever fought to help a habitual cocaine user will tell you, once you are an addict, you are always an addict. It is a constant fight to stay clean and productive in daily life. Illegal drug abuse is not a small issue and cocaine abuse is one of the most troubling addictions. If the Governor is no longer using cocaine, then good for him, good for his family and good for the State of New York. But once you are an addict, you are always an addict. And if the Albany ruling elite is okay with present or past drug use among their political leaders, they need to know that the vast majority of New York is not. Unlike any other candidate for Governor or our present chief executive, Carl Paladino has never used marijuana, cocaine or any other illegal drug. The Office of the Governor is no place for drug abusers – and Carl is not one of them. Carl is not politically correct. Carl tells it like it is. And if this is uncomfortable talk for the Albany crowd, they should buckle their seat belts because this will not be the last offense of their delicate sensibilities. Remember, Paladino may like to forward racist and other risque emails to friends, but that doesn’t make him a racist , you know ?
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Paladino Calls Paterson A "Drug Addict"
Earlier this month, we wondered what was going on with the dual investigations into the Paterson administration. One probe, you may recall, centers on allegations that Paterson and the State Police tried to silence a woman who accused Paterson’s top aide of beating her; the other scandal has to do with the same aide, David Johnson, soliciting free Yankees World Series tickets for the boss. Well, today the Times reports that Johnson has been called to testify twice, but has kept his mouth shut, invoking his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself. Neither the state attorney general’s office nor Johnson’s attorney will comment, but on the lawyer’s law blog, he calls the Fifth Amendment the “safe harbor of the innocent” and “not the refuge of the guilty.”
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Paterson Aide Invokes Fifth Amendment to Avoid Testifying
Maurice Gordon, pictured with his wife and daughter (WCBS 2) The woman whose cousin was killed after defending her at a Queens nightclub spoke to WCBS 2 about the incident. Maurice Gordon, an off-duty customs officer, was fatally shot in the chest in front of his parents’ home in the Jamaica section of Queens at 4 a.m. on Monday morning. Gordon’s cousin Kerry Ann Daily said, “It really happened fast. It really happened fast. I heard Mo say ‘Run, Kerry.’ I saw them draw their guns. And I run.” Daily, who is from Jamaica, was visiting NYC for two days and she and her cousin went to the nightclub Moments. She told WCBS 2 reporter Pablo Guzman that some men were hitting on her—”Just the usual — men being ignorant. I ignored them”—and then Gordon, who cut a formidable figure with a 6’3″ and 250-pound frame, walked over towards them, “He didn’t ‘step in.’ He just came and stood by me, because I was by myself.” It’s suspected that the shooting may have been motivated by this incident. Daily added that Gordon had helped her through a tough time, “He was younger than me, but he was like my big brother!” Gordon, who lived on Long Island with his wife and 14-month-old daughter, worked for Customs and Border Protection at JFK Airport. Police are looking for the public’s help and have released this sketch of a suspect. According to the NYPD, “The suspect is described a black male between 28 and 32 years old, 5’10″ to 6’0″, with a thin build and black hair,” and anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), submit a tip at NYPDcrimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES), enter TIP577.
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Family Mourns As Suspect Is Sought In Queens Killing
Photograph of Governor Paterson and Lieutenant Governor Ravitch at the January budget presentation from the Governor’s Office Albany lawmakers disagreeing is nothing new, but Governor Paterson’s opposition to his own lieutenant governor’s budget plan— one that includes borrowing to balance the budget—is interesting, given how Paterson fought to have LG Richard Ravitch as his number two. The NY Times reports that Paterson’s stance, “announced at a public meeting of state leaders in the Capitol, underscored the growing tension between Mr. Ravitch and the rest of the Paterson administration, who are fundamentally divided over how to close the state’s $9.2 billion deficit.” This morning, Paterson explained , “My budget plan was released Jan. 19th and his savings plan was released in the end of February. So at the time he wrote it, he knew that I had made it clear that I didn’t want to borrow.” He added, “He was quoted as saying that the legislature can’t cut all of that in this budget plan. We’re going to find out in the next 10 days that the Legislature can cut without borrowing.” Keep in mind, the budget was due on April 1; Paterson wants lawmakers to agree (to something) by June 28 . Ravitch, who has been credited with helping fix things in financial trouble ( the MTA, NYC, etc. ), told the Times he cares about making sure the state’s fiscal health is in good standing, “My recommendations are absolutely as important in my mind as they were when I made the recommendations four months ago. I’m not the budget director; I’m not the counsel. I’m fully aware of that, and I’m not complaining about it. All I can do is offer advice… Would I like to see them do what I suggested or some equivalent things? Yes, of course. I have 12 grandchildren here, who live in this state and in this city. ”
