(NYT) — The top press aide to Gov. David A. Paterson repeatedly urged him to pay for World Series tickets he had requested from the Yankees last year, but his concerns were brushed off by Mr. Paterson and others who insisted that the governor was entitled to get them free, the aide testified on Tuesday.
The aide, Peter E. Kauffmann, was the main witness questioned by lawyers for the State Commission on Public Integrity in a two-and-a-half-hour hearing into whether Mr. Paterson had violated ethics laws by having aides solicit the tickets.
Mr. Kauffman, who resigned from the administration in March, said that after receiving an inquiry from a reporter about the situation, he had advised the governor to pay for the tickets, but that the governor had said that no payment was required because he believed he was attending the game in a ceremonial capacity.
