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WPCNR High Noon News. From the Sayegh Campaign (EDITED) with John Bailey Reporting.October 23, 2002. UPDATED:Three community leaders in the 88th Assembly District came out strongly criticising Assemblywoman Amy Paulin’s conduct Wednesday, in drawing attention to the ethnicity of her challenger’s financial supporters, said a news release from Tony Sayegh’s Campaign.
Thursday, the Journal-News endorsed Ms. Paulin as their choice over Mr. Sayegh in the 88th Assembly District three days after the introduction of Ms. Paulin’s anti-Arab remarks.
In related fallout from the “Amy Tape” released by Mr. Sayegh Monday afternoon, the Journal News printed a correction Wedneday to its report that the reporter heard on the “Amy Tape,” Robert Fois, who conducted the interview, was fired. The Journal-News today printed a correction on page A-2, saying he was on “leave of absence” from the Eastchester Town Report. WPCNR interviewed Mr. Fois Tuesday on “his side of the story.”
The news release from the Sayegh campaign says, “Miles Ehrenkranz, Jewish community leader in Scarsdale and New Rochelle, said today that Assemblywoman Amy Paulin should issue a full apology for her remarks.
Ehrenkranz’s sentiments were echoed by Sam Spady, New Rochelle civil rights activist and Sebastian Bulfamante, who is president of the New Rochelle Italian-American club.
“Unacceptable.” Pursued Ethnic Issue.
“The Assemblywoman’s response thus far is unacceptable and falls short of what the public deserves,” said Ehrenkranz, “The tape is clear: Amy Paulin raised the issue of ethnicity, she continued to pursue the issue of ethnicity, and she suggested that race should be a consideration in the campaign for the Assembly.”
Sayegh’s release notes that “Ehrenkranz, Spady and Bulfamante noted that Paulin attempted to defend her remarks rather than acknowledge they were inappropriate.
“Appalling.”
“It is appalling that Assemblywoman Paulin would raise the ethnicity of Tony Sayegh’s supporters under any circumstances,” said Spady, “Those of us who have devoted years to erasing ethnicity as an obstacle to achievement know that nothing short of an apology will do.”
Spady went even farther in the news release: “This time Amy Paulin was complaining about Lebanese-Americans. Perhaps next time it will be African-Americans or Italians,” said Bulfamante, “The whole idea is repugnant.” In the taped interview, Paulin compained that many of Sayegh’s supporters were Arabs. “The sad thing is that Tony’s parents, who are Lebanese Christians, personally know the scourge of discrimination and thought that in America they had left it behind.”
Jewish leader particularly offended.
The news release goes on to quote Ehrenkranz extensively, taking Ms. Paulin to task:
“Unfortunately Amy Paulin is trying to hide behind the motive of a reporter or arcane rules of what is on the record and what is off the record. But there is only one motive that counts, which is Amy Paulin’s, and so far it seems devoted to playing upon ethnic divisions. As a member of the Jewish faith, I am embarrassed by her remarks and feel that Ms. Paulin should have known better than to take issue with people’s ethnic backgrounds.”
Paulin Does Not Issue Statement on WPCNR Request. Fois claims she screened his stories.
WPCNR contacted Amy Paulin’s office Tuesday, after learning from Mr. Fois, the reporter on the tape, that he was on Leave of Absence taken at his request, and had not been fired. Mr. Fois also reported that there was more conversation on the “Amy Tape” he was uncomfortable in releasing.
WPCNR requested a statement from Ms. Paulin on the matter and requested she contact WPCNR because WPCNR wanted to verify that there was more of the taped conversation that had not been released by Mr. Fois to Mr. Sayegh.
WPCNR wanted to find out whether or not she had repeatedly gone over and complained about Mr. Fois’ stories about her before as they appeared in the Town Report, actually prescreening them with Eastchester Town Report editors, as reported to WPCNR by Mr. Fois, and as alluded to in the Journal News report.
However, at this point, (Wednesday afternoon), Ms. Paulin has not responded to clarify whether she said more on the telelphone that day in July, and whether she did complain to the Eastchester Town Report about Mr. Fois’ reporting and went over the stories with the editors.
Reporter vs. Editor
After speaking with Mr. Fois twice Tuesday, WPCNR learned from Mr. Fois that he decided to take the tape to Mr. Sayegh in early September when his editor Mike Moritz twice refused to listen to the tape, once in July and again in August. Mr. Moritz denied to WPCNR that Fois offered to let him hear the tape.
“That is 100% incorrect,” Moritz said in a phone interview with WPCNR. “Lynda Wyssing, (another editor) asked for the tape. He never produced that tape. Never brought the tape in. We (he and Fois) had a conversation that he had serious concerns about what Amy Paulin said, containing “derogatory” comments about Mr. Sayegh made “off the record.”
Moritz told WPCNR that he advised Fois if it was “off the record” he did not want to hear the tape:
“I asked, well what is it? On the record or off the record, and he indicated it was off the record.”
At which point, Moritz said he did not want to know about it.
Unethical action.
Moritz advised WPCNR that he considered Fois’ turning over the tape to Mr. Sayegh unethical:
Mr. Fois was distrubed to hear this recollection of his two approaches to Mr. Moritz on the matter. Fois said, “I told him the tape contained remarks derogatory to not only Arabs, but Jews, Catholics, all ethnicities,” saying he was very explicit about the contents. He said that Mr. Moritz and Ms. Wysing were always “too busy” to listen to the tape.
Took it to another editor for an opinion.
Fois said he was so disturbed about what Paulin had said on the tape that he spoke with Mr. Sayegh about it in July, but did not divulge the contents of the tape.
He also said he took it to another newspaper editor, whom he did not identify, for an opinion on how “on the record,” or “off the record” the first portion of the tape was. After review, the editor advised Fois that he was within his journalistic ethics to release a portion of the tape.
Matter of Conscience over alleged “Whispering Campaign.”
Fois told WPCNR he agonized over whether or not to release the tape. He said he felt Mr. Sayegh’s family, his background, had been hurt and unfairly maligned, especially when he encountered evidence of a “whispering campaign” against Mr. Sayegh circulating within the Assembly District 88 confines from Ms. Paulin and Jim Maisano.
Asked if he could bring forth persons who had heard these “rumors of Arab-funded” involvement, Fois said he did but would not identify them because they were “fearful.”
Mr. Moritz, Eastchester Town Report Editor said he had heard nothing of such a “whispering campaign.”
Scarsdale Today editor, Sean Cover, of the Westchester Network said he had heard nothing about a whispering campaign, and said Paulin, a resident of Scarsdale, had Scarsdale all locked up, but he did not know how strong she was in Eastchester or New Rochelle which were more Republican.
Fois said he worried greatly about what he called “the tragedy of the untold story, that never appears,” and that was why he ultimately decided to release the tape to Sayegh. He said he agonized over it.
