Remember when former governor Eliot Spitzer self-immolated in an explosion of scandal, prostitutes, and (shudder) black socks? In the aftermath of his resignation, his replacement, David Paterson, quickly admitted to several affairs, which would have been a big deal at any other time, but was small potatoes compared to what we’d just learned. So it’s not particularly headline news that a former State Senate employee is accusing the governor of having an affair. Jean Pierre testified during wrongful-termination proceedings in court that his former boss Indira Noel went around bragging that she was Paterson’s “girlfriend” and that she enjoyed special protected status in Albany. (Noel is a family friend who sometimes spends the holidays with the Patersons. Pierre went on to be an assistant manager at Wal-Mart, where he was dismissed for “violating the fraternization policies.”) What’s interesting here is not so much the allegation of the affair (which both parties deny), but the fact that in the wrongful-termination suit, Attorney General Cuomo is representing the Senate, as is customary. Pierre wants to call Paterson to the stand to testify over whether Noel had special status in Albany. This might not be necessary, but if you were Andrew Cuomo and were thinking of running against Paterson in a primary next year, wouldn’t the prospect of seeing your future rival on the stand talking about his extramarital affairs again be somewhat delicious?
Fired Senate Worker Says His Boss Was Given ‘Carte Blanche’ [NYT]
