GOV. PATERSON will demand that Public Integrity Commission Chairman Herbert Teitelbaum be fired if the explosive allegation that he covered up former Gov. Spitzer‘s key role in the Dirty Tricks Scandal is true, The Post has learned.
The controversial Teitelbaum was accused by ex-top Spitzer aide Darren Dopp of intentionally steering the commission’s still-ongoing probe away from Spitzer.
Dopp, the former governor’s communications director, was suspended for 30 days nearly a year ago and rebuked for his role in the scandal.
Dopp, breaking months of silence, said last week that Teitelbaum “didn’t want to hear” about Spitzer’s involvement in the plot when he testified before the commission last fall.
“When I mentioned the governor, Mr. Teitelbaum was incredulous,” Dopp told The New York Times. “He didn’t want to hear about it. He would change the topic whenever the governor’s name came up,” he continued.
A Paterson administration source called Dopp’s charge “shocking” and said the governor will demand Teitelbaum’s ouster if transcripts of Dopp’s testimony before the commission back it up.
“How could he not?” the source told The Post when asked if the governor would seek Teitelbaum’s dismissal.
“If we find there is evident bias on the part of Teitelbaum and anyone on the commission staff, there is going to be a major problem for them,” the official continued.
Dopp may soon get a chance to prove his allegation if, as expected, he is charged with violating the Public Officers Law in connection with the scandal.
Such a charge would trigger Dopp’s right to a full trial-like public hearing before the commission and grant him a “discovery” process, under which copies of his still-secret testimony can be made public.
Teitelbaum, who had strong ties to Spitzer and his aides, was long suspected by scandal investigators of covering up for the former governor.
Teitelbaum was also accused earlier this year by Albany DA David Soares of interfering with a separate criminal probe of the Dirty Tricks Scandal.
He took a 21/2-week vacation in South America late last year with the investigation in full swing, triggering even more doubts about his commitment to the probe.
The Post broke the story of a Spitzer administration plot against then-Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Rensselaer) last July 5. The story led Bruno to officially ask Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate, and, two weeks later, Cuomo issued a bombshell report concluding that top Spitzer aides improperly used the State Police to gather purportedly damaging information on Bruno – and then leaked it to a friendly newspaper.
Spitzer at the time claimed to be shocked by Cuomo’s findings, but a report from Soares found that the by-then-ex-governor was in the middle of the plot.
Meanwhile, Teitelbaum’s commission is also expected to accuse two other former top Spitzer aides of violating state law by conspiring with Dopp in the scandal.
They are Richard Baum, Spitzer’s former chief of staff, and one-time homeland-security adviser William Howard.