Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
More Dirt on Paterson's Role in Hushing Up Alleged Assault
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 26, 2010
Modified Mar 26, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 26, 2010
Modified Mar 26, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Governor David Paterson was intimately involved in an attempt to hush up a domestic violence incident involving one of his top aides, three anonymous sources tell the Times. According to their account, Paterson's interference in the alleged victim's legal action goes even further than what was previously alleged (that Paterson personally called the woman, Sherr-una Booker, and tasked two state workers with pressuring her to drop her legal action against the aide, David Johnson). Sources say that last month, on the eve of the Times's first of many damaging articles about Johnson, Paterson personally drafted a statement he hoped Booker would release to the media.
Paterson told his now-resigned press secretary Marissa Shorenstein "the key points that needed to be included in a brief statement that was sent to Booker," the Times reports. Most salient among those was Paterson's insistence that the couple's breakup had been acrimonious but not violent, and that the charges against Johnson had been dropped—which they were, one day after Paterson reached out to Booker on the phone and asked her if there was anything he could do to help (hint, hint).
Booker refused to play ball, however, and reportedly told a friend she would not participate in a "lie." According to her, Johnson burst into their bedroom on Halloween as she was getting dressed for a party with a friend. Enraged by her provocative costume, Johnson allegedly choked Booker, tore her clothes, and threw her into a mirrored dresser, then confiscated both woman's cell phones and fled. (The Gray Lady delicately calls this a "confrontation.")
Johnson immediately called his friend in charge of Paterson's State Police detail, while Booker somehow called 911—but before the NYPD even arrived, State Police major Charles Day had contacted her and pressured her to let it go. (Day claims he just wanted to make sure she was all right.)
In a written statement, Paterson's lawyer said, "Governor Paterson will answer all questions on all issues before Judge Kaye at the appropriate time. The governor has not done anything wrong, and he looks forward to the conclusion of Judge Kaye’s investigation. In the meantime, he will not comment on a piecemeal basis to incomplete and often factually inaccurate press reports." Neither Johnson nor the governor has testified yet in the investigation being conducted by Kaye, to whom Attorney General Andrew Cuomo turned over the case.
Tagged
attorney general
david johnson
domestic violence
governor paterson
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Forest Hills Stadium can keep its concerts under deal with neighbors
Neighbors had complained of traffic and loud concerts for years.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 22, 2026 at 2:49 p.m. ET
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
NYPD arrests 17-year-old in fatal Midtown subway platform shooting
By
Charles Lane
Ex-Adams aide accused of pocketing kickbacks from community program funds
By
Samantha Max
MTA to begin 6-year project to upgrade signal tech on A and C lines in Brooklyn and Queens
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .