Report: Gov. Paterson Lied to Investigators About World Series Tickets

New York Governor David A. Paterson deceived investigators for the state ethics commission when he testified that he had intended to pay for free tickets he obtained to the 2009 World Series, according to a report released Thursday by an independent counsel investigating the matter.

Paterson’s aides obtained five tickets to the first game of the 2009 World Series, which the governor attended with two aides, his son and a friend of his son. According to the report released by independent counsel Judith Kaye, evidence indicated that, contrary to the governor’s testimony, he had not intended to pay for the tickets prior to the game and only paid for his son and his son’s friend only after the press inquired about the matter.

Kaye’s findings largely supported the report released in March by the state’s Commission on Public Integrity that found that Paterson never intended to pay for his own ticket. The commission also said that Paterson lied during his testimony about the ticket, which prompted Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo to ask Kaye to investigate, the New York Times reported.

Portions of Paterson’s testimony “were inaccurate and misleading,” the report said, adding that it “warrants consideration of possible criminal charges by the district attorney, who will make the ultimate decision regarding whether or not charges should be brought.”

It would be up to the local district attorney in Albany, P. David Soares, to decide if the governor should be prosecuted for perjury, Kaye told the New York Times.

Additionally, the commission’s report indicated that Paterson directed his aide David W. Johnson to solicit the Yankee tickets. Johnson was the aide involved in the domestic violence case in which Paterson and his administration allegedly intervened. That report also said that the check to pay for the two Yankee tickets was signed and backdated by Johnson after the fact.

Johnson has invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself, refusing to answer investigators’ questions about the Yankees tickets or the alleged domestic violence episode.