Pataki cleared of wrongdoing by Inspector General

[Khephra]

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Gov. George Pataki, accused of using public workers and funds to make renovations to his Adirondack farmhouse, has been cleared of wrongdoing.

State Inspector General Jill Konviser-Levine said a four-week investigation determined the Office of General Services did not act improperly while making security improvements to the 370-acre property near the shores of Lake Champlain.

The probe was sparked by an anonymous letter referred Jan. 20 to the Inspector General by the state Ethics Commission. The letter claimed that OGS employees charged vacation time and used state supplies and equipment to build a 400-square-foot work space at the governor's farm for state troopers assigned to Pataki's security detail.

The letter also claimed that an antique fence owned by the state had been installed at the home, and that the town of Essex ran a water line to the governor's farmhouse at the expense of a municipal project that ultimately went unfinished.

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http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--patakifarm-probe0213feb13,0,2737769.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire