Gov. Eliot Spitzer, in a wide-ranging television interview yesterday, touted the character of state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. "He is clean as a whistle. He is somebody of absolute integrity," the governor told Bloomberg TV.
The praise came in response to a question about the ongoing probe of the state pension fund by state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Albany District Attorney David Soares. Both are investigating alleged actions during the tenure of former comptroller Alan Hevesi. "None of the impropriety is alleged to have taken place under [DiNapoli’s] watch. He is new," Spitzer said. All are Democrats.
The governor’s kind words for DiNapoli, a former Assemblyman from Great Neck, represent a turnabout.
In February, DiNapoli was chosen by a 151-56 vote of state legislators to fill the vacancy left by Hevesi's resignation in December 2006. Afterward, an angry Spitzer mocked DiNapoli....
James T. Madore
... as a man who doesn’t "know a swap from a derivative" and called him "thoroughly and totally unqualified."
The governor also told Bloomberg’s Allan Dodds Frank there could be a role for the Insurance Department in regulating pension matters. He said he was working with DiNapoli to "figure out if there is a way to address" issues such as favoritism in the selection of money managers for the pension fund.
Comments (1)
Tom DiNapoli is a man of integrity. He is truly a gem in NY politics. Its unfortunate that Spitzer's misguided verbal attacks on DiNapoli during the confirmation will be used by the Republicans against DiNapoli during his re-election. Spitzer's nothing but a hack opportunist.