Interim N.Y. State Police Chief Resigns

New York State Police First Deputy Superintendent and Interim Superintendent Pedro Perez has resigned in the wake of allegations swirling around Gov. David Paterson. Perez is the fourth official to call it quits after revelations of Paterson's personal involvement in a domestic-violence complaint against one of his top staffers. The police chief's abrupt announcement comes only a week since he stepped in to replace superintendent Harry Corbitt, who himself retired in order to "flee the mushrooming firestorm," the New York Daily News reports. "My retirement is not premised on the current investigation by the attorney general, as I know my decisions were honest and rightly motivated," Perez said in a letter to the governor. Two police unions were preparing for a vote of no confidence in Perez on Tuesday, the newspaper says, at the urging of Paterson allies. Perez will be succeeded by Field Commander John Melville, whom the governor praised as a standup guy Tuesday night.