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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Question of Influence in Abuse Case of Paterson Aide |
| 2010-02-26 |
| Last fall, a woman went to court in the Bronx to testify that she had been violently assaulted by a top aide to Gov. David A. Paterson, and to seek a protective order against the man. In the ensuing months, she returned to court twice to press her case, complaining that the State Police had been harassing her to drop it. The State Police, which had no jurisdiction in the matter, confirmed that the woman was visited by a member of the governor's personal security detail. Then, just before she was due to return to court to seek a final protective order, the woman got a phone call from the governor, according to her lawyer. She failed to appear for her next hearing on Feb. 8, and as a result her case was dismissed. Many details of the governor's role in this episode are unclear, but the accounts presented in court and police records and interviews with the woman's lawyer and others portray a brutal encounter, a frightened woman and an effort to make a potential political embarrassment go away. The case involved David W. Johnson, 37, who had risen from working as Mr. Paterson's driver and scheduler to serving in the most senior ranks of the administration, but who also had a history of altercations with women. On Wednesday night, in response to inquiries from The New York Times, Mr. Paterson said in a statement that he would request that Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo investigate his administration's handling of the matter. The governor also said he would suspend Mr. Johnson without pay. Through a spokesman, Mr. Paterson said the call actually took place the day before the scheduled court hearing and maintained that the woman had initiated it. He declined to answer further questions about his role in the matter. The woman's lawyer, Lawrence B. Saftler, said that the conversation lasted about a minute and that the governor asked how she was doing and if there was anything he could do for her. "If you need me," he said, according to Mr. Saftler, "I'm here for you." Mr. Saftler said the governor never mentioned the court case, but he would not say if the call had influenced her decision not to return to court. The call also came as The Times was examining the background of Mr. Johnson, whose increasing influence with the governor had disturbed some current and former senior aides to Mr. Paterson. The woman's lawyer asked that she not be identified by name because she feared retaliation, in part because she works at a public hospital. The alleged assault happened shortly before 8 p.m. on Halloween in the apartment she had shared with Mr. Johnson and her 13-year-old son for about four years, according to police records. She told the police that Mr. Johnson, who is 6-foot-7, had choked her, stripped her of much of her clothing, smashed her against a mirrored dresser and taken two telephones from her to prevent her from calling for help, according to police records. The woman was twice granted a temporary order of protection against Mr. Johnson, according to the proceedings in Family Court in the Bronx. |
| Posted by:Fred |