Gov. Paterson just can’t seem to get away from rumors and reports that he’s always on the prowl for women other than his attractive wife, Michelle.
Call this one Close Encounters of the Closet kind. The latest story — circulating just weeks after The Post reported that two witnesses claimed to have seen Paterson at a New Jersey steakhouse nuzzling the neck of a “family friend” — involves an alleged encounter 10 weeks ago between Paterson and an unidentified woman in a utility closet at the governor’s mansion in Albany.
A state police source who has access to members of the governor’s security detail says a trooper was startled while making a routine round. “At one point he opened the door to an electrical closet/utility room that isn’t normally used,” the source told Post state editor Fredric U. Dicker.
“The trooper opened the door and the first thing he saw was the governor and a woman inside and the two of them snuggling together, embracing. There was nothing more than that, snuggling, and they had their clothes on.
“The trooper was startled and he later said that the governor was startled too, and so he quickly left. He then reported the incident to his superior,” continued the source. The insider refused to identify the trooper because “he’s a nervous wreck who is afraid that he’s going to be transferred off of the [governor’s] detail if his name comes out.”
The state police protocol for patrolling the mansion was changed as a result of the alleged incident, the source said, to limit the time troopers are inside at night, as well as to reduce records of the names of visitors.
A second source — this one close to the Paterson administration — confirmed the story, saying, “People were horrified.” But Paterson’s spokeswoman, Marissa Shorenstein, said: “There is absolutely zero truth to these rumors. There was no incident. The policy was changed roughly a year ago to protect the privacy of the Paterson family.”