‘NO APOLOGIES’:Hizzoner joins Matt Lauer and Lauer’s wife, Annette, at the Hampton Classic yesterday after his announcement. (JOAN JEDELL)
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He knew. He kept it quiet. And he’s not sorry!
A defiant Mayor Bloomberg admitted yesterday that he hid from the public former Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith’s domestic-violence arrest, which led to a hasty resignation that City Hall insiders initially blamed on his bungling of the Christmas blizzard.
“I did not believe it was right for our administration to put out a story about an incident that had the potential to bring even more suffering to the Goldsmith family,” Bloomberg said, speaking for the first time about a political scandal he has ducked since it was exclusively reported by The Post on Thursday.
“I make no apologies for either the fact that Mr. Goldsmith has left city service or for treating the Goldsmith family with basic decency as he left,” the mayor said about the domestic dispute that landed his former chief of operations in a Washington, DC, jail on July 30, and ultimately led to his exit.
When Goldsmith’s resignation was announced on Aug. 4, the press release said he was “leaving to pursue private-sector opportunities in infrastructure finance.”
Bloomberg administration sources said at the time that Goldsmith was pushed out primarily because of mistakes made during the blizzard.
The truth was far more sinister.
The former Indianapolis mayor, 64, was arrested for simple assault for allegedly roughing up his wife, Margaret, 59, in their Georgetown pad. Prosecutors dropped the case because his wife wouldn’t cooperate.
“The implication, the accusation, unfortunately made it untenable for him to continue to work for the city,” Hizzoner said outside the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn.
“I think it was obvious from the beginning of the conversation he knew that he could not continue, and I certainly knew he could not continue.”
Bloomberg said he would’ve kept Goldsmith on board despite the blizzard fiasco.
“The snowstorm was a regrettable incident. We learned a lot from it. We’ll do a better job [next time]. But Mr. Goldsmith did not get dismissed for a snowstorm,” he said.
An administration official first learned of Goldsmith’s bust on July 31, when someone in his camp called City Hall as he was behind bars.
The mayor was notified that day, said a Bloomberg aide, and he met with Goldsmith the next.
“He and I had a conversation on Monday. He offered and I accepted his resignation,” Bloomberg said.
His ouster was announced on Aug. 4, his last day of work was Aug. 12, and his tenure officially ended Aug. 14.
It took until Sept. 1 for the arrest to be revealed.
“I always assumed that it would come out, but it’s not my responsibility to spread a story,” Bloomberg said, before carrying on with his holiday weekend at the Hampton Classic horse show in Bridgehampton.
Goldsmith yesterday tried to deflect blame.
“As a former employee, I, not the mayor, should have more fully disclosed the reasons for my resignation,” he said.
“I thought the immediacy of my resignation mooted the need for further explanation. I was wrong.”