"Looks like Gov. Paterson was just blowing smoke when he asked the feds to assess the risk of violence from attempts to collect cigarette taxes from state Indian reservations.

At a state Senate hearing last Tuesday, Paterson's chief counsel, Peter Kiernan, made clear that his boss would not pursue the taxes, because the gov -- like his predecessors, George Pataki and Eliot Spitzer -- just doesn't think enforcing the tax law is worth the hassle.

Even though his recent request for a federal "threat assessment" suggested that he was preparing to go after the taxes. And even though the courts say the state has every right to collect taxes from cigarette sales to non-Indians.

Paterson, it seems, is just too nervous about the prospect of tribal violence to claim what Albany is legally owed.

What a dangerous message to send."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Paterson butts out (The New York Post 11/3)

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