Before the recent "Choppergate" storm, state official William Howard reported to the deputy secretary for homeland security, Nassau's Michael Balboni. Howard, who gained deep knowledge of state operations as a top-rung aide to Gov. George Pataki, told Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's investigators that he purposely kept Balboni, a former GOP senator, unaware (as did suspended spokesman Darren Dopp, apparently) of plans to tarnish Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.
Balboni's fans say he does believe in delegating. But a skeptic in law enforcement asks, "With two Republicans in the place, one works for the other, and you mean to say they never discussed this?" Presuming they didn't, Howard's role fell outside the formal chain of command - an awkward turn for Balboni.