NY governor suspends aide, seeks investigation

[Ghost in the Machine]

NY governor suspends aide, seeks investigation
Posted: Feb 24, 2010 11:29 PM EST
Updated: Feb 25, 2010 2:09 AM EST


ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Gov. David Paterson has suspended a close aide and is asking for an investigation by theattorney general after a published report linked the aide to a claim of domestic violence involving a former girlfriend.

Paterson on Wednesday said he was suspending David Johnson, who rose from volunteer to driver to confidant in more than a decade of working for the Democrat. Paterson also asked Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate a New York Times article's claims that state police may have pressured the woman to drop a criminal case against Johnson.

The Times cites court records and the woman's lawyer in describing a case of domestic violence and a possible effort by state officials to avoid a potential political embarrassment for the governor's office.

Paterson said the report raises serious questions that must be thoroughly investigated by Cuomo, who is widely believed to be considering a bid for the governor's office in November.

"Serious questions have been raised about contact the state police may have had with a private citizen who filed a complaint against a member of my staff," Paterson said in a statement released to The Associated Press on Wednesday night. "Any allegation of improper influence must be investigated thoroughly and completely."

http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12041132