Tea Party's Carl Paladino Angrily Threatens to 'Take Out' Reporter

Sept. 30, 2010— -- Tea Party candidate Carl Paladino threatened to "take out" a reporter following a heated exchange, spotlighting his reputation for making impulsive and outlandish comments.

The dustup occurred Wednesday when New York Post State Editor Fredric Dicker asked Paladino to prove his accusation that Democratic challenger Andrew Cuomo cheated on his ex-wife while the couple were still married.

"What evidence do you have for something most people would consider a smear?" Dicker asked.

Rather than respond to the question, Paladino accused Dicker of sending a "goon" to photograph his young daughter, who was born to a mistress and kept secret from his wife for a decade.

"You send another goon to my daughter's house and I'll take you out, buddy!" Paladino told Dicker.

Pushed again for proof of the accusation against Cuomo, Paladino told the Post, "At the appropriate time you will hear it."

On Wednesday, Paladino accused Cuomo of cheating on then wife Kerry Kennedy and challenged the media to find dirt on the Democrat instead of him.

"Has anybody asked Andrew Cuomo about his paramours?" Paladino asked Politico.com in an interview.

Cuomo has never previously been publicly accused of infidelity.

Calls and emails to the Paladino camp were not returned today, but the campaign put out a press release calling conduct by the Post and Dicker "unacceptable" for trying to photograph his 10-year-old daughter.

"We believe this conduct puts Carl Paladino's daughter in harm's way, susceptible to kidnapping or sexual predators. This behavior by The New York Post and their senior political editor Fred Dicker is unacceptable. Endangering the safety of a 10-year-old child is repugnant," read the statement.