YID With LID: NY Gov. Paterson's Race Track Deal Gets Sleazier, Is a "Perp Walk" in His Future ?

YID With LID: NY Gov. Paterson's Race Track Deal Gets Sleazier, Is a "Perp Walk" in His Future ?: "While most of the rumors about NY Governor Paterson have involved his actions in the boudoir his real problem involve the real action, the horse track. He is being investigated for the awarding of a state contract for video lottery machines at the Aqueduct Race track. Some Paterson aides have signaled they may quit over what some call his 'corrupt decision' to give the lucrative Aqueduct gaming contract to a questionable consortium that includes the Rev. Floyd Flake of Queens, whose political support the poll-challenged governor has aggressively sought.

Further review of the bid by Rev. Flake's group (Aqueduct Entertainment Group or AEG) shows it to be seriously flawed in its financing:

'A consortium is only as strong as its weakest link, and all the links here, with the exception of Siemens [one of AEG's partners], lack financial firepower,' said Jeff Hooke, a gaming analyst and managing director of Hooke Associates, an investment-banking firm."