Trump allies head to court over NY governor's race

Three allies of President Donald Trump will head to state court this week to face accusations that they were behind a salacious mailer in the 2010 New York governor's race, which they deny.

Roger Stone, Michael Caputo and Carl Paladino headed to trial Wednesday in the civil case filed by Warren Redlich, the former Libertarian candidate for governor whose Albany-area neighborhood was blanketed with an unfounded mailer asserting he was a sexual predator.

Redlich is seeking a judgement of at least $20 million.

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The defendants, who have denied wrongdoing, had varying ties to Trump's presidential campaign last year, though the trial focuses entirely on the governor's race years before Trump became a presidential candidate.

Paladino — a Buffalo developer who was the 2010 GOP candidate for governor — served as honorary co-chair of Trump's New York operation, while Stone and Caputo were advisers who stepped down before the presidential campaign ended.

In the 2010 race, Stone served as campaign manager for Kristin Davis, a former madam who was running for governor on the Anti-Prohibition line. Davis was originally named as a defendant, but she was dismissed from the case last year.

Caputo, a longtime Stone associate, was Paladino's campaign manager.

The flier at the center of Redlich's libel lawsuit was mailed to town of Guilderland addresses during the gubernatorial race seven years ago. Redlich accuses Stone, Caputo and Paladino of being behind the mailer, which they deny.

The mailer branded Redlich a dangerous predator and a "sick, twisted pervert," pointing to a 2008 blog post where he questioned the uproar over magazine photos of a scantily clad Miley Cyrus, who was 15 at the time.

The top included the headline "SEXUAL PREDATOR ALERT" above Redlich's photo. The bottom warned residents to "CALL THE POLICE!" if they saw Redlich near a school, in their neighborhood or near their families.

The mailer was attributed to an organization purportedly known as People for a Safer New York.

Redlich, who has since moved to Florida, has accused Paladino, Caputo and Stone of conspiring to publish and distribute the mailer. In court papers, the three have all denied being behind the flier.

Stone, a self-described political dirty trickster who has worked on GOP campaigns dating to Richard Nixon, told the Times Union of Albany in 2010 that he had "urged" People for a Safer New York to mail the flier.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo went on to win the race, easily defeating Paladino.

The civil trial is slated for state Supreme Court in Manhattan.