This week, former Governor David Paterson learned that he won't face prosecution for lying about accepting free Yankees World Series tickets two years ago. In a letter to Paterson obtained by the News, Albany County District Attorney David Soares says it was "reasonably likely" an offense was committed, but argued that they would not be able to satisfactorily reach a criminal conviction.
In December, Paterson was fined over $62,000 by the New York State's Commission on Public Integrity for soliciting, accepting and receiving five complimentary tickets to Game One of the 2009 World Series for himself, two aides, his teenage son and his son's friend. During the inquiry into the tickets, the Commission concluded that "the Governor's testimony that he always intended to pay for the tickets was refuted by his staff, the Yankees, an independent handwriting expert and common sense."
Paterson's lawyer convinced the Yankees to give them the tickets by saying the Governor would be attending the game in an official capacity; the scandal only came to light after Post reporter Fred Dicker badgered the information out.
Even so, former Court of Appeals Chief Judge Judith Kaye found that Paterson gave "misleading and inaccurate" testimony under oath to the panel, but didn't go so far as to call it "perjury." And ultimately, Soares said he didn't think there was a case to be made. Last we heard of the former Governor, Paterson announced he was joining the faculty at NYU; more recently, he's given high praise to his gubernatorial successor, Andrew Cuomo, and discussed the possibility of hosting his own NYC sports radio show: “I actually get a little nervous when I do the sports talk because I forgot things I knew...I can do the political shows totally relaxed, but I actually get nervous with the sports because it means a lot to me.”
