David Paterson must be kicking himself.
The ex-governor left office after having accepted five free tickets for a 2009 World Series game. The Public Integrity Commission slapped him with a $62,000 fine — on the grounds that he’d benefited from a group, the Yankees, that had business before the state.
In retrospect, it appears Paterson’s real mistake wasn’t that he accepted free tickets. It’s that he set his sights way too low.
For it turns out that the state now has an arrangement with the Buffalo Bills for a whole luxury suite. It’s described in documents as the I ♥ NY Hospitality Center, and it will be used by the Empire State Development Corp. to wine and dine potential investors.
The luxury box is one small part of a corporate-welfare deal meant to keep the Bills in upstate New York. Under this agreement, the state will pay roughly $54 million to finance upgrades for Ralph Wilson Stadium, which is owned by Erie County. The taxpayers of Erie will cough up another $41 million.
Presumably the control of this luxury suite by an agency under the governor’s purview means that Paterson’s successors might not only enjoy Bills games from this suite but conduct business there.
So taxpayers help fund upgrades for a stadium for a wealthy NFL owner — and they underwrite the governor’s men shmoozing with the high and mighty.
But, hey, that’s what the taxpayers are there for, right?