From the Editor:
What if major players in the global public relations, advertising, and health industries got together and decided what they wanted to do, obtained trillions of dollars to do it, and then placed people in political positions to ensure legislation to back up their vision? A very brief look at the internet shows that the Pataki Tapes could be a start to the unravelling of too many careers. We think we will see this smoking gun hushed up very quickly.

GOV DEMANDS FEDERAL PROBE TO FIND PHONE SNOOPER WHO CROSSED 'LINE'
By FREDRIC U. DICKER, NY POST, August 23, 2005

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ALBANY An angry Gov. Pataki yesterday called for a federal investigation into who recorded and leaked the explosive secret tapes of private telephone conversations involving him, his wife, Libby, then-Sen. Alfonse D'Amato and others.

"We have requested that the U.S. attorney for the Southern District investigate how these private conversations were recorded and disseminated, and who was responsible," Pataki spokesman David Catalfamo said in a statement.

"Taping anyone's private conversations without proper consent is illegal," Catalfamo added.

The existence of the tapes and excerpts from the recordings were published in yesterday's Post in an exclusive front-page story headlined, "SECRET PATAKI TAPES."

The tapes, which were obtained by the paper from an anonymous source, contain sensitive personal and political conversations and, at times, obscenity-laced tirades from Thomas Doherty, once one of Pataki's most important aides and his chief patronage dispenser.

The tapes are believed to have been made in 1996 and possibly 1997.

In new excerpts from the tapes published in today's Post, Doherty discusses a problem with an employee at the Javits Center with his mother and, in another conversation, rails against someone being promoted by Pataki for a particular job.

"Oh, he's not one of us," Doherty says in the secretly taped conversation of the person Pataki is pushing.

"Tell the governor . . . all the guy did was kill every Republican in Westchester County when he had a chance to do it . . . He's a liberal Democrat supporter."

In one of the taped conversations excerpted in yesterday's Post, Mrs. Pataki is heard complaining about having to attend too many political events, saying, "I told George, 'George, it's exactly this kind of thing that pisses me off.' "

She also complains that former New York City First Lady Donna Giuliani was getting a lot of press attention for a special event while she was getting none.

Doherty also angrily complains to D'Amato that top state officials were resisting the hiring of Republican patronage appointees.

"Just between you and me, if the f- - -ing commissioners of this state were any slower with this s- - -," Doherty rages at one point on the tape.

Catalfamo attacked The Post for publishing excerpts from the tapes, even though the governor's office had raised no objections to the publication when given an advanced look at their contents Friday.

"Printing those conversations  when they serve no public interest  is unethical and potentially illegal," Catalfamo said yesterday.

"The notion that a media outlet would reprint private conversations that they know to have been illegally recorded is outrageous," Catalfamo added.

"It's sad and unfortunate that today the bar for journalistic integrity has been lowered."

Post editor-in-chief Col Allan said the paper had done nothing wrong.

"Even if these tapes were illegally made  and we don't know yet that they were  we believe the Supreme Court of the United States has affirmed our right to publish the contents of the tapes," Allan said in a statement.

"There is a clear public interest for our readers to understand how important patronage jobs in state agencies are doled out in Albany and how the governor and the first lady's schedules are decided."

Allan added, "If the governor's office had legal or ethical issues with our publishing the contents of these tapes, they failed to raise them when we contacted them about the tapes Friday morning."

Herb Hadad, a spokesman for Southern District U.S. Attorney David Kelley, said Pataki's request for a probe had been received but had no further comment.

Meanwhile, state government was abuzz with speculation about who was responsible for making and leaking the tapes.

"There's real shock that these tapes got out there," said Brendan Quinn, a state GOP official.

" 'Embarrassing' is the word that's being used most often."

Some insiders speculated that Doherty must be the source of the tapes because he is heard on all of the recorded conversations.

But Doherty has insisted that he had nothing to do with them.

He issued a statement yesterday saying he was "appalled that my private conversations were recorded without my consent or knowledge."

Others said it was possible that a federal or state investigative agency may have recorded the tapes, and then lost possession of them.

State law makes it illegal for anyone to record a two-way telephone conversation without the permission of one of the parties  unless a court order is obtained.

THE PATAKI TAPES
NY POST, August 23, 2005

CONVERSATION 1

In a conversation with his mother, Thomas Doherty, once a top aide to Gov. Pataki, engages in a foulmouthed rant against the management at the state-run Javits Center in Manhattan. Mrs. Doherty has raised concerns that someone who works at Javits is not being treated properly.

Doherty: Mom, I don't know. I don't work at the Javits Center. These f---ing people are incompetent ...

Doherty's mother: He only went down there one time, don't you understand that, Tommy?

Doherty: When you go in the office, do you figure out who you work for or do you walk around aimlessly in life? ... If they told him to go s--- in the corner, would he go s--- in the corner? These are f---ing idiots I'm dealing with.

As his mother tries to tell him that the person she is interested in, along with several other would-be job seekers, apparently aren't being treated well, Doherty responds: They're f---ing idiots. That's why they don't have jobs. He must be a stupid-ass college graduate if he can't go down there and he can't handle himself.

Jesus, don't you find out who your boss is before you leave? Jesus Christ! I call [then-Javits Executive Director Robert] Boyle myself. These people are f---ing idiots. They really are, Mom.

CONVERSATION 2

Doherty, in the midst of a telephone call with Boyle, is interrupted by another person, who gets on the line to complain about an unnamed individual being pushed by Pataki for a job in the New York City watershed.

Doherty: Oh, God, the governor wants to ... in the watershed? Oh, he's not one of us. Tell the governor ... all the guy did was kill every Republican in Westchester County when he had a chance to do it ... He's a liberal Democrat supporter.

At another point, Doherty explodes: That guy is a f---ing commie. He f---ing hates us. He used to be Biaggi's top guy (an apparent reference to former Rep. Mario Biaggi of The Bronx).

CONVERSATION 3

Gov. Pataki's wife, Libby, is heard complaining about giving up her personal time to attend political functions, and at one point, Doherty gives her advice on how she should dress for a Conservative Party event.

Doherty: I don't want you to worry about getting dressed tonight, worry about your hair or anything. These are a bunch of rock-ribbed Conservatives, you know.

Mrs. Pataki: It's a dinner, right?

CONVERSATION 4

Mrs. Pataki complains that she's not getting paid for her public appearances, including one that evening.

Doherty, seeking to assuage her concerns, quips: You know what? I'll call Ron Lauder and see if he can work something out for tonight. How about that?

Mrs. Pataki laughs and responds: He's working something out for Morocco.

(Lauder, an heir to the Este Lauder cosmetics fortune, has been a longtime Pataki political backer and has regularly employed Mrs. Pataki, including hiring her for an assignment in Morocco.)

SHOCKING PEEK BEHIND SCENES
By FREDRIC U. DICKER, NY POST, August 22, 2005

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ALBANY . Someone secretly recorded private telephone calls to Gov. Pataki, his wife, Libby, then-Sen. Alfonse D'Amato and others capturing sensitive personal and political conversations, tapes obtained by The Post reveal.

The existence of the mystery tapes demonstrates there was a major security breach involving the governor and some of his most important associates.

It is illegal in New York to record a conversation between two people if neither one is aware of it.

The extraordinary tapes include lengthy discussions of patronage hiring, obscenity-laced tirades, Mrs. Pataki's extensive complaints about her schedule as first lady, and more mundane matters like preparations for Pataki to attend a funeral.

Caught on the recordings are Pataki and his wife at their upstate Garrison mansion, then-Sen. D'Amato at what appears to be his Washington, D.C., office, longtime Pataki political operative Thomas Doherty, as well as Doherty's mother, and a Westchester County GOP political operative.

Doherty, once the governor's hard-nosed chief scheduler and patronage boss and now a partner in the Pataki-connected consulting firm Mercury Public Affairs, is the only person who is a party to all of the conversations on the tapes.

The recordings, which are about 45 minutes long and appear to have been transferred to the single cassette received by The Post, came to the paper from an anonymous source.

The cassette is labeled "A Pandora's Box."

References among the speakers indicate the recordings were made mainly during the middle of the governor's first term, in 1996, and, possibly, in 1997.

The recordings often have a loud hiss in the background possibly the noise of an aircraft in which Doherty may have been traveling and are sometimes difficult to understand, and they occasionally jump between conversations, indicating some editing has taken place.

A spokesman for Gov. Pataki told The Post it was "shocking and disgraceful that someone would record and disseminate private conversations involving the governor and Mrs. Pataki at their home.

"It's likely that both federal and state laws have been broken in the process," said spokesman Kevin Quinn.

Asked if Pataki would order an investigation of the security breach, Quinn said, "We're looking at all options, but obviously this is a very serious matter."

D'Amato, who declined an offer from The Post to listen to the tape, said it was "appalling" that the private conversations were recorded.

"I don't know who did it," he said.

For his part, Doherty said he had "no idea what this is, I have no clue."

"I'm sitting here shaking my head, I'm going, 'My mother on a taped phone call?' I'm flabbergasted," Doherty continued.

Doherty said he didn't make the tapes and had no idea who did.

On one of the recordings, Mrs. Pataki is heard complaining to Doherty at length about having to attend too many Republican and Conservative Party events.

"I told George, 'George, it's exactly this kind of thing that pisses me off," said Mrs. Pataki.

"I said, 'George, I'm running around like an idiot. I'd rather be doing major big events and not be doing all this bulls- - - crap . . . "

"I'm not getting paid for this crap. I don't have to do a damn thing if I don't want to."

Mrs. Pataki vents her frustration that then-New York City First Lady Donna Giuliani was getting a lot of media coverage for the same type of events.

"I spent seven hours running from here to there, and there was not one sentence," Mrs. Pataki told Doherty.

"There were pictures of Donna Giuliani all over the papers. It's not that I'm not photogenic," she added.

In a conversation with D'Amato, Doherty railed about problems with then-state Health Commissioner Dr. Barbara DeBuono not making patronage hires sought by the administration.

"Just between you and me, if the f- - -ing commissioners of this state were any slower with this s- - -," Doherty said.

"I mean it got to a point where I called DeBuono on something on behalf of (powerful Nassau County GOP boss Joseph) Mondello.

"And I said to her, 'You know you have a f- - -ing Democrat as your No. 2 person, and you're telling me that I can't get my f- - -ing people hired?' "

Doherty then recounts to D'Amato a conversation he had with Pataki's then-chief of staff, Brad Race, after Race had apparently cautioned Doherty about his pressuring DeBuono.

"I said, 'Brad, does Barbara DeBuono work for us or do we work for her?' I said, 'Joe Mondello can't get a goddam job, and it still hasn't been done yet.'

"It's utter bulls- - -."

The tape begins with Doherty placing a call to Pataki's Garrison home and getting patched through to Pataki, apparently at another location, to discuss funeral arrangements for someone.

Pataki instructs Doherty to "think of something" for him to say at the funeral. "I'll make it very personal," Doherty responds.

The conversations with D'Amato, once the state's most powerful Republican and Pataki's political patron, focus almost exclusively on the hunt for patronage jobs.

"I just talked to (Pataki patronage officer) Leslie Maeby and found out about this job of commissioner of the New York State Waterfront," D'Amato tells Doherty.

"They got somebody, one of George's old buddies . . . Well, I put in the Republican chairman of North Hempstead, Mike [name unclear on tape]. I spoke to Brad Race.

"Told him Mondello wants it, you know," said D'Amato. "I think, between you and I, that Nassau is entitled to a lot more than it's gotten."

In another conversation with Doherty about jobs issues at the state Department of Motor Vehicles, D'Amato calls the agency's No. 2 official, Joe Seymour, who was later named by Pataki as the executive director of the Port Authority, a "stupid ass" for not moving fast enough on some patronage appointments.

To which Doherty responds, "Stupid bastard is what he is."

THE PATAKI TAPES

LINK

CONVERSATION 1
First Lady Libby Pataki complains to Pataki aide Thomas Doherty that she's overworked and not getting enough publicity - compared with Mayor Giuliani's then-wife, Donna.

Doherty: I see you all over (but) I don't see your picture in the paper. I don't see you on TV. I don't hear you on the radio. So what the hell are you doing out there?

Libby Pataki: Exactly. They have me running around for so much damn stuff.

Doherty: Bulls--- stuff.

Libby Pataki: Exactly. Take your mothers to day work (sic) (apparently referring to the Take Your Daughters to Work Day program). I spent seven hours running from here to there, and there was not one sentence ... There were pictures of Donna Giuliani all over the papers. It's not that I'm not photogenic ... I said, "George, I'm running around like an idiot. I'd rather be doing major, big events and not be doing all this bulls--- crap, so that when I do have to go out six nights in a row, let them get something out of it. I'm not getting paid for this crap. I don't have to do a damn thing if I don't want to."

CONVERSATION 2
Then-U.S. Sen. Alfonse D'Amato and Doherty discuss patronage problems.

Doherty: Just between you and me, if the f---ing commissioners of this state were any slower with this s---. I mean it got to a point where I called (then-Health Commissioner Barbara] DeBuono on something on behalf of [Nassau County Republican boss Joseph) Mondello, and I said to her, "You know you have a f---ing Democrat as your No. 2 person, and you're telling me that I can't get my f---ing people hired?" And then Brad (then-Pataki chief of staff Brad Race) calls me up and says, "You really can't call these people like that" ... I said, "Brad, does Barbara DeBuono work for us or do we work for her?" I said, "Joe Mondello can't get a goddam job, and it still hasn't been done yet." It's utter bulls---.

D'Amato: It's ridiculous. So what did he say?

Doherty: Oh, you know.

D'Amato: Well, you have to call 'em. You know how to handle it. And say, "Commissioner, we need this thing."

Doherty: Yeah, you do that.

D'Amato: Did the governor tell you you could do it?

Doherty: Absolutely. I don't do anything without his knowledge of anything.

CONVERSATION 3
Doherty calls Gov. Pataki's home to discuss funeral arrangements for an unidentified person.

State trooper: Governor's residence.

Doherty: Trooper, Tom Doherty. How are you?

Trooper: How are you?

Doherty: Is the governor around?

Trooper: Yes, he is.

Doherty: Could you see if you could patch me through to him?

(A woman's voice is then heard, telling Doherty, "I'll find him for you.")

Pataki: Doherty.

Doherty: Governor, sorry to bother you.

Pataki: No problem.

Doherty: The family of the father came up to me at the wake this afternoon. They asked if you would say a few words. I said you had never done that before [garbled] ... if you could do that.

Pataki: Done.

Doherty: I'll draft those (garbled) for you.

Pataki: Think of something.

Doherty: I'll make it very personal, and I'll fax it up to Albany so they'll have it up there. You going to be in the (Executive) Mansion tomorrow night?

Pataki: Tomorrow night, yeah ...

Doherty: We're making arrangements so you can helicopter right in.

CONVERSATION 4
Doherty describes a patronage problem at the state Department of Motor Vehicles with a person identified as "Tim."

Doherty: I called Motor Vehicles and said, "Look, I just want this done." The guy told me that next Tuesday, he would take care of it. $60,000 a year, no ifs, ands or buts. That's the bottom line ...

Doherty [describing a conversation he had with a second DMV official, Joseph Seymour]: So the guy on the other end of the phone, the No. 2 over there, says, "Well, you know, this is a heavy lift." I said, "Oh, yeah? Well, just make sure it gets f---ing done!" I said, "I'll call you next Tuesday" ... I mean these people are ridiculous. I told him Sen. D'Amato, the governor, knows about this. The governor wants to make sure this happens.

CONVERSATION 5
Doherty later discusses the DMV problem with D'Amato.

Doherty: You want to hear this one?

D'Amato: Yeah.

Doherty: He's a guy from Peekskill. He's the No. 2 guy at DMV. I go through the whole thing. Why this man is wanted, you know. A big lift?

D'Amato: Did you ask him how the hell he got his job?

Doherty: I laughed at that point. I got off the phone, and everybody in the office said, "What did he say?" I said, "It's a big lift." They go, "How did we get here?" ... I said, "Thank you."

D'Amato: Stupid ass.

Doherty: Stupid bastard is what he is.

Who is Thomas Doherty?

Pataki Calls for Federal Probe Into Tapes
BY BRIAN McGUIRE - Staff Reporter of the Sun, August 23, 2005

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ALBANY - Governor Pataki's political future is unlikely to be damaged by embarrassing tapes of private conversations featuring him and his wife that were published yesterday in the New York Post, political observers said.

The newspaper ran a transcript - whose authenticity officials did not deny - that included a crude conversation between a former official in the Pataki administration, Thomas Doherty, and Senator D'Amato about their efforts at rewarding a political ally with a job, as well as an excerpt in which Mr. Pataki's wife, Libby, laments having to attend low-profile events without pay.

Mrs. Pataki also gripes on the edited, nine-year-old tape that then-Mayor Giuliani's second wife, Donna, is attracting more notice from the press than she is.

"I spent seven hours running from here to there, and there was not one sentence," Mrs. Pataki said in the tape. "There were pictures of Donna Giuliani all over the papers. It's not that I'm not photogenic. ... I said, 'George, I'm running around like an idiot. I'd rather be doing major, big events and not be doing all this bull-crap.'"

The tapes, which the Post said were sent anonymously to its Albany bureau, were labeled "Pandora's Box." The recording of a private telephone conversation by a third party without consent is against the law in New York. A spokesman for Mr. Pataki raised the possibility that printing private phone calls is also illegal.

"Taping anyone's private conversations without proper consent is illegal," the spokesman for the governor, David Catalfamo, said. "Printing those conversations - when they serve no public interest - is unethical and potentially illegal."

Mr. Catalfamo said that the governor has asked the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York to look into the tapes.

Political observers said the tapes do not appear to contain anything that would do lasting damage to Mr. Pataki, who is eyeing a bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.

"It's not the best day in the media business for the Patakis," the director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, Lee Miringoff, said. "But I don't think it has long-term political damage beyond the fact that it suggests that they need to play up to speed if they want to go into the national scene."

Mr. Miringoff said Mr. Pataki's name recognition is too low among national voters - he put it in the single digits - at this point for the Post story to have broad impact.

"I think Mr. Pataki's image is not formed for a national office at this point," the Marist analyst said. "I suspect a few good one-liners could deflect this if it were ever brought up."

Still, a number of Internet and television outlets, including the Drudge Report Web site and MSNBC, posted the tapes or were arranging to discuss them - a sign the story could help Mr. Pataki's visibility nationally, if not in the way the governor would like.

A former executive director of the Republican State Committee, Brendan Quinn, said the tapes make Mrs. Pataki look worse than her husband, whose published comments were limited to arrangements for a funeral.

"I think the worst part of what is in the paper is that Ms. Pataki looks very mean-spirited and petty," Mr. Quinn said.

Thomas Doherty, Partner, Mercury Public Affairs

Thomas Doherty is a Partner of Mercury Public Affairs. Prior to joining Mercury, Mr. Doherty served as Governor Pataki's Deputy Secretary for Appointments in Albany. Mr. Doherty oversaw the Governor's Office of State and Local Government Affairs including advising Governor Pataki on all aspects of effective communications with state and local government officials to better help them serve their constituents.

While Senior Administrative Assistant to the Governor, he monitored and advised Governor Pataki on statewide and national issues, coordinated all gubernatorial events, and traveled regularly with the Governor, managing his daily schedule and appearances.

As Executive Director for "Victory '98" for the New York State Republican Committee, Mr. Doherty implemented set-up for the campaign infrastructure, managed a campaign staff of fifteen for the five statewide candidates, and oversaw all aspects of the Victory '98 campaigns, including fund-raising activities, scheduling of candidates, political strategizing, and press opportunities.

Mr. Doherty served his local community as Eastchester Councilman from 1993 to 1997, and Village of Tuckahoe trustee from 1991 to 1993, where he was recognized by The New York Times for his efforts to consolidate government and make government more efficient.

Mr. Doherty has also served as Public Information Officer for the Westchester County Department of Environmental Facilities, Assistant to the Chairman for the Westchester County Board of Legislators, District Representative for the Office of Congressman Joseph J. DioGuardi, and Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Office of Westchester County Executive.

He holds a B.A. in Mass Communications from University of Charleston (West Virginia) and currently resides in Tuckahoe, New York with his wife Linda and two sons, Matthew and Kevin.

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