February 25, 2010
Experts Assail Call as Claimed Between Paterson and Aide’s Accuser
By JAMES BARRON, NY TIMES

In the world of lawyers and advocates who specialize in domestic violence and family law, a moment-to-moment concern is that a woman who has made an accusation — or gone to court for protection — will be intimidated by even the slightest pushback, whether it comes from the man she has taken action against or from his family, his friends or his co-workers.

For that reason, these experts say, contact between a powerful official like Gov. David A. Paterson and a woman who had testified that she had been violently assaulted by one of his top aides was inappropriate.

“If the governor called this woman for the first time and there was no other legitimate purpose than to talk about this incident, that should raise eyebrows,” said Leah A. Hill, a clinical associate professor of law at Fordham University Law School and co-director of Fordham’s Interdisciplinary Center for Family and Child Advocacy.

“This is already a very complex issue,” she said. “There’s no place for communication from a high official in the decision-making in the victim of domestic violence. The call should raise eyebrows.”

The New York Times reported Wednesday night that the governor had called the woman, who had gone to court seeking a protective order against David W. Johnson, a longtime aide to Mr. Paterson. The woman’s lawyer, Lawrence B. Saftler, said the minute-long conversation took place shortly before she was to return to court in the Bronx for a hearing on the final protective order. But the judge dismissed the case when she did not attend the hearing, on Feb. 8.

Mr. Paterson said on Wednesday night that he was suspending Mr. Johnson without pay. The governor also said that he was asking Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo to investigate how the administration had handled the matter.

The governor said the woman had initiated the call, although Mr. Saftler denied that was the case. But in the world of domestic abuse cases, experts said it was irrelevant who made the call — any contact between her and the governor was inappropriate.

“The whole thing seems a little odd to me, for a governor to call on a domestic case,” said Jo Anne Sanders, the executive director of the Suffolk County Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “It’s he-said, she-said as far as the calls go. However, if in fact she’s been dissuaded on pressing charges, that would not be appropriate.”

Karen Blaustein, a lawyer in Manhattan who specializes in family law, characterized Mr. Paterson’s call as “intimidation of a witness.” Ms. Blaustein is not involved in the case and said her comments were based on what she had read.

“I think that the attack that she described with David Johnson was brutal and violent,” Ms. Blaustein said. “If we are a civilized society, we have to have zero tolerance for any kind of attack like that, and to then use power, political power, to intimidate a witness to the degree that she then doesn’t appear in court and her petition is dismissed, is unspeakable. It’s an outrage. It’s setting us back 200 years.”

“The fact that it’s the governor of a very powerful state, it’s control to a degree that is going to have the effect of frightening her or other women in her position to be silent,” Ms. Blaustein said. “She probably felt terrorized and powerless.”

Ms. Blaustein said the substance of the conversation was irrelevant; the call itself was the issue. “It doesn’t matter what he said to her — he could have said, ‘Hello, you’re a nice lady,’ ” Ms. Blaustein said, “but he was calling on Johnson’s behalf and he wanted this to be over and hush-hush. It doesn’t matter what he said. The call itself was threatening and intimidating.”

Michele McKeon, the chief executive officer of the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said she was “deeply disappointed and disturbed by the allegations” about Mr. Paterson.

“We ask the leaders of the state to lead by example and adhere by the policies they set,” she said, adding that one of those policies was an executive order requiring state agencies to issue rules for domestic violence in the workplace. “Nowhere do we find that your boss should be calling the alleged victim of the attack,” she said. (That executive order was signed by Mr. Paterson’s predecessor, Eliot Spitzer.)

Rita Smith, the executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said that Mr. Paterson gave a speech at an event her group had organized in Manhattan in 2007, when he was lieutenant governor. “It was a great speech, and I believed him,” she said, “and it makes me sad to think that commitment doesn’t extend to everyone in his circle of influence.”

The woman in the Johnson case also complained in court in the Bronx that the State Police had been “harassing” her to drop the case. “I can’t imagine a scenario where that would be appropriate,” Professor Hill said. “That’s not the role of the police.” She said such calls could have “a chilling effect on her going forward with any kind of complaint she had filed, whether it be a criminal complaint or a family court complaint.”

The State Police superintendent, Harry J. Corbitt, said on Wednesday that the State Police had “never pressured” the woman not to press charges against Mr. Johnson. He also said the State Police routinely made such contacts when an incident concerned a high-profile person, even one who is not a government official, “that might involve a media event.”

February 26, 2010
Paterson Drops Out of Governor Race
By DANNY HAKIM and JAMES BARRON, NY TIMES

Gov. David A. Paterson announced on Friday afternoon that he was suspending his election campaign and would not run in November.

Mr. Paterson, his administration caught up in a whirlwind of allegations about its intervention in a domestic violence episode involving a top aide, ended his campaign less than a week after it officially began.

He spoke to more than 60 reporters, photographers and camera men crammed into a small briefing room the governor’s office on Third Avenue in Manhattan.

As he prepared for the Friday announcement, some newspaper editorial writers were demanding more than an end to his candidacy: they called for his resignation. That had only added to the increasing sense that it would be nearly impossible for him to run the state and the campaign with the abuse case in the background.

Still, as recently as Thursday evening, Mr. Paterson — who was elected lieutenant governor in November 2006 and became governor in March 2008 after Eliot Spitzer resigned amid a prostitution scandal — had insisted that he would stay in the race.

But he also said in a brief appearance on Thursday that he was consulting with other Democrats. Many of them had said publicly this week that Mr. Paterson’s chances had been damaged by the disclosures that the governor himself had stepped in on behalf of David W. Johnson, 37, a close confidant who rose from being a young intern to being Mr. Paterson’s driver and scheduler and, later, to a wider role in Mr. Paterson’s operation.

Last fall Mr. Johnson’s longtime companion accused him of brutally assaulting her, telling the police in New York City that he had choked her and thrown her against a dresser. She also said that Mr. Johnson had kept her from calling for help.

Twice, the woman was granted a temporary order of protection against Mr. Johnson. But she complained in court that the State Police had pressed her to drop the allegations.

Then, on Feb. 7, the day before a court hearing about a final protective order, Mr. Paterson spoke to her on the phone. She did not show up for the hearing the next day, and the judge dismissed the case.

Domestic-violence experts and advocates said it was inappropriate for the governor, the most powerful state official and a close friend of Mr. Johnson’s, to have any contact with her. At the same time, the role of State Police officials was coming under scrutiny. They had initially described their dealings with the woman as an effort to offer her counseling and let her know of “her options.”

But on Thursday, two people who had been briefed on the matter said that the head of the governor’s security detail, Maj. Charles Day, had contacted her himself. Former and current state officials said that was a highly unusual move, given that the State Police had no jurisdiction in the case.

The Paterson administration’s handling of the case will now be investigated by the state’s attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, who is himself expected to join the race for governor this year. Some government-watchdog groups said that given Mr. Cuomo’s hopes for the future, an independent prosecutor should be appointed.

The political fallout appeared to be devastating. Even before his speech at Hofstra last week, Mr. Paterson had resisted pressure from within Democratic circles to stand down in favor of Mr. Cuomo, whom many Democrats believe would have a better chance of winning in November.

Mr. Paterson had announced that he was a candidate with a speech at Hofstra University on Long Island When he spoke at Hofstra, where he had gone to law school, the man who has been the state’s top official for 23 months — and had been a state senator for more than 20 years before that — presented himself as something of an outsider tilting against special interests in Albany.

But as the storm over the domestic violence case continued through the week, allies began to urge Mr. Paterson to rethink his bid for election. Among those who said Mr. Paterson should stand down were members of New York’s Congressional delegation, Democratic lawmakers in Albany and a number of black Democratic officials, including some from Harlem, Mr. Paterson’s home base.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, before learning that Mr. Paterson’s announcement was expected, expressed concern about the turmoil that the allegations had already caused in Albany.

“I think the whole thing’s very sad,” the mayor said. “It’s not good for the state to have a state government that isn’t functioning as well as we need it to function in these very tough economic times.” Mr. Bloomberg said he believed that Mr. Paterson had been “right” to turn to Mr. Cuomo to investigate the way the Paterson administration had handled the domestic-abuse matter.

“How the attorney general is going to proceed — whether he going to do it himself or have somebody else — I don’t know,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “I haven’t talked to him about it, but you know, the governor’s got to make his own plans.”

David Johnson's former partner speaks out

Drivergate

Governor Paterson Will Not Seek Another Term: Sources
David Paterson will make the announcement today at 3 pm
By MELISSA RUSSO and MICHAEL CLANCY, NBC-TV
Updated 3:01 PM EST, Fri, Feb 26, 2010
LINK

In the face of mounting pressure, a burgeoning scandal and calls for his resignation, Governor David Paterson will not seek a second term in office, a top Democratic official told NBC News.

Paterson is expected to make the announcement at a press conference today at his Manhattan offices at 3:30. The governor's office and his campaign have been completely silent on the issue, but sources said Paterson's bid for another term is done.

"The governor isn't feeling pushed out," said another person who talked with the governor about his decision and who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because Paterson hadn't yet announced why he was ending the campaign. "He certainly realizes it's very difficult to do a campaign and govern, and the focus now is on governing and the best interests of the state."

But despite the planned announcement, top Democratic officials in Washington told NBCNewYork that Paterson's plan to drop his campaign for a full term does not got far enough -- and that Paterson needs to step down immediately.

More Problems For Paterson

Behind the scenes, Democratic officials are wrangling over the best way to handle the fiasco. Some Democrats -- including those the Obama administration, according to sources -- want Paterson to step down immediately because they fear the ongoing scandal will harm other Democratic candidates in statewide races.

Other Democrats feel Paterson is best left in office to act as a lightening rod, and to set up Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, an all but announced gubernatorial candidate, as a knight in shining armor who can ride into Albany and save the day.

Yesterday in a hastily called press conference, the embattled governor had insisted that was not suspending his campaign, but wavered for the first time, saying he is talking to fellow Democrats "to hear their opinion."

"I want to keep an open mind about this," Paterson said, demonstrating weakness for the first time as members of his own party, including the Obama administration, are pressuring him to step out of the race.

But it has become increasingly clear that the governor cannot hold on to whatever scraps of power and dignity he had left as Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday that he would investigate whether the administration or state police committed a crime in talking to a woman who had filed a domestic violence report against a top aide to Paterson.

The woman's allegations are damning.

"I have problems with even calling the police because state troopers kept calling me and harassing me to drop the charges and I wouldn't," said the woman. (You can listen to the woman at the center of the scandal describe the alleged interference in her own words in exclusive audio.)

Paterson's top criminal justice Cabinet member, Denise O'Donnell, resigned Thursday over the burgeoning scandal, saying conduct by the state police was "distressing" for an administration that has devoted itself to reducing domestic violence.

On Wednesday night, The New York Times dropped a bombshell story that details a violent confrontation between longtime Paterson adviser David Johnson and a woman over her Halloween costume. Johnson alleged ripped the woman's clothes off and slammed her against a dresser.

The state police and quite possibly the governor spoke with the woman, interferring with a criminal probe of a domestic violence case. Paterson's office acknowledges he talked to the woman but says she placed the call, and a spokesman for the governor denied anyone tried to keep the woman from pursuing a domestic violence case.

The state police said in a news release that they won't comment on any aspect of the case during the investigation. The Paterson administration asked Cuomo's office to investigate the matter, and the attorney general's office said it would look into whether crimes or other wrongdoing were committed. The state police said Cuomo asked the agency not to open its own internal probe.

Criminal Justice Services Commissioner O'Donnell abruptly quit Thursday afternoon, saying state police Superintendent Harry Corbitt had assured her his agency was not involved in the confrontation involving Johnson.

Corbitt denies misleading O'Donnell. He said that he told her state police weren't involved in the investigation, not that they hadn't contacted the woman.

Paterson's office had no immediate comment about O'Donnell's resignation or on increasing pressure for him to call off his candidacy. Paterson has been resisting calls from fellow Democrats not to seek a full term, and some saw O'Donnell's departure as a sign the administration was tottering.

"That's a very serious blow," state Sen. Bill Perkins, a Democrat who represents Paterson's old state Senate district in Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood, said of O'Donnell's departure. "She has been loyal, so the Cabinet, so to so speak, is falling apart."

Perkins is among top Democrats who want the governor to end his candidacy for a full term this fall. Paterson was lieutenant governor when Eliot Spitzer's resignation in a prostitution scandal elevated him in March 2008.

"What we are learning is unacceptable, and the viability of his candidacy is obviously crippling," Perkins told The Associated Press, calling the reports "very, very serious allegations."

Rep. Steve Israel, a fellow Democrat and longtime congressional member from Long Island, said it's time for friends to be straight with Paterson.

"I think it's become apparent that he should not seek election and should announce it soon," Israel said. "And sometimes friends have to speak unpleasant truths."

Rep. Nita Lowey, a Westchester Democrat, said that if "these very serious allegations" are true, "the governor should no longer be in office."

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, considered the most powerful official in Albany, said he wants an investigation of the role of the governor and state police in the Johnson matter.

"That investigation must address at whose direction and with whose knowledge members of the governor's security detail were acting when they contacted the victim," Silver said.

O'Donnell said in a written statement that it doesn't matter to her what was said in the contact with the woman.

"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 said. "These actions are unacceptable regardless of their intent."

The behavior is "particularly distressing" for an administration that prides itself in combatting domestic violence, she said Thursday, adding that she wrote to Paterson that she couldn't "in good conscience" remain in his administration.

Johnson, 37, has worked for Paterson for more than a decade, beginning when Paterson was a state senator. Johnson began as an intern as part of Paterson's effort to help youths with arrest records stemming from the crack epidemic in Harlem at the time.

New York City Police returned to the home on Nov. 4 on a follow-up visit as part of their domestic violence prevention program. No other incidents were reported. She had no visible injuries and was not taken to a hospital. On Nov. 9, police served David Johnson with an order of protection.

Two people familiar with the investigation identified the woman as Sherruna Booker, 40, with a home address in the Bronx. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. No telephone number was listed for her.

Her lawyer told The Associated Press in an e-mail that he would have a statement soon but did not elaborate. He declined repeated attempts to reach him by telephone and visits to his office and home.

AEG Racino Award Raises Many Questions
By John Toscano, Queens Gazette
LINK

It took eight years before AEG was chosen as the developer of the Aqueduct “racino” in Ozone Park last week, and it may take much more time to get the gambling project into the starting gate.
The ink was hardly dry after Governor David Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader John Sampson signed off on the deal, before charges of favoritism and political wheeling and dealing were flying all over Albany.

In the past few days, there have been these developments:
1. Losing bidders were reportedly going to file a suit charging the governor was giving AEG time to clean up its act before coming up with the $300 million payment to the state to close the deal.
2. Silver sent the governor a blunt letter reminding him that he (Silver) was awaiting proof that AEG had met the four conditions that Silver had set that must be complied with before the deal is final.
3. Senate Republicans finally joined the chorus, charging that Paterson picked AEG because he was trying to get an endorsement from its top gun, former Congressman Floyd Flake.
4. Supporting the GOP’s charges, the New York Times came out with a story in which Flake revealed that three days after Paterson awarded Flake’s group the contract, the pair held a private meeting in Albany at the governor’s invitation, allegedly to sound out Flake about his political support.
Meanwhile, there is much speculation whether AEG will have the $300 million up front payment which Silver set as one of his conditions. If it doesn’t, that would kill the deal, and it’s doubtful Silver would agree to extending time for AEG to try to get the cash.

Under the bid agreement, Aqueduct Entertainment Group (AEG), must set up 4,500 slot machines within the race track and construct a hotel and retail spaces and other amenities consistent with an entertainment environment.

The week-long assault on AEG claimed one victim on Monday when a member of the group, Darryl Greene, was asked to leave because the project bars anyone with a criminal record and Greene had reportedly had been convicted of misappropriating $500,000 in government funds in 1999.
Greene was said to have close ties to Flake, who’s now a minister in Jamaica, Queens.
Greene’s departure was also necessary because as an unqualified member of the consortium, his continued participation could in turn endanger another partner who would bring a gaming license to the table. The license could be revoked or suspended because the holder was doing business with an unsavory character.
The basis of the reported suit might be that Penn National, one of the losing bidders, was passed over even though it had offered a $300 million up-front payment while AEG’s accepted bid called for only a $200 million payment before Silver raised it to $300 million. That shows favoritism toward AEG, Penn National charges.
Silver’s renewed insistence that his four conditions be met ensures that Paterson will not be able to continue giving AEG any breaks going forward. Silver’s action has had the effect of shining a brighter light on the deal as it goes forward toward a March 31 deadline.
The Times story about Paterson calling Flake to Albany three days after Flake’s group was given the bid is interesting because prior to that meeting, Flake had publicly expressed support for New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s candidacy in the upcoming race for governor. Cuomo is expected to make a formal entrance into the race soon.
Regarding their Albany meeting, Flake said although he and Paterson discussed who he might support in the governor’s race this year, “there had been no commitment about a formal endorsement”. Later Flake said, “There was no real discussion about whether I would endorse (Paterson).”
A spokesman for the governor also said, “An endorsement was not discussed.”