Gov. Paterson orders all New York state contracts with ACORN to be put on hold
Updated Friday, September 18th 2009, 3:35 PM
ALBANY - In another blow to ACORN, Gov. Paterson put a hold Friday on all state contracts with the embattled anti-poverty agency.
Paterson's budget director and director of state operations ordered agencies not to move forward on contracts with the group.
The hold will stay in place during a 30-day review of $400,000 worth of state contracts with ACORN and its parent, New York Agency for Community Affairs.
It's the latest action against ACORN after some of the housing group's employees were taped seemingly telling people how to cheat the system.
Ina series of scandalous undercover videos, two conservative activists posing as a pimp and prostitute were told to lie about their occupations on tax and mortgage paperwork.
NY ACORN President Pat Boone said he has no problem with Paterson's move.
"We welcome the governor's review and are confident he will find that every state dollar we've received went directly to combating New York's foreclosure crisis and helping tens of thousands of low-income New Yorkers access the Earned Income Tax Credit," Boone said.
ACORN has come under fire from other high places.
President Obama criticized the group, and the House and Senate have passed legislation to freeze federal funding to the nonprofit.
In New York, the Brooklyn district attorney's office has opened an investigation and state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is monitoring that probe.
Cuomo aides have said the office won't sign off on any new contracts involving ACORN or its subsidiaries until the DA's probe is complete.
ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis has called the employees' actions "indefensible" and suspended some service programs until an outside investigator can conduct an audit. She also said frontline employees would receive new training.
"ACORN condemns the behavior depicted on these videotapes and is committed totaking every necessary step to regain the public trust," Boone said.
