Times: Paterson enlisted two state employees to contact victim

The latest from the New York Times’ investigation of Gov. David Paterson’s role in the domestic violence case brought against his top aide David Johnson is a potential game-ender for the governor: It suggests that Paterson recruited press aide Marissa Shorenstein to convince the woman “to publicly describe the incident as nonviolent,” which would contradict the alleged victim’s earlier account of the Oct. 31 episode.

Shorenstein’s attempt to contact the women — which was made after the victim had dropped charges against Johnson — was unsuccessful. Sources quoted in the article note that both Paterson and Shorenstein were at that point still under the impression that the case did not involve violence.

In addition, the story says that Paterson enlisted Deneane Brown, an employee of the Division of Housing and Urban Renewal, to contact the woman — a mutual acquaintance of the governor and Brown. Several contacts between the two preceded the victim’s decision to drop the charges.