New York Papers Ignored the DWI Bust of Democratic Bigwig
Did you know that financier Steven Rattner's wife Maureen White, the former national finance chair of the Democratic Party, had a hilarious drunk driving arrest last October? Nope, because no one reported on it!
Rattner, a former Times reporter and future Obama appointee (probably), has a wonderful relationship with Times publisher Pinch Sulzberger, and, according to Michael Wolff, "a careful relationship" with Rupert Murdoch. So only the Daily News reported on his wife's little incident, and then they scrubbed the story from their website.
Because apparently Rattner is a big pain in the ass:
I've often written about Rattner. And while I don't believe I've ever said anything particularly grievous about him, except that he's a social climber, in each instance his response has been nearly feral-he's called my editors; he's written letters and had letters written on his behalf; he's dissed me to anyone, it seems, who would listen.
It's a real shame that no one in New York covered this, because the story of the traffic stop is pretty great. Ms. White was pulled over after she stopped dead in the middle of the EZ-Pass lane of the Throgs Neck Bridge. When the cops walked over to ask if she needed assistance, White "stared blankly at deponent with glassy eyes and stated in sum and substance: 'WHERE DO I GO NOW?'" That is an existential drunk driving stop, right there.
White pleaded guilty, paid a fine, and had her license suspended for 90 days, and now her husband will save the auto industry.