Corbitt's sudden retirement puts more fuel on the fire surrounding Gov. Paterson (above) who is under growing pressure to also step down

ALBANY – Political observers are saying that State Police Superintendent Harry Corbitt’s abrupt announcement that he will retire at the end of today, is suspect, especially in light of revelations of possible State Police interference in a domestic violence allegation involving David Johnson, one of Governor David Paterson’s top aides.

Hours before Corbitt’s announcement, Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D-Scarsdale), chair of the Assembly Committee on Oversight, Analysis and Investigation, sent Corbitt a letter asking him for state police policy and general practices when an individual with a high public profile is involved in an alleged criminal incident.

Paulin is quite concerned over the latest development.

“It’s highly suspect; we will watch the soap opera together,” she told MidHudsonNews.com. “In the meantime, New York State has to continue to be effective. We have a tremendous deficit, a tremendous budget problem and a budget to get done within this month.”

Orange County Sheriff Carl DuBois is the new president of the New York State Sheriff’s Association. He, too, thinks timing of the demise of Corbitt is suspect.

“I think it’s trying to defuse a bomb after it has already gone off and there’s really not too much you can do,” he said. “I think they are even beyond damage control up there. I’m not really happy with the administration.”

Dubois said if there was any proven wrongdoing on the part of one of his staffers, they would be gone.

Just last month, state Criminal Justice chief  Denise O’Donnell also announced her resignation.

Paterson, meanwhile, is rejecting growing pressure in political circles, for him to resign. 

“I don’t think I’ve been accused of anything”, Paterson told reporters, in a comment widely repeated in major media Tuesday. 

Earlier this week, Paterson suddenly ended his week-old campaign for election to a full term as governor.