ALBANY – Top gubernatorial aide Charles O’Byrne may have violated state ethics law by failing to list his massive tax debt on his financial disclosure statements, The Post has learned.
Policymakers such as Gov. Paterson’s $178,500- a-year chief of staff are required to list tax warrants for unpaid taxes among any debts in excess of $5,000, Walter Ayres, a spokesman for the state Commission on Public Integrity, said yesterday.
The Post first reported Saturday that O’Byrne, 49, has paid off more than $200,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest after failing to file his income taxes from 2001 to 2005 – a period in which O’Byrne says he suffered from severe clinical depression.
No warrants were listed on the mandatory financial disclosure statement O’Byrne filed with the ethics panel in June.
One warrant – a demand for $11,499 – was still officially outstanding last week.
A Paterson spokeswoman said O’Byrne would make necessary changes to his filing.