Paterson Tops List of Pols Who Owe Campaign Debts

Gov. David Paterson headlines a list of state officials who have outstanding debts for campaign-finance violations, according to a report in Monday's New York Post.

Sixteen current state Assembly members and senators are among the more than 1,400 violators whose collective tab is in the $1.7 million neighborhood, according to the report.

Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo, D-Bronx, is the worst offender; her committees have accumulated a total of more than $33,000 in penalties since 1994, the Post reported.

Paterson is actually near the bottom of the list; he only owes $179 in fines. The judgments against him are from his 1994 and 1996 campaigns for state Senate, according to the Post report. And a state elections official said one of the fines already might have been paid.

Sen. Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, racked up a $40 fine in 1983 and still hasn't paid, but his spokesman told the Post that a check will be in the mail soon. Sound familiar?

Brooklyn Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. ($13K), Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. ($13K) and Bronx Sen. Ruth Hassel-Thompson ($8K) are among other area delinquents on the list.

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