Mar 23, 2008 8:00 am US/Eastern
Governor Paterson Gets Warm Welcome In Harlem
Questions Remain About His Use Of Campaign Funds
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Governor David Paterson visited Harlem on Saturday.
CBS
New York Governor David Paterson is back in Harlem, where he received a hero's welcome from the hometown crowd Saturday. The state's first black governor gave a brief speech at a weekly gathering of a civil rights group affiliated with the Reverend Al Sharpton.
Paterson said residents of Harlem now have a special ally in the governor's office. But he also promised fairness to all during his administration.
Paterson has a home in Harlem, which he represented in the state Senate for years before becoming lieutenant governor.
In a tell-all press conference this week, the new governor revealed that he had extra-marital dalliances, often at the Days Hotel in Upper Manhattan. But he denies knowingly using campaign money to fund them, which could be illegal.
"I never knowingly used campaign funds," he said.
Paterson was sworn in on Monday. Since then he's been dogged by controversy over extramarital affairs and allegations of improper campaign spending.
Lawyer Henry Berger released a slew of campaign finance documents which show that on April 20, 2003, Paterson's campaign credit card paid for a dinner at the Il Bocheto restaurant in the Bronx.
The governor said it was with former Bronx Borough president Fernando Ferrer.
That same day, the same credit card paid for a stay at the Days Hotel, then known as the Quality Hotel. But while Paterson remembers the dinner, he says he can't remember what happened at the hotel or who stayed there. As a result, he's reimbursing his campaign for the $149 charge.
Ferrer told CBS2 he couldn't remember that far back.
Five months earlier, Paterson's campaign credit card was charged for another night at the hotel. Again, he said he couldn't remember why. And again, he's reimbursing he campaign for the stay.
"With two exceptions, we have found that all the itemizations there, the expenses seem to be proper," Berger said.
The questions come amid tabloid reports of unexplained payments to campaign workers over the years. Paterson's aides fumed about the reports.
"In some cases the reporters are being sexist," aide Cockfield said.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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