Clueless Paterson Rehires Disgraced Chief of Staff

Hey, the guy had tax issues, so obviously that's a resume enhancer these days. Though it's odd rehiring a guy who caused so many problems that still plague David Paterson to this day.

Charles J. O’Byrne, the former top aide to Gov. David A. Paterson whose resignation amid a tax scandal last year destabilized the administration, will return to help oversee the governor’s 2010 re-election campaign, the governor’s office said on Saturday.

Mr. O’Byrne’s new role will be as an unpaid political adviser, a spokeswoman for Mr. Paterson’s office said, a setup that will allow Mr. O’Byrne to continue to work on behalf of private clients as a consultant.

Mr. O’Byrne’s duties were still being defined, the spokeswoman said. He is expected to have responsibility in helping to run Mr. Paterson’s political operations and to work in a significant way with the governor’s senior staff in the Capitol.

“The governor will have a reinvigorated operation led by O’Byrne that will focus on the re-election,” said one person with direct knowledge of the governor’s plans. “That’s where they decided to deploy him, and he’ll provide guidance to the new internal team about what works for the governor.”

The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss decisions that the administration has not revealed publicly, said it was possible that more top positions in the governor’s cabinet could change hands in the coming days and weeks.

The announcement that Mr. O’Byrne would rejoin the Paterson administration was made just two days after the governor started clearing a path for the former top aide’s return. When asked on Thursday about the possibility of Mr. O’Byrne coming back as the governor’s most senior adviser, Mr. Paterson replied that it was a “fascinating idea” that he planned to discuss with Mr. O’Byrne.

Mr. Paterson’s office released a statement on Saturday evening saying that the governor had spoken to Mr. O’Byrne about rehiring him and that the former adviser agreed to come back in a volunteer capacity.

“Yesterday evening, I met with Charles O’Byrne to discuss the possibility of us working together again,” Mr. Paterson’s statement said. “Charles is very much enjoying his new career and has offered to work as a volunteer in a leadership position with my 2010 campaign.”