We’ve sometimes wondered, with jealousy, how easy it is for celebrities to get seats to any sporting event that they want to even big, sold-out games. Do movie stars and rappers go on StubHub or eBay like everyone else, or do they just call up the team and demand tickets because they’re famous? Or do they pick which seat they want and have the ticket-holder murdered by a hit squad they keep on retainer? These are all reasonable questions.
Well, in the case of high-profile politicians like Governor Paterson, it may go something like this: Have an aide call up the Yankees front office to ask for five free tickets to World Series Game 1, despite a state law prohibiting the governor “from accepting gifts from organizations that do business with the state.” Enjoy the game. Get a call from the Post asking about the tickets. Lie about how you got them. After that lie is exposed, lie again. After that lie is exposed, finally just admit how you got the tickets, but dispute allegations that such arrangements are unethical because you were at the game in an “official” and “ceremonial” role. After the watchdog groups start whining, repay the Yankees for most of the tickets. StubHub probably would have been the way to go here, in retrospect.
