ALBANY – A top aide to Gov. Paterson, under a cloud for allegedly trying to muscle the State Liquor Authority chief into renewing liquor licenses for the Cipriani restaurant chain, is quitting, The Post has learned.
The move comes as state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo launched a criminal probe into the case of the aide, Carl Andrews.
SLA Chairman Daniel Boyle has claimed that Andrews tried to intimidate him into changing his vote against license renewals for the posh Manhattan eateries.
The attorney general’s investigation, which follows an inquiry by the state Inspector General’s Office, will seek to determine whether anyone, including Andrews, brought “illegal pressure” to bear on the State Liquor Authority on behalf of Cipriani, according to a source close to the investigation.
Boyle’s allegations were first reported by The Post last week.
In an interview last night, Andrews denied that the scandal contributed to his decision to leave his $171,000-a-year post as deputy secretary for intergovernmental relations.
The former state senator from Brooklyn said he would leave Dec. 31 to start his own political consulting and lobbying firm.
“It has nothing to do with the SLA,” said Andrews, a Democrat, who was hired by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer and retained by Paterson.
“My leaving is something that I’ve wanted to do. It’s a plan that I’ve had and I’m implementing it.”
Andrews again denied claims by Boyle – a Republican appointed by former Gov. George Pataki – that he pushed the SLA head to renew liquor licenses for the landmark restaurants, which include the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center and Cipriani Wall Street.
“I have never tried to do that,” Andrews said. “I believe that when the inspector general finishes his investigation, he will find that to be true.”
Paterson spokesman Errol Cockfield said Andrews was leaving on his own accord and not at the request of the governor.
The liquor licenses were thrown into jeopardy after two members of the Cipriani family pleaded guilty to income tax evasion and paid a $10 million fine.
In August, the three-member SLA board voted 2-1 to renew the licenses, with Boyle breaking with the two Democratic appointees. Cipriani agreed to pay a $500,000 “settlement.”
Boyle says he argued it would be unfair to let the moneyed restaurateurs continue to operate while lesser-known tavern owners lose their licenses for similar offenses.