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Aug 4, 2007 7:20 am US/Eastern
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Spitzer Adviser Resigns Amid Threat Investigation
PSC Member Claims Energy Adviser Mitnick Threatened Her
by Andrew Kirtzman
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
One of Gov. Eliot Spitzer's top advisers has resigned under pressure after allegedly threatening a Republican on the Public Service Commission.
Virtually since the day he took office, Spitzer has been criticized for his use of intimidation to achieve his goals. There are a slew of investigations going on into his aides' efforts to dig up dirt on his political nemesis, Senate Leader Joe Bruno.
Well, his administration is just 8 months old, but Spitzer on Friday purged another top-level aide who was under investigation.
This time it was Steven Mitnick, his energy advisor. The inspector general has been investigating complaints that he tried to intimidate Public Service Commission member Cheryl Buley after she complained that Mitnick threatened her job several times.
Buley said Mitnick was angry that she'd pushed for a probe into Con Ed's role in last summer's Queens blackout.
The move comes in wake of the so-called "troopergate" scandal, which has badly tarnished Spitzer's standing in Albany. Observers predicted the public won't react well.
"They may not know what the Public Service Commission is, but they'll read the papers and hear and smell sense there has been another flap involving the governor," political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said.
State Republicans were quick to link Mitnick's departure with Spitzer's recent woes.
Said State Sen. Thomas Libous, R-Binghamton: "Mitnick's aggressive actions are another example of the bullying and outright intimidation that this administration has used to try to get its way."
Spitzer may have decided to use this summer Friday afternoon to purge his administration of smoldering problems that could add to the smell of scandal.
On Friday, he also reassigned his state police liaison, William Howard, to a lower-paid position at the Homeland Security Department. Howard played a central role in the alleged misuse of the state police to monitor to Bruno.
A spokeswoman for Spitzer said Mitnick's departure is not related to the Bruno scandal, and that he's leaving his job voluntarily.
As for Buley, the Public Service Commission official who charged intimidation, critics have long charged her with being a patronage appointee with little knowledge of her job.
But on Friday, she's the victorious one, while Spitzer has taken another hit to his reputation.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)