Stephen Goldsmith arrest prompts Mayor Bloomberg to cancel radio show

By Jonathan Lemire and Reuven Blau
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU

Originally Published:Thursday, September 1st 2011, 10:38 AM
Updated: Thursday, September 1st 2011, 7:12 PM

Mariela Lombard for News

Stephen Goldsmith offered his resignation to Bloomberg on Aug. 4, just days after the arrest.

An under siege Mayor Bloomberg abruptly cancelled his Friday morning radio show to avoid being grilled about the coverup of the arrest of a top deputy, the Daily News has learned.

Bloomberg entered into full bunker mode Thursday amid the revelation former Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith resigned last month days after being arrested in Washington for fighting with his wife.

CLICK HERE FOR GOLDSMITH'S ARREST REPORT

Bloomberg had previously passed off Goldsmith's departure as an opportunity to pursue private sector money - and not a push out the door after getting slapped with cuffs.

To avoid reporters questions about his action, Hizzoner canceled a scheduled press Thursday conference today touting the Office of Emergency Management's response to Hurricane Irene.

The mayor's office insisted Bloomberg's departure from the public stage had anything to do with Goldsmith's arrest - or failure to inform the public earlier.

"Please name a public official in America who does more Q and A's than the mayor," said mayoral spokesman Marc LaVorgna, who noted that the radio show has been canceled in the past.

Goldsmith - one of Mayor Bloomberg's top aides who most believed quit after botching the city's response to the December blizzard - was taken into custody at his Washington townhouse the night of July 30 after his wife Margaret called the cops.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said he was "deeply troubled" after he heard that Goldsmith spent two nights in the clink awaiting arraignment following the arrest.

"The Mayor and his staff should give a full accounting of what they knew and when they knew it," he fumed.

YFP Note ( Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Former New York Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith cla...":

Margaret isn't the first women he's roughed up. Dig deeper (in Indy)and some interesting facts will appear. He's a Nazi with a great press in the family (his wife is a Pullium, the former owners of the Indianapolis Star newpaper empire).