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A former top State Police official who killed himself left behind a detailed suicide note focusing on Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's probe of the Dirty Tricks Scandal and feared an ongoing investigation of ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer's involvement with prostitutes, The Post has learned. Recently retired State Police Inspector Gary Berwick, who hung himself in the garage of his home on Thursday, wrote a wide-ranging and sometimes rambling suicide note, sources said. The letter zeroed in on his close relationship with former acting State Police Superintendent Preston Felton, a key figure in last summer's political espionage scandal who was dumped after...

March 31, 2008 ALBANY - The scandal-scarred State Police is suspected of harboring a renegade unit that for years has secretly compiled personal information on top New York officials - possibly including Gov. Paterson, The Post has learned. The governor got a whiff of the existence of such an illegal, politically directed operation after being told by several lawmakers that the State Police targeted them for unjustified traffic stops and "interfered in their personal lives," a senior Paterson aide told The Post yesterday. The explosive information - supplied to Paterson by both Democrats and Republicans - suggests that the Dirty...

When Gov. George E. Pataki left office last January, he was the dominant Republican politician in New York. Over three terms, he had shattered fund-raising records and had racked up double-digit victory margins in an overwhelmingly Democratic state, becoming a national political figure in the process. Mr. Pataki ruled Albany for so long that even now some swatches of state bureaucracy are still run by his political appointees. Yet as the Feb. 5 New York presidential primary draws near — a contest that Mr. Pataki once envisioned as central to his own White House ambitions — the former governor is...

New York appears to be abandoning a hard-line policy on parole that has served the state well for more than a decade and contributed to a historic reduction in violent crime. Parole officials have been quietly turning loose greater numbers of violent convicts - and now Gov. Spitzer is getting ready to surrender in a convicts' lawsuit that's aimed at speeding the trend. Before another murderer, kidnapper, arsonist or rapist is freed, Spitzer needs to explain to the public exactly what's going on and why. His parole chief, George Alexander, is mum. And the governor's aides refuse to discuss their...

Eliot Spitzer, the Governor of my state, has achieved a thing I would have though impossible: He has made me yearn for the days of George Pataki. Spitzer's latest wheeze, to give state driver licenses to illegal aliens, was actually state policy for most of Pataki's term as Governor, until Curious George changed the rules in 2003 (causing 150,000 illegals to lose their licenses). Oddly, under the pre-2003 Pataki rules, illegals could get licenses without showing a Social Security number provided they supplied documentary proof that they were ineligible for Social Security. Under Spitzer's proposed change, an illegal no longer...

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is preparing to announce a new policy that will enable illegal aliens to obtain a driver's license. The state's Department of Motor Vehicles no longer will require applicants to provide Social Security numbers or proof they're eligible for Social Security cards, the New York Post and New York Sun reported. Under the new rules, valid foreign passports, previous state driver's licenses and other verifiable proofs of ID will be considered on a point-based system, according to a source who spoke to the Post. "The DMV does not believe it's in the business checking a person's...

ALBANY, N.Y. Former Governor George Pataki says today that he would be "honored" to support either former Mayor Rudy Giuliani or Sen. John McCain if they win the Republican nomination. Pataki hasn't yet ruled out a possible run of his own for the White House, For his own part, Pataki says he would "continue to focus on policy" with speeches around the country. He delivered one on Iraq in January in which he was critical of the way the war has been handled. Pataki's latest comments came as he prepared to travel to New Orleans for an April 13th breakfast...

McCain, in New York, Gets Surprise Visit From Pataki By JILL GARDINER Staff Reporter of the Sun March 1, 2007 Senator McCain's swing through New York last night, which included an appearance on the "Late Show With David Letterman" and an event with Governor Pataki at his side, seemed clearly designed to blunt the momentum of his leading Republican opponent, Mayor Giuliani. Mr. McCain — who told Mr. Letterman that he'd make his candidacy for president official in April — called Mr. Giuliani an "American hero," but said he would "campaign hard" to get the Republican Party nomination.

Governor Spitzer reached for Washington Irving for the central metaphor of his inaugural speech, declaring yesterday in Albany: "Like Rip Van Winkle, the legendary character created by the New York author Washington Irving, New York has slept through much of the past decade while the rest of the world has passed us by." The central question for his administration, we predict, will be whether it comprehends who has been asleep and whether the Democrats have really awakened to all the changes that have taken place in the competing states — and in political economy generally — in the years of...

AFTER 12 years and three terms, Gov. Pataki leaves state government far worse then he found it: Albany is scarred by notorious dysfunction, afflicted with pervasive corruption and marked by a torpidity unprecedented in modern times. The state as a whole is also worse off - with a shrinking population, a collapsing industrial base, confiscatory property taxes and a tragic hemorrhaging of an upstate population once famous for its productivity. The sole bright spot - the explosive growth of the New York City economy and some of its suburbs - came despite Pataki's policies, and thanks to the inexorable Wall...

Company to Create 164 New Jobs; Retain 12 Existing Jobs Governor George E. Pataki today announced that Orange County Choppers, manufacturer of custom motorcycles, plans to invest $13.4 million to construct a 92,820 square foot facility at Crossroads Court in the Town of Newburgh in order to accommodate the increasing expansion of the business. The project is expected to create 164 new jobs within three years and retain 12 full time, permanent employees. “I am pleased that Orange County Choppers has committed to growing their enterprise and building their new world headquarters right here in Newburgh, New York,” Governor Pataki...

For tomorrow's elections, The Post has endorsed Democrats for top New York offices. This is unusual - not because we have any particular allegiance to, or affection for, the Republican Party per se. It's because the GOP and its candidates usually tend to be on our side of the major issues: Tough on crime and national security and solicitous of the taxpayers' dollars. This year, there is a problem with the Republican Party; actually, the problem is the GOP. Blame Gov. Pataki, the party's putative custodian. Detached from the beginning of his 12-year tenure - and now harboring delusions of...

I recieved this email just a short time ago. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Dear Friend: In just one week, Americans will exercise one of our most cherished freedoms: the right to vote. Republican candidates across the nation have been working hard to earn your vote by talking about the important issues. It’s simple: Republican principles of freedom and liberty matter. That’s why Republicans need your support this week and on Election Day. The 21st Century Freedom PAC is conducting a nationwide Get-Out-The-Vote program to help elect Republicans at all levels of government. I’d like to keep you posted on our progress and get...

Governor George Pataki signed a new gun law Tuesday in Albany that will raise the minimum mandatory sentence for possession of a loaded illegal weapon to three and a half years. "That message is going to get out in the city; that message is going to get out in every corner of this state; and I believe this one law is going to save many lives," said Pataki. Mayor Michael Bloomberg lobbied for the bill, which passed the legislature in June. He's also been meeting with mayors across the country to push for tougher gun laws. He has made gun...

Pataki appoints special prosecutor Albany — Gov. George Pataki appointed a special prosecutor yesterday to kick off an extraordinary process that could lead to embattled state Comptroller Alan Hevesi being forced from office for using a state worker as his wife's private driver. Pataki asked David Kelley, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to help him decide within a week whether to make the unprecedented request of the Republican-controlled state Senate to vote for Hevesi's removal. "It is an extraordinary act for officials to overturn an election of a statewide elected official after a vote by...

“This mayor is heartless and a pompous ass. He doesn't understand how people live. Maybe he should live on $500 a week for a few months and see what it's like," – Linda Zadroga, the mother of the deceased NYPD Detective James Zadroga. If a 9/11 first responder retires, either due to disability or by choice, and later dies of 9/11 related illness, Mayor Bloomberg seemingly thinks they are half the hero those who died on 9/11 were. He says New York state law says the city only has to pay their families half of what the families would receive...

10/16/2006         GAAS:760:06           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Gov. Schwarzenegger Announces Executive Order to Begin Implementation of Landmark Greenhouse Gas Legislation; Focuses on Developing Market-Based Solutions In conjunction with his meetings with New York Gov. Pataki and New York Mayor Bloomberg, Gov. Schwarzenegger announced an executive order that directs state agencies to begin implementation of AB 32, California's landmark global greenhouse legislation signed last month. Some of the highlights of the executive order include: • The Secretary for Environmental Protection shall be the statewide leader for California's greenhouse gas emission reduction programs for state...

"Spoiling for a Fight: The Rise of Eliot Spitzer" By Brooke A. Masters (New York: Henry Holt; 368 pages; $26) "Nice kid. He's gonna get killed," Daniel Patrick Moynihan, New York's senior U.S. senator, growled backstage after grudgingly endorsing Eliot Spitzer's 1998 candidacy for attorney general of New York. Moynihan, a fabled handicapper, was wrong: Spitzer won -- albeit barely, by 25,186 votes out of 4.3 million cast, and only after a recount. Now, thanks to his highly publicized attacks on the fraud and abuse in the financial services industry, he's a household name, the most famous (or infamous, depending...

As pre-ordained, Mayor Bloomberg was voted in as chairman of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation yesterday. While waiting for the inevitable, my mind wandered back to late last year and this. Following the 9/11 money (from a New York Daily News editorial, originally published on December 10, 2005) No one knew how much money the city was going to need and for what purposes. Sen. Chuck Schumer presented the best guess to Bush in the Oval Office, and the President said, "You got it." So programs were created, and grants, loans and tax incentives began arriving to meet immediate...

At this point, the pending 2008 Republican nomination contest looks like it will eventually be a battle between two candidates: John McCain and the “anti-McCain”. To some degree, McCain still has some work to do in locking up his end of the party, such as it is. He’s still being stalked by Rudi Giuliani, who keeps popping up right along with McCain at or near the top of early GOP horse race polls. The problem for McCain is that they both seem to be fishing in the same pond, so he will have to nail down his left flank before...

In his final months in office, Gov. George E. Pataki has appointed or reappointed hundreds of officials to state boards, commissions and authorities, assuring his imprint on state government for years after his term expires on Dec. 31. The appointments include Peter S. Kalikow, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, to a new six-year term and overseers of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, who could play a role in the redevelopment of the West Side. Many are Pataki contributors, political allies or their relatives. Mr. Pataki has submitted dozens more nominees to the Republican-controlled Senate for confirmation today,...

Preview and Analysis of the Weekend Talk Shows for 9/9 and 9/10/2006The fifth anniversary of 9/11 is Monday, and the drive by media wants to make sure you know what you are supposed to think.  They also really don't want you to get a chance to hear any other versions of the 9/11 narrative that might raise questions about their approved one.Meet the press has Vice President Dick Cheney ("for the first time in three years" - gee I wonder why?) for the "full hour" (not counting commercials, promos, asides, other business, etc., etc.).  The drive by media is beginning...

The results of the latest GOP Bloggers straw poll are in. The poll was posted on the Red State homepage over the weekend, and first-choice results are as follows (full results with RS results in parentheses). Giuliani 24.6% (22.0%) Gingrich 21.1% (19.5%) Romney 12.8% (15.8%) Allen 11.5% (11.3%) Tancredo 6.7% (4.5%) McCain 6.4% (6.7%) Hagel 2.8% (3.3%) Brownback 2.5% (3.2%) Huckabee 1.5% (1.8%) Frist 1.1% (0.9%) Pataki 0.3% (0.3%)Read on... The Macaca incident has clearly devastated Allen’s numbers in the blogosphere, his stronghold. He used to have sky-high favorability, largely because he hadn’t done anything to offend anyone. He also...

ALBANY, Aug. 18 — Gov. George E. Pataki nominated an upstate Republican on Friday to be his fifth appointee on the seven-member Court of Appeals, moving to assure that his imprint on the state’s highest court will last long into the next governor’s term. The governor appointed Eugene F. Pigott Jr., the presiding justice of the appellate division in Buffalo, to fill the seat that is being vacated by Judge George Bundy Smith, whose 14-year term ends next month. Judge Smith had applied to be reappointed to a second term, but several legal experts said that his prospects were harmed...

Governor Pataki deserves a cheer from New York taxpayers for a series of vetoes of overly generous pension sweeteners and other measures that would have tilted the field in favor of the state's already powerful public employee unions. One of the bills would have granted automatic raises to state and local government employees if the state Public Employment Relations Board found their employers were negotiating in bad faith. Others would have enriched retirement benefits for state workers at a cost of more than $100 million. The governor's vetoes — 70 of them yesterday alone — are a reminder that while...

ANKENY, Iowa - Republicans can avert a disastrous midterm election this fall by returning to basic conservative themes that set them apart from Democrats, New York Gov. George Pataki said Saturday. "There will be a lot of change between now and November," Pataki said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I understand that it will be a tough year, but we have to get back to focusing on what Republicans stand for." Pataki was visiting Iowa, where he campaigned and raised money for legislative candidates, and tested the waters for a possible bid for the Republican presidential nomination in...

"Eileen Sullivan, right, of the Transport Workers Union Local 100, is removed from the room by an unidentified security official as her colleague Donovan Smith, seated left,, continues to shout, during an appearance by New York Republican Gov. George Pataki at the National Press Club in Washington Monday, Aug. 7, 2006. Pataki, who is considering a run for president in 2008, was speaking about a national energy plan when protesting transit workers shouted that he was to blame for the transit strike that paralyzed New York City's subway and bus system last December."

ALBANY, N.Y. - As Republican George Pataki set off on his latest national political foray Friday, a top adviser to a potential White House rival blasted the New York governor for becoming "a full-time presidential candidate." Pataki announced a year ago that he would not seek a fourth term as governor in 2006. He is instead eyeing a 2008 run for the White House and has been spending much of his time outside New York in recent months, visiting states with early presidential nominating contests. On Friday, Pataki was making stops in New Hampshire, the site of the first presidential...

July 29, 2006 -- Last week's power outage in Queens was a "classic case of blunder after blunder" that smacked of either incompetence or negligence, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said yesterday as Con Ed warned the coming heat wave could cause problems. Some Con Ed customers hit by last week's outage could lose power for around 20 minutes this weekend as crews transfer them from temporary generators back to the regular electric grid, the utility said. Also, Con Ed issued a statement yesterday asking people in northwest Queens "to limit their energy usage as much as possible while crews reinforce...

Gov. Pataki yesterday took it on the chin from old nemesis and possible 2008 presidential primary opponent John McCain, who mocked the governor's low poll numbers at home. In a profile on McCain in the August issue of Esquire, the Arizona Republican said he scoffed when told by upstate Rep. John Sweeney (R-Saratoga) that Pataki's poll numbers are at 29 percent. "Twenty-nine?" McCain asked. "I don't know anyone with a 29 who thinks he can make a run for president." Polls show McCain among the Republican front-runners for 2008. Pataki has frequently visited key early states like Iowa and New...

TVC ASKS PATAKI TO STOP HARASSMENT June 21, 2006 - Washington, DC – The Traditional Values Coalition asked New York Governor George Pataki to rein in a state agency which is threatening legal action against an Accord, New York skating rink because it plays Christian music during a “Christian Music Skate” party. The New York Division of Human Rights threatened Len and Terry Bernardo, owners of the Skate Time 209 rink in Accord, with an investigation because the rink plays Christian music during certain hours. The agency also threatened to charge a local newspaper which advertised the event for “aiding...

DES MOINES, Iowa - Four Republicans considering running for president in 2008 courted activists Saturday and predicted GOP success in the November elections despite the party's sagging support in polls. "The theme is we are right on the issues, not just for Iowa but for the country," said New York Gov. George Pataki. "I understand what the experts are saying, but if we stick to Republican principles we will succeed." Also at the Iowa Republican convention, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (news, bio, voting record) said, "The Democrats want this election to be a referendum election. But the best thing we...

DES MOINES, Iowa - New York Gov. George Pataki strolled through a teeming farmers market in Iowa, chewing on a giant radish and pressing the flesh with a few thousand people he'd like to be his closest friends. "I grew up on a farm, so you learned to eat everything raw," said the Republican, a potential presidential candidate in 2008. "I know you, I'm a transplanted New Yorker," gushed Isabel Osius. "I guess I don't have to ask why you're here." Within the hour, Pataki had donned dark robes and was delivering the commencement speech to medical graduates at Des...

Amid all the hand-wringing surrounding Gov. George Pataki's fiscally responsible budget vetoes, a major policy initiative advanced by him, and agreed to by the state Legislature, has been largely ignored. The governor is one of the few, if not only, elected officials nationwide to attack the next frontier of anti-poverty policy by confronting the growing problem of poor, unemployed, predominantly minority, noncustodial fathers in urban and other communities. With few skills and extremely low employment rates, these young fathers are often disconnected from their children both financially and emotionally. Their struggle is seriously undermining the stability of low-income communities and...

A push to require all convicted criminals in New York to submit their DNA to a central database is gaining crucial support in Albany, where officials say it could create the most comprehensive DNA collection system in the nation. If the proposal becomes law, it would make New York the only state to require collecting DNA from everyone convicted of felonies and misdemeanors, including youthful offenders convicted in criminal court, officials said. Currently, 43 states require that people convicted of all felonies submit DNA, but none require samples from those convicted of all misdemeanors, and New York has required those...

New York Gov. George Pataki is blasting a nationwide boycott by illegal aliens planned for Monday, calling it a "terrible" idea. "I think it's just terrible," Pataki told WABC Radio host Larry Kudlow on Saturday. "You don't take a demonstration to the streets for a political cause that's going to threaten our schools and close down businesses." The New York Republican suggested that if illegal immigrants participate in a work boycott, they might be fired. "They have to show up for work if they want to continue to have a job," he said. "There are far better ways to gain...

From the Iowa Caucus Poll at Krusty Konservative Blog in Iowa - If the Iowa Republican Caucus was held today who would you support? Current results -  George Allen  8%  68  Sam Brownback  2%  19  Bill Frist  1%  9  Newt Gingrich  3%  28  Rudy Giuliani  3%  28  Chuck Hagel  1%  12  Mike Huckabee  30%   262   John McCain  9%  76  George Pataki  13%  116  Condoleezza Rice   5%  41  Mitt Romney  25%  215 874 votes total

WATERLOO, N.Y. --New York state has agreed to pay most of the legal fees incurred by counties in opposing Indian efforts to put land into federal trusts. Seneca County had been seeking reimbursement from the state since the trust process began a year ago. The state originally refused to pay, citing an opinion by the state attorney general's office. However, Seneca County Attorney Steven Getman said Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said this week that state law allowed reimbursement to counties for legal costs associated with defending the claims. Getman said the state agreed to pay both future costs and approximately...

BOSTON - Gov. Mitt Romney on Wednesday signed into law a landmark bill designed to guarantee virtually all Massachusetts residents have health insurance. However, the governor vetoed a key portion of the bill — a $295-per-worker assessment on businesses that do not provide health insurance. Some critics have called that provision a tax on businesses. The bill, intended to extend coverage to Massachusetts' estimated 550,000 uninsured, is being touted as a national model, thrusting the state to the forefront of the national debate about how to provide near-universal health care coverage without creating a single government-controlled system. It's also a...

Less than nine months before he steps down, Governor Pataki is busy installing his friends and political allies into top positions at the most powerful state authorities. Many of Mr. Pataki's appointments are for terms that expire well into the next governor's administration, raising fears among state Democrats that the governor is leaving behind an imprint of power and patronage that will be difficult to erase. Democrats say Mr. Pataki is reappointing authority board members before their terms have expired to maximize the window of time between when his successor assumes office and when the appointees' terms expire. A spokesman...

Within the next 72 hours, Gov. Pataki must either persuade the Legislature to slim its overfed budget or he must start issuing vetoes to head off an election-year spending binge. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno delivered a spending plan on time for the second year in a row. We applaud this timeliness and note that a Court of Appeals decision upholding the governor's budgetary authority didn't leave them powerless at all. In fact, they'll roll lame-duck Pataki if he lets them. First, he must preserve the best of what the Legislature did - particularly the...

ALBANY, April 4 — New York State and local governments and their public authorities are circumventing the voters in amassing debt that now amounts to nearly a quarter-trillion dollars, according to a report issued on Tuesday examining public borrowing in New York. The report by the Citizens Budget Commission, a business-backed policy group, presents an exhaustive overview of the extent of borrowing by New York State, its 583 public authorities and its local governments. Legislators have come under withering criticism for passing a budget last week that would more than double the new debt proposed over the next two years...

One day after critical talks on the rebuilding effort at ground zero collapsed, the Pataki administration said yesterday that it would not reopen negotiations with the developer Larry A. Silverstein. It challenged him to start building the $2.3 billion Freedom Tower next month or "move out of the way." The challenge came 12 hours after the abrupt breakdown of talks that had sought to resolve issues hindering the development of ground zero, where the sputtering efforts to develop the site of the Sept. 11 attack have become a glaring embarrassment for the city and state. Facing a self-imposed midnight deadline,...

March 6, 2006--Governor George Pataki, Senator Hillary Clinton, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani are all thought to be dreaming of a Presidential campaign in 2008. If the party's both nominated a New Yorker, Senator Clinton is poised to win the home state bragging rights (and Electoral Votes).Clinton leads Giuliani statewide by a 48% to 39% margin. She holds an even more decisive edge against Pataki, 52% to 33%.Nationally, a survey last fall found Giuliani with a slight edge over Clinton. No national surveys have been conducted matching Clinton and Pataki.Clinton is viewed favorably by 52% of New...

To All 9/11 Families, Friends and Supporters, On January 24, 2006 the LMDC Family Advisory Council (FAC) met with LMDC President Stephan Pryor and WTC Memorial Foundation President Gretchen Dykstra as well as several members of their staff. At this meeting numerous issues were discussed including: the proper listing of the Names; putting Artifacts like the sphere and tower facades at the street level of the WTC site; preserving the Footprint remnants at bedrock; moving the Memorial Museum above ground; and the security and safety of visitors to the site. LMDC President Pryor and his representatives were noncommittal in their...

Two surgeries, two hospitals and more than two weeks later, Gov. Pataki finally went home yesterday. "It's great to feel the fresh air and the sunshine," a pale and thin-looking governor said as he stepped out of Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center with his wife, Libby, by his side. "I'm not 100%, but I'm a lot better than I was a few days ago," he said. His surgeon, Dr. Spencer Amory, predicted that it will take the governor six more weeks before he's fully recovered after suffering complications from an emergency appendectomy. "He'll still require some intravenous antibiotics at home," Amory...

Ok lets take off the gloves and talk some hard truths about K.T. McFarland and her "entry" into the race for senate in New York State. This is phony attempt by George Pataki the rino governor of New York to derail John Spencer and see that Hillary Clinton gets no real opponent. The reason why John Spencer is having a hard time nailing down the New York State GOP nomination is because George E. Pataki doesn't want him to get it. Pataki has this stupid notion that HE, GEORGE E. PATAKI the failed rino governor of a state that is...

Doctors for the first time disclosed that Governor George Pataki has a seriously ruptured appendix that has sent the infection throughout his abdomen. Eyewitness News Reporter N.J. Burkett is at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Washington Heights with the latest. At a news conference this afternoon, doctors revealed that the governor's medical condition is somewhat worse than previously believed. Yes, he is said to be in good spirits, but is fighting an infection that will keep him hospitalized here indefinitely. His doctors revealed that his appendix was so badly ruptured that the infection spread throughout his abdominal cavity. Dr. Spencer...

NEW YORK, Feb. 28 - Two Republican governors are both recovering in the hospital from complications of gastrointestinal surgery that led to surprisingly lengthy stays. New York Governor George Pataki had rare complications after surgery for a perforated appendix. Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher developed pancreatitis along with a potentially life-threatening E. coli infection after surgery to remove a gallstone and a diseased gallbladder. Doctors at St. Joseph East hospital in Lexington said Gov. Fletcher, himself a physician, may be released tomorrow to recuperate at home. No date has been set for Gov. Pataki's discharge. He told the New York Times...

Gov. George Pataki remained hospitalized Monday nearly a week after undergoing a surgery to correct a postoperative complication related to an emergency appendectomy. Pataki, 60, continued eating some food Monday but also remained on intravenous nutrition and antibiotics to reduce the risk of an abscess... `The governor's doctors have indicated that there has been a slow return of normal digestive function because of the ruptured appendix,'' ... Pataki was originally to be released two days after the Feb. 16 appendectomy. ``The governor continues to be in good spirits and is reading, walking around and conducting state business,'' ...