CaribWorldNews, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. Mar. 11, 2008: New York State, home to more than a million Caribbean New Yorkers, could soon have a governor with roots in the region.

Lieutenant Governor David Patterson is in line to become governor of New York if Governor Eliot Spitzer resigns, following allegations that he was `Client-9` to a prostitute of the Emperor’s VIP Club.

A federal wire tapping sting operation reportedly linked the former tough state attorney general turned governor to a prostitution ring, according to the New York Times.

Spitzer allegedly arranged to meet with a prostitute identified as `Kristen` in court papers on the night of Feb. 13. He apparently paid for her trip across state lines to Washington, cab fare, mini bar and room service, travel time and hotel. In Washington, D.C., they allegedly rendezvoused at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel’s Room 871. The room was reportedly booked under the name of George Fox, an apparent friend and donor to Spitzer. The tab was US$4,300 for four hours, according to papers filed.

The governor yesterday did not deny the claims, essentially conceding that the allegations are true. But he did not say he would step down even as political analysts predicted he has to.
`He should step down,` veteran Guyanese-born commentator and former attorney, Colin Moore, told CWN yesterday. `Its a criminal offense … he knows that as an attorney.`

Spitzer for his part took no questions, but accompanied by his wife, stated, `I have acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family, and violates my - or any - sense of right and wrong. I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public, whom I promised better. I do not believe that politics in the long run is about individuals. It is about ideas, the public good and doing what’s best for the state of New York.`

But the announcement sent analysts in a frenzy, with many now looking to Patterson as a possible replacement.
Paterson, 53, had indicated the he would have been interested in running for Senator Hillary Clinton’s seat if she wins the Presidency.

Now its seems the legally blind lieutenant governor whose grandparents were born in Grenada and Jamaica and whose father almost became lieutenant governor of New York, could make history by becoming not just the first black governor of the Empire State but the first with Caribbean roots.
Patterson was born in Brooklyn to a father with roots in Grenada and Jamaica on May 20, 1954 in Brooklyn, NY. He was born to Portia and Basil Paterson. Basil Patterson’s father was born in Grenada and his mother in Jamaica. Basil Patterson was a former state senator and the first non-white secretary of state of New York and the first African-American vice-chair of the national Democratic Party.
He became legally blind as a child as a result of an infection that damaged his optic nerve. But he went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in History from Columbia University, graduating in 1977, and completed his J.D. at Hofstra Law School in 1982. He continues to give back to his alma mater by serving as an adjunct professor at Columbia’s School for International and Public Affairs. He was first elected to the state senate in 1986 at age 31 and became the first African-American senate minority leader in 2002.

Paterson was elected New York’s 74th lieutenant governor on November 7, 2006. As lieutenant governor, he leads the administration’s charge in several critical areas. He focuses on stem cell research, alternative energy, reducing domestic violence, and increasing the role minority- and women-owned businesses play in New York State.

Moore knows both David Patterson and his father. Moore still remembers when Basil Patterson ran as the lieutenant governor candidate on the gubernatorial ticket of Arthur Goldberg in 1970. And he remembers David Patterson as an assistant district attorney in the Queens District Attorney’s Office. `He is a bright guy,` Moore told CWN yesterday.

Paterson lives in Harlem with his wife, Michelle Paige Paterson, and their two children, Ashley and Alex. Ashley entered Ithaca College in fall, 2006, and Alex, attends public school in New York City.

If he becomes governor, Paterson’s current office would remain unfilled until the 2010 election, as the constitution makes no provision for filling a vacancy in the lieutenant governor’s office. Under those circumstances, Joseph L. Bruno, the Republican majority leader and temporary president of the state senate who has clashed with Spitzer since the former tough prosecutor took office last year, would `perform all the duties of the lieutenant-governor` until a new one is elected in 2010.

If Spitzer was to be prosecuted, he could be charged under the federal Mann Act of 1910, which makes it a crime to transport someone between states for the purpose of prostitution, since Client-9 in the wiretap transcript was involved in making the arrangements for the trip.

It is ironic to some who felt the wrath of Spitzer during his time as attorney general. He’s been credited with the fall of former NYSE chief Richard Grasso and for taking on many financial companies and investigating them  for illegal-trading practices.

In 2003, Spitzer prosecuted Big Apple Oriental Tours for arranging tours for men seeking sex with prostitutes, some underage, in the Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia.

`The company purports to be a traditional travel agency, but through its actions promotes prostitution and the abuse of young women,` Spitzer told reporters after suing the company then. `This suit seeks a halt to this egregious conduct.`

ABC news last night quoted a Justice Department source as saying the New York governor is likely to be prosecuted under a relatively obscure statute called structuring. - CaribWorldNews.com