Carl Paladino, the Republican nominee for governor, drew criticism from Democrats Tuesday for calling the Democratic leader of the State Assembly a criminal.

Speaking at a forum held by Crain’s New York Business earlier in the morning, Paladino said the gathered business leaders would hear from a “kinder and gentler Carl,” but then blasted state lawmakers for being incompetent.

He then accused Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver of stifling legislation that would presumably hurt his legal practice, Weitz and Luxenberg.

“You can just look at it and you can smell there’s something wrong when he lets New Yorkers suffer the highest insurance rates in the country, all so he can get his million dollars or what the heck ever he takes from Weitz and Luxenberg,” said Paladino. “The man is a criminal, and don’t make him look like anything else.”

Paladino previously compared Silver to the antichrist and said the speaker deserves to paraded in a Roman cage on his way to the Attica Correctional Facility.

In response, Silver said in a statement, “It is unfortunate that New Yorkers are being forced to endure the insulting and baseless hectoring of the Republican candidate for governor. I will not get into the gutter with Mr. Paladino, nor dignify his comments with a response. Rather, I will let New Yorkers judge his fitness for public office.”

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo, however, challenged Paladino’s accusations Tuesday as he received an endorsement from former Mayor Ed Koch on Manhattan’s West Side.

Cuomo said state ethics laws are weak, but affirmed that Paladino should show evidence before accusing Silver of breaking the law.

“Leadership is not who can yell the loudest. That’s not what leadership is about to me,” said Cuomo. “I understand that the people of the state are frustrated. I’m frustrated, I’m angry. Nobody knows the Albany corruption better than I do. I’ve been staring at the beast for three years.”

Koch also came to the speaker’s defense.

“[Silver is] not a criminal. It’s an outrage. Every public official should stand up, including those who support Paladino and denounce him,” said Koch. “He’s demeaning public office, he’s causing people not to run. Who wants to be in a situation where someone who doesn’t care about common decency can say anything he wants?”

Neither Cuomo nor Koch are close allies of Silver, making their defense of him particularly striking.

This latest fight comes a day after the candidates outlined conflicting plans to help the state’s economy.

Paladino plans to create jobs by repealing the capital gains tax and cutting corporate taxes, both of which he says are hurting businesses and their operators.

Cuomo said a regional approach to the state economy is best. He wants to transform the state’s economic development program into smaller programs statewide, coordinated by the lieutenant governor. He also said the first step to improving the economy is to make Albany fiscally responsible.

Paladino has called for a debate with Cuomo, but while the Democrat has said he would debate, he has yet to agree to one.

(Source: NY1)