E-mails spark Paladino death threat

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Controversial candidate Carl Paladino is dealing with threats to his life and his political survival as he seeks the Governor's office in the wake of an uproar over racially and sexually charged emails.

Tenants of Buffalo's Ellicott Square Building cleared out over the noon hour Tuesday after Carl Paladino's office took a threatening phone call.

Paladino's Campaign Manager Michael Caputo said, "He threatened Carl and the building. He said Carl's a racist and then he claimed to be from a black militant group."

It was unsettling for some office workers with police and bomb sniffing dogs on scene.

Office worker Jeronica Jones said, "We were usually on this side. They escorted everybody over. A lot of people were panicking. A lot of people left actually."

The incident comes after Paladino admitted forwarding sexually explicit and racially charged e-mails to friends. And those e-mails prompted an editorial in Tuesday's New York Post calling him a bigot from Buffalo. The article says Paladino "sounds like a low rent version of Eliot 'Client 9' Spitzer."

Supporters say Paladino is not a racist and has given much support to minorities.

Paladino supporter Rus Thompson said, "Do I support Carl Paladino? Absolutely, unequivocally, yes. I will stand by him all the way. Do I support the forwarding emails? No."

Carl Paladino called Shredd and Ragan's radio show on 103.3 The Edge late Tuesday to say he is moving forward despite what he believes are orchestrated efforts to stop him.

"I'm a very resilient person. This stuff, this e-mail stuff, comes nowhere near something that's going to ever dissuade me," said Paladino.

But nine county Republican leaders just announced that, based on the e-mails, Carl Paladino is no longer invited to the Capitol Region's Forum for Statewide Candidates.