Democrat Afflicted With 'Non-Filer Syndrome' Forced to Resign

How much ignominy can New York take? Obviously, Eliot Spitzer is forever a punchline, but his successor, David Paterson, seems to keep stumbling. Saddled with a chief of staff who absurdly claimed 'non-filer syndrome' as an excuse for not paying taxes, Paterson clearly saw no alternative than to sack Charles O'Byrne.

Gov. Paterson's chief of staff Charles O'Byrne resigned under pressure this afternoon, The Post has learned.

O'Byrne decided to resign a week after The Post first reported that he failed to pay his taxes for five years – a period in which he claimed to have suffered from clinical depression.

O'Byrne's hopes for political survival deteriorated two days ago, when his lawyers revealed his tax debt had actually reached nearly $300,000 – $100,000 more than he originally disclosed – and that he had only paid it off this week.

A suggestion by O'Byrne's attorney that his client suffered from "non-filer syndrome" also brought widespread ridicule and calls for O'Byrne's resignation.

O'Byrne's ouster amounts to the first major shake-up within the Paterson administration, barely seven after the former lieutenant governor took over in the wake of Eliot Spitzer's resignation.

The people of New York clearly have a huge tolerance for Democrat malfeasance. But I guess they hate being ridiculed.

Previously.