NY Gov. Paterson fills another plum board job with ex-Suozzi aid Charo Ezdrin

Kenneth Lovett New York Daily News 07/13/2010 16:32

Gov. Paterson's last hurrah of political patronage is not confined to the state Parole Board. Paterson recently nominated a former aide to ex-Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi to the state Workers' Compensation Board - at the urging of the state Democratic Party boss.

The cushy job for Charo Ezdrin pays $90,800 a year - and comes with a six-year term, lasting well past the four-year term of the next governor.

"New Yorkers should expect more from their public officials than the same old patronage games," said GOP gubernatorial pick Rick Lazio.

The Daily News reported exclusively yesterday that lame-duck Paterson is installing five lucky cronies on the state Parole Board, gigs that carry six-year appointments and $101,600-per-year salaries - with no set office hours.

Now state party boss and Paterson confidant Jay Jacobs is pushing for a soft landing for Ezdrin, who served as a top Suozzi aide before the executive lost at the polls last fall.

She also spent three years as a county attorney for the Department of Social Services.

Ezdrin said Jacobs pushed Paterson to nominate her for the job "because of my extensive labor experience."

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