New York Politics

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An ethics panel is investigating allegations that New York Governor David Paterson got free tickets to the World Series in violation of state rules, the governor's press office said on Tuesday. The inquiry by the New York state public integrity commission followed news reports that Paterson's senior adviser requested free tickets from the Yankees to last week's opening game of the baseball championship series at Yankee Stadium in New York, which Paterson attended with his son, two aides and a friend. "The governor attended Game One of the World Series in his official capacity to represent the state of New ... Read Full Story

For our next installment of the Spitzer Files — our collection of e-mails between flacks and reporters during Eliot Spitzer’s downfall —we bring you the tale of the Today producer who offered to help a flack find a job at NBC. As soon as the New York Times broke the news of New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer ’s habit of patronizing high-end call girls on the afternoon of March 10, 2008, his communications director Christine Anderson pretty much knew she was out of a gig. But along with managing the media frenzy surrounding Spitzer, she also had a new boss, Gov. David Paterson , ... Read Full Story

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A top aide to former New York Democratic Governor Eliot Spitzer was hit with a $10,000 civil fine for smearing a Republican senator by ordering the state police to create "official-looking" documents about the senator's use of state helicopters, a state Commission said on Wednesday. Former Republican Senator Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, whom the Spitzer aide, Darren Dopp, tried to discredit, was not found to have violated the existing state rules on helicopter trips but these regulations were tightened as a result. The fallout from the scandal, known as "Troopergate," continues because the legislature and Democratic Governor David Paterson have ... Read Full Story

The New York Times broke the story of Eliot Spitzer ’s hooker habit last year, launching a PR shitstorm of epic proportions. But according to e-mail traffic we’ve obtained, the Times showed Spitzer’s flacks extraordinary deference as the scandal unfolded. On March 10, 2008, few people on the planet had more difficult jobs than Christine Anderson and Errol Cockfield . They were the communications director and press secretary, respectively, for New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, and at roughly 1:07 p.m. on that afternoon, the Times went live with a story documenting their boss’ entanglement as “Client No. 9″ in a federal investigation of a ... Read Full Story

David Paterson thrived politically as a New York state senator, working his way up in a nearly all-white Albany political structure. Now, he's governor, and things have never been worse. For nearly a year, Paterson has been battered by a faltering economy and with poll numbers hovering at record lows. This week, he learned the Obama administration is worried he'll drag other Democrats down in 2010 if he runs for a full term, perhaps even threatening the narrow margin the party needs to ward off filibusters in the U.S. Senate. These days, Paterson finds himself very much alone. Paterson said Sunday on NBC's "Meet ... Read Full Story