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ALBANY — Amid concerns over a conflict of interest and just two days after a poll showed the public opposed his investigation into two scandals involving Gov. David Paterson, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo took himself off the case Thursday and appointed a respected former judge to take over.
Cuomo, a Democrat considering a run for governor, named Judith Kaye as the independent counsel to lead the investigation into whether Paterson illegally took World Series tickets or had improper contact with a woman who accused a governor's aide of domestic violence. She will work with the Cuomo's Public Integrity Unit on the investigation.
Cuomo's father — Gov. Mario Cuomo — appointed Kaye to the state's top court in 1983 and made her chief judge in 1993, the first woman in that position. On the bench, Kaye wrote groundbreaking decisions on adoption rights for gay couples and the death penalty. She has no prosecutorial or investigative background.
Kaye said that it is "a serious and important matter," and that it's her privilege to serve the state and respond to the attorney general's request.
"My promise was to be fair and impartial and independent in taking account of the facts," she said.
Cuomo said there was no "technical conflict" in his handling of the case, but acknowledged there was a legitimate argument early in the investigation when Paterson was still running for governor. Days after Cuomo began the investigation, Paterson dropped out of the race.
Cuomo said he was being cautious in his approach because of the heated politics surrounding the probe.
Paterson's private attorney, Theodore V. Wells Jr., said he respects Cuomo's decision.
"We will cooperate with Judge Kaye and the (attorney general's office) and look forward to a prompt and favorable conclusion to both investigations," said the firm's spokeswoman, Madelaine Miller.
On Tuesday, a Marist College poll showed Cuomo's approval rating fell 13 points in the two weeks since he began investigating Paterson. Cuomo was widely expected to take on his fellow Democrat in a primary for the nomination for governor. Several polls showed New Yorkers preferred an independent prosecutor for the case, not Cuomo.
The Marist poll showed Cuomo was particularly hurt among black voters and New York City residents — Paterson's base. Cuomo had at one time been worried about the black vote after mounting a primary against H. Carl McCall in 2002, the comptroller many Democrats thought would be New York's first black governor. Cuomo dropped out, and McCall lost to Republican Gov. George Pataki.
"I don't know the polls, right?" he said in answer to reporters' questions Thursday. "This is a legal determination as to what is the best way to conduct an investigation. People suggested there may be politics going on. The suggestion of the politics raises the issue of politics, and I want to make sure this is an investigation that is as free from political interference as is possible."
Cuomo told reporters in an hourlong teleconference that if Paterson had resigned, the case could have been "moot" and been dropped. He described his two weeks in charge of the investigation as "preliminary," simply to determine if there was enough evidence to warrant a full investigation. During that time, he said dozens of witnesses were interviewed and thousands of pages of records were reviewed.
"I have the utmost faith that Ms. Kaye will conduct an impartial and thorough investigation," said Republican gubernatorial candidate, Rick Lazio. "But it should not have required two weeks and a drop in the polls for Andrew Cuomo to recognize what he should have instinctively known from the beginning."
Cuomo was investigating Paterson's role in the case in which a woman accused a trusted Paterson adviser of roughing her up. He didn't explain why a Paterson resignation would end a criminal probe.
Last October, Sherr-una Booker accused Paterson confidante David Johnson of choking her, tearing off her Halloween costume and shoving her against a mirror. She filed a domestic violence complaint but never filed criminal charges.
Paterson has acknowledged that he, two staff members and a member of his state police security detail all talked to Booker before a scheduled family court hearing. He has said Booker called him and he only offered support but did not try to get her to drop her complaint or change her story.
Booker did not show up for the hearing, and the domestic violence complaint was dropped.
Last week, the state Public Integrity Commission accused Paterson of violating state ethics laws when he sought and obtained free Yankees tickets for the 2009 World Series and then may have lied about his intention to pay for them.
There was no immediate comment from Paterson's attorney, Theodore V. Wells Jr.
Kaye retired as chief judge of the Court of Appeals at the end of 2008, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 70. She joined the Manhattan law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. She was widely respected among jurists and the lawyers who pleaded their cases in front of her.
She has been investigating Binghamton University's troubled athletic program at the request of state university officials. She leads the state Commission on Judicial Nomination.
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Associated Press writers Michael Virtanen and Valerie Bauman contributed to this report.
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