David Paterson

NY Gov Fined $62K Over Yankees World Series Tickets

Rachel Slajda | December 20, 2010, 1:03PM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY)

New York Gov. David Paterson has been fined $62,125 for accepting several 2009 World Series tickets from the New York Yankees.

The state Commission on Public Integrity announced today that it found that Paterson (D), who will finish his term at the end of the month, guilty of breaking state ethics law by accepting illegal gifts.

The commission also found that Paterson had lied to the commission about the tickets in February. It's a finding also made by an independent investigator appointed by the state attorney general's office, who said in August that Paterson could be charged with perjury. The case is now in the hands of the Albany County district attorney, who has not yet announced a decision about whether to charge Paterson.

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David Paterson

Paterson Aide At Center Of Domestic Violence Scandal Fired

Rachel Slajda | December 13, 2010, 4:32PM

New York Gov. David Paterson and aide David Johnson

David Johnson, the close aide to New York Gov. David Paterson (D) who was at the center of a domestic violence scandal that forced Paterson to drop out of the gubernatorial race, was fired last month.

Johnson, who was placed on unpaid leave when the scandal surfaced in February, was officially taken off the payroll on Nov. 19, the AP and others are reporting.

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David Paterson

Investigator: Paterson's Testimony On Yankees Tickets May Warrant Charges

Rachel Slajda | August 26, 2010, 4:42PM

New York Governor David Paterson

A state investigator said today that Gov. David Paterson (D-NY) mislead investigators under oath about paying for tickets to Game One of the World Series -- something that could warrant criminal perjury charges against the governor.

Judith Kaye, a retired judge appointed by the state attorney general, said in her report that Paterson lied to the state ethics commission when he said he had intended to pay for the tickets for his son and his son's friend before the game.

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Stubhub Would Have Been Cheaper

NY Ethics Commission: Paterson Should Pay $96K For Yankees Tickets

Ryan J. Reilly | August 18, 2010, 11:28AM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY)

New York's Public Integrity Commission is calling on Gov. David Paterson to pay the maximum $96,375 fine for soliciting free tickets from the Yankees to Game 1 of last year's World Series.

The five tickets, which were not available to the general public, cost $425 each. Paterson paid for them once the flap became public, reports the New York Daily News.

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Bryan Fischer

Social Conservative Bryan Fischer: Paterson Wants To Impose Sharia Law On New York

Jillian Rayfield | August 13, 2010, 3:37PM

Bryan Fischer

Bryan Fischer, the "Director of Issues Analysis" for the American Family Association who said there should be "no more mosques, period," now believes that Gov. David Paterson is attempting to impose sharia law on New York.

Paterson had offered to help the Cordoba House developers get state land for their proposed Muslim community center that's become known as the "Ground Zero mosque." Fischer wrote in a blog post today that Paterson "quite deliberately offered to grant Islam a favored status under New York public policy that is denied to Christian churches."

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David Johnson

David Johnson Charged In Domestic Assault Case That Scuttled Paterson's Reelection Bid

Megan Carpentier | August 12, 2010, 10:52AM

New York Gov. David Paterson and aide David Johnson

David Johnson, the aide to New York Governor David Paterson (D) who allegedly assaulted his girlfriend last Halloween and attempted to keep her from calling police, was booked this morning on misdemeanor assault charges related to the attack, and is expected to be formally charged and arraigned later today.

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David Paterson

Judge Recommends No Charges For Paterson; Cites 'Errors In Judgment'

Rachel Slajda | July 28, 2010, 1:53PM

New York Gov. David Paterson

A retired judge investigating New York Gov. David Paterson's role in a domestic violence case involving a close aide recommended today that no criminal charges be pressed against the governor. She did say, however, that Paterson had in "errors in judgment" when contacting the alleged victim.

"It is hard to reconcile this conduct with the Governor's expressed commitment to the cause of domestic violence prevention," wrote Judge Judith Kaye in her report. Kaye was asked to conduct the investigation after Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is running for governor, recused himself.

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Bertha Lewis

Muckraker Favorites Star On Time's Least Influential List

Zachary Roth | April 30, 2010, 2:55PM

Clockwise from top-left: Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), and former AIG Financial Products chief Joseph Cassano

Much more entertaining than Time's 100 Most Influential People list is its 100 Least Influential -- juvenilely titled the "Bum Hundred."

And that's only partly because it contains a handful of TPMmuckraker favorites. For instance:

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New York

Reports: Paterson Drafted Statement For Woman In Alleged Domestic Violence Case

Justin Elliott | March 26, 2010, 11:00AM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY)

It looks like New York Gov. David Paterson was more deeply involved than previously known in attempts to make a domestic violence case against a top aide go away.

The New York Times and the Post each have a story today reporting that he helped prepare a press statement for the woman who was allegedly assaulted.

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New York

Paterson Gives Narrow Denial On Role In Aide's Domestic Violence Case (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | March 17, 2010, 2:53PM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY)

Appearing on Don Imus' show on Fox Business today, New York Gov. David Paterson for the first time appeared to deny that he improperly intervened in the domestic violence case of a top aide.

Asked by Imus what happened when he reportedly spoke on the phone with the woman who had accused Paterson aide David Johnson of assaulting her on Halloween last year, Paterson responded in narrow terms (emphasis ours):

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Aqueduct Race Track

New York Cancels Queens 'Racino' Deal With Jay-Z-Linked Group

Justin Elliott | March 11, 2010, 5:16PM

Horses run at the Aqueduct racetrack in Queens. Inset, from top: Jay-Z, Gov. David Paterson (D-NY), Pastor Floyd Flake

Less than two months after Gov. David Paterson selected a politically connected group of investors, including rapper Jay-Z, to build a casino at a Queens race track, the governor's office today canceled the deal, reportedly because the investors didn't release sufficient financial information.

The Times reports:

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Aqueduct Race Track

Probe Of Deal To Build Queens 'Racino' Ensnares Gov. Paterson And ... Jay-Z?

Justin Elliott | March 4, 2010, 11:27AM

Horses run at the Aqueduct racetrack in Queens. Inset, from top: Jay-Z, Gov. David Paterson (D-NY), Pastor Floyd Flake

Authorities are investigating the winning bid of a politically connected group of investors -- including a prominent rapper and a former congressman -- to transform a Queens horse track into a "racino" amid suspicions that the contract, doled out by Gov. David Paterson, was awarded improperly.

In the long-awaited deal made by the state, a consortium of companies called Aqueduct Entertainment Group will develop the 50-year-old Aqueduct Race Track in Queens into a "racino" with over 4,000 video slot machines, restaurants, a large "entertainment center," and a hotel.

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New York Yankees

Ethics Panel: Paterson Broke Law By Accepting Free World Series Tickets

Justin Elliott | March 3, 2010, 2:35PM

Gov. David Paterson (D-NY) in the parade following the Yankees' 2009 World Series victory.

As his administration crumbles around him in an abuse of power scandal related to an aide's domestic violence case, New York Gov. David Paterson now faces new charges that he broke state law by soliciting and receiving free tickets to the opening game of the World Series last year, and then lying about it.

The New York State Commission on Public Integrity found in a report that Paterson got primo tickets -- for seats behind home plate, with a face value of $425 each -- for himself, his son, and a son's friend, in violation of a state gift ban.

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David Paterson

Latest NYT Paterson Story: Did Gov Commit A Crime?

Justin Elliott | March 2, 2010, 9:22AM

New York Gov. David Paterson and aide David Johnson

The New York Times is reporting that Gov. David Paterson played a bigger role than previously known reaching out to a woman who was the victim of an alleged assault by one of the governor's top aides.

The woman, Sherr-una Booker, did not appear for a Feb. 8 court hearing to get a protective order against Paterson aide David Johnson, whom she accused of assaulting her last October.

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David Paterson

Paterson Aide: State Police Lied To Me On Involvement In Domestic Violence Case

Justin Elliott | February 25, 2010, 3:44PM

NY State Police Superintendent Harry Corbitt and Gov. David Paterson

Things are getting bad for New York Gov. David Paterson -- and his state police superintendent -- as more revelations surface in the wake of the big Times story today.

The latest: Paterson's deputy secretary for public safety, Denise O'Donnell, has resigned and is accusing the state police superintendent of lying lied to her about police involvement in the domestic violence case of Paterson aide David Johnson.

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David Paterson

NYT: State Police -- And Possibly Paterson -- Intervened In Aide's Domestic Violence Case

Justin Elliott | February 25, 2010, 9:13AM

New York Gov. David Paterson and aide David Johnson

The New York state police intervened with a woman who had accused a top aide to Gov. David Paterson of assaulting her, in what she says was an attempt to harass her to drop the charges, the New York Times reports.

And Paterson himself had a brief phone conversation with the woman earlier this month, though the details of the call are in dispute. Paterson told the Times the woman "initiated" the call, whereas her lawyer says Paterson called her. The lawyer, Lawrence Saftler, says the governor told her, "If you need me, I'm here for you."

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Gregory Meeks

U.S. Attorney Subpoenas NY Officials On Rep. Meeks' Non-Profit

Justin Elliott | February 12, 2010, 12:24PM

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY)

Authorities have served subpoenas to New York officials as part of an investigation into a non-profit group co-founded by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), which reportedly cannot account for money it collected to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The focus of the U.S. Attorney's investigation into the Queens-based New Direction Local Development Corporation -- which was founded in Feb. 2001 "by the initiatives of congressman Gregory Meeks and [state] senator Malcolm Smith," according to its Web site -- is not totally clear.

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Allen Stanford

Meeks Stays Mum On Ties To Stanford

Zachary Roth | December 30, 2009, 8:44AM

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY)

Faced with a credible news report that they agreed to a request from Allen Stanford to ask Hugo Chavez to file criminal charges against a Venezuelan banker, most politicians would likely want to respond. Either to deny the story, or at least to offer some generic and uncontroversial sentiment like "Congressman X believes Allen Stanford should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law." After all, that's not exactly the kind of story most pols want to leave just hanging out there.

Not Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), though. Over 60 hours after McClatchy reported that Meeks agreed to that request during a 2006 phone call with Stanford, the New York congressman remains mum. His office didn't respond to McClatchy, and his press secretary hasn't returned two voice-mails and email from TPMmuckraker.

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