Quoted from Box A Rox

What do I have to be 'upset' about.
Paladino loses votes every time he opens his mouth.
Paladino is just one more TeaBagger going down in flames.  

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ALBANY -- Carl Paladino may file trespassing charges against a team of New York Post photographers who took "close-range" photographs of the Buffalo businessman's 10-year-old daughter inside her home.

Michael Caputo, Paladino's campaign manager, talked about the possible charges this morning, not long after Paladino had an angry public shouting match -- in full view of a horde of cameras and reporters -- with the Albany-based state editor of the Post.

"Carl was right, but his reaction was wrong," Caputo said.

Paladino drove home to Buffalo early this morning after the incident -- which occurred just prior to his speech before the Business Council at a Lake George resort -- and may make a public appearance later today in Buffalo.

Caputo said Paladino's anger with the paper exploded last Friday night when he got a call that a photographer, videographer and reporter from the Post were on the lawn of his daughter's house. The 10-year-old is Paladino's out-of-wedlock daughter, which he made public this spring.

Paladino drove to the house Friday morning to "shoo" the Post team away. Caputo said the photographer had the lens of her camera up to the window of the house taking pictures of the inside.

A couple hours later, Paladino hastily assembled what was then billed as an off-the-record conversation with reporters at a Buffalo restaurant and the Post team was invited, Caputo said.

Caputo on Tuesday night and again this morning provided details of the off-the-record conversation, which included a threat to the news media that they not publish photographs or try to interview the young girl. If that happened, Caputo warned that the campaign would cut off access to the media.

Paladino then went to New York City for campaign events.

Paladino on Sunday got a call from back home, saying that the same New York Post team was back at his daughter's house taking "close-range" photographs.

Additionally, another photographer was spotted removing letters from the mailbox, which were then placed on the lawn and photographed. He said he did not know who employed that photographer.

A family member went to the house Sunday to kick the photographers off the property.

"We tried to deal with this like gentlemen," Caputo said of the Friday off-the-record session in which Paladino raised concerns about the privacy of his daughter.

Col Allan, the New York Post editor, this morning disputed the claims of the Paladino campaign.

"Paladino spokesman Michael Caputo's claim about our photographer is untrue. We can only assume Mr. Caputo is confusing our photographer with someone else. Mr. Caputo should check his facts before making charges against Post personnel. In addition, Mr. Paladino should not be surprised by the media's interest in his families, as he has invited public scrutiny of his personal life by running for governor and speaking openly about his mistress and love child," Allen said in a written statement.

Caputo noted that Paladino's office was already the subject of a bomb threat earlier this year, and he is nervous that the Post will still publish the photographs taken last week at the girl's house.

"Carl is desperately afraid those photographs are going to be run," he said of the shots.

"This is not a small thing," Caputo said.

Paladino blew up at the Post state editor, Fred Dicker, Wednesday night as the two shouted at each other. It began with Dicker yelling at Paladino to provide proof of his suggestion that Andrew Cuomo, the Democrat running against Paladino, may have had an affair when he was married to Kerry Kennedy.

Paladino then accused the reporter of being a Cuomo "bird dog."

In a release issued by the Paladino campaing shortly before noon, Caputo went further. He said cuomo is on Dicker's "speed dial," and that his "outrageous bias toward Mr. Cuomo is demonstrated again and again through his coverage of this campaign."

"Fred Dicker has demonstrated his bias in this campaign from the beginning," Caputo said. "Veteran observers recall a similar bias during the campaigns that elected Eliot Spitzer and George Pataki."

Caputo then went on to list several incidents in which he accused Dicker of biased reporting:

    * He charged that on Sept. 17, Dicker wrote of Cuomo's "tax and spending cut plan," while Caputo said Cuomo has proposed no tax cut and no spending cut except to "slow the rate of growth of taxes."
    * Dicker failed to note that Cuomo or his Democratic predecessor reviewed and approved all of Paladino's leases, Caputo said, after Cuomo's campaign charged Paladino with receiving millions of dollars in state leases.
    * Caputo said Dicker attacked Paladino campaign Chairwoman Nancy Naples, the former Erie County comptroller, for awarding bond underwriting to an underwriter active in the Conservative Party. But Caputo also said Dicker failed to note that the comptroller who succeeded Naples made the same award and was never accused of any improper conduct. "And Mr. Dicker knew it, because I told him," Caputo said. "He failed to write it because it didn't fit the Cuomo campaign plan."

Caputo also issued this challenge to Dicker:

"Carl Paladino has been repeatedly asked irrelevant questions regarding relationships he may have had while married. We challenge Fred Dicker to ask Andrew Cuomo this question on the record, since it has been posed repeatedly to Carl Paladino: 'Did you engage in extramarital relationships while you were married?' A simple 'Yes' or 'No' will suffice."

tprecious@buffnews.com

Quoted from 851

On the one hand, I hate the term "teabagger", but, on the other hand, anybody that uses that word instantly lets me know a number of things about themselves in one quick breath...

Quoted from 147

Paladino is to NY what Christie is to NJ. Not afraid to take on the "establishment".

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

I don't expect much from any candidate for Governor in New York  .... we haven't had a decent governor
since Thomas E. Dewey.

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advocated for the professional and business community of the Northeastern United States, which would later be called the "Eastern Establishment." This organization accepted the majority of New Deal social-welfare reforms enacted during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.