Paterson's Black & White Photog Flip Costs NY State $300K

[Psephos]

Source: NBC New York

Albany may be having a hard time making ends meet, but the state government found $300,000 to quietly settle a racial discrimination law suit against Gov. David Paterson, according to the New York Post. The suit accused Paterson of firing a white staff photographer in order to replace him with an African-American photographer back when the governor was the Senate minority leader in 2003.

Joseph Maiorello, 56, of Schenectady, was seeking $1.5 million when he filed the lawsuit against the Senate in 2005. Maiorello made $34,000 a year and had been a Senate employee for 26 years before being fired and replaced with a black employee in 2003, The Post reported.

Maioriello claimed he was told by John McPadden, then Paterson's chief of staff, that he was being fired because a number of minority senators wanted to replace him with "a minority photographer, a black photographer," according to The Post.

The lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial in Syracuse with Paterson slated as the key witness. The case was settled earlier in the week with the final deal being hammered out yesterday. Paterson replaced Maiorello after ousting then-Sen. Martin Connor (D-Brooklyn) as the Senate minority leader. Connor was expected to testify that Maiorello was a good photographer.

Neither Paterson nor the state admitted Maiorello was the victim of racial discrimination.

Read more: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Patersons-Discrimination-Suit-Costs-State-300K-Report.html

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More here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/nyregion/02photog.html

[Muttocracy]

1. sigh.

:banghead:

[bluebellbaby]

2. Good God...it sucks when the whites get descriminated against

These "politicians" such as Paterson...were raised in a country where blacks were discriminated against all the time...

It does surprise me a little...and I don't support it...but playing "devils advocate" Can you blame them?

But who's to say that the only reason was it was because he was white?

Could be that the person who replaced him was getting the job as a "political favor"...the family memeber of a friend of someone who needed job...????

Just saying...

[girl gone mad]

3. "can you blame them?"

Yes.

[bluebellbaby]

4. okay...

[imdjh]

5. Yes, I can blame them.

Each of us has a choice, many times a day perhaps, to CHOOSE to do the right thing, even if we could get away with doing the wrong thing.

That photographer didn't do anything to the man or men who decided to can him so they could play the bigshot. What they did was petty and wrong, and your allowance that it was somehow understandable is disturbing.

Each of us has our prejudices which are formed from our experiences, but our actions are choices we make. Each one of them is an opportunity.

[bluebellbaby]

6. I never defended it...I understand it...but I don't defend it...

And yes...our actions and choices our ours to make and in the end create who we become...

This country for so long has allowed these things...to now act with such righteous indignation...is disturbing also...where were you 20 years ago...?


I don't agree...if true...with discrimination...no matter the reasons...

And without spending hours researhing this specific case and all the details...making snap judgements that all that is stated is the absolute truth...is not a good idea...

There are always two sides to everything...

I try to keep an open mind until all the facts are presented...

[AtheistCrusader]

7. Well, I don't know about you but..

where were you 20 years ago...?

I was probably playing with legos and tonka trucks.

I try to keep an open mind until all the facts are presented...

We will never have the facts presented in court, because the city chose to settle.

[bluebellbaby]

8. I guess my age is showing again...opppss!

And when from what's been posted...he settled for $300,000...and if he's lucky after the attorneys cut...he gets $100,000...and then after taxes...he gets...maybe...$60,000...so...

So...what did anyone gain in this guy bringing the discrimination suit...with the records...I presume...being sealed and no one admitting anything?????

What good did it do????

And in settling the case...the public never can know if he was truly discriminated against or not...or if the case was brought out of Political Manuvering to discredit Gov. Patterson...

This crap happens alot...

[AtheistCrusader]

9. Well, if he got 60k out of it

He got about a year and a half of unemployment pay, based on his old pay scale. Not exactly a fortune, but might get him through the recession, maybe.

For pleading the 5th, I assume innocence, but when the city settles, that seems to be an admission of SOME level of guilt, I would think. Even if it was a 50/50 he said/she said, I wouldn't expect the city to settle for such a large sum. Maybe there will be some public details in the settlement, but I doubt it.

[mrbarber]

11. "What good did it do"?

Justice? Someone who was fired because of the color of their skin successfully sued for racial discrimination? (which it was)

Racism is racism, no matter what the color of the person's skin is.

[bluebellbaby]

12. I agree...hopefully more details will come out to shine some light on it

[ejpoeta]

10. so THAT's why they raised the taxes on booze. and there is that one time

floor inventory fee to pay taxes on all stock in inventory. THAAT explains it!! :sarcasm: