Head Of NY Ethics Panel Resigns

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Michael Cherkasky is resigning as chairman of the New York Commission on Public Integrity and says it has too few resources to police all lobbying and executive branch ethics violations.

Cherkasky was appointed by Gov. David Paterson in 2009. The agency later recommended $90,000 in civil penalties against Paterson for soliciting and accepting Yankees baseball tickets before belatedly paying for them.

He says the commission should focus on more serious violations and notes legislators have little ethics oversight except federal prosecutions.

Cherkasky is chief executive of the risk management firm Altegrity. He says Thursday he's resigning from the ethics post as of Jan. 1 because his firm's growing global client list could create conflicts of interest he wouldn't immediately know about.

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