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Excerpts from Governor Pataki's Ethics Problem

The New York Times [09/30/99]

Gov. George Pataki's two trips to Hungary in 1995 and 1996 drew criticism because they were underwritten by a private group, the Hungarian-American Chamber of Commerce, raising at least the appearance of a conflict of interest. Now, according to two stories by The Times's Clifford Levy, the potential conflicts were even greater than originally thought. Much of the money that the chamber lavished on the Governor's travels apparently derived from big donations it received from two major corporations, Philip Morris, the world's largest cigarette maker, and Bristol-Myers Squibb, the pharmaceuticals conglomerate. The timing and size of their donations suggest they may have been using the chamber as a conduit to make gifts to the Governor that would be illegal under state law if made directly.

The two trips, which spotlighted Mr. Pataki's Hungarian heritage, were part trade mission, part family vacation. Mr. Pataki justified the chamber's involvement by saying that the group had no business before the state. Based on that premise, the State Ethics Commission approved the trips. But because Bristol-Myers Squibb and Philip Morris both have significant issues pending in Albany, the ethics commission is mulling a new inquiry into whether the trips violated the state's prohibition on gifts to public officials. The commission's chairman, Paul Shechtman, was once Mr. Pataki's criminal justice adviser. But political and personal loyalty should take a back seat to the public's need for a thorough investigation. The Temporary State Commission on Lobbying is also thought to be interested in exploring the donations.

Over the years, Mr. Pataki has routinely stonewalled questions about his financing. In this case, he has refused to say how much the Hungarian-American Chamber of Commerce paid for the trips, nor has he asked the chamber to disclose its finances. But the chamber makes no secret of the fact that Philip Morris and Bristol-Myers Squibb are two of its biggest donors. Now that it seems certain that some of these donations helped underwrite the Governor's travels, the only honorable course is for Mr. Pataki to return the chamber's money -- dipping into his own funds to cover at least the vacation portion of the trips. The portion allocable to state business can be paid by the government. Had Mr. Pataki financed his trip this way in the first place, he could have avoided the charge that he accepted backdoor gifts.

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