Ex-Gov. Pataki Dropping State Security

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Former Gov. George Pataki has asked the state police to phase out the taxpayer-financed security detail protecting him since he left office, a spokesman said Friday.

Pataki, who served 12 years as governor and is eyeing a run for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, is now consulting with private security firms instead, spokesman David Catalfamo said.

His aides had asked for security to be kept in place at at least through the end of January, when its need would be reviewed. A state police review found that over the past decade there were 146 "high risk" threats made against him.

While continued security had not been provided for recent past governors in New York, it was provided on a temporary basis for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani when he left office at the end of 2001 just after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

A spokesman for new Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Paul Larrabee, returned a call made to State Police. He wouldn't discuss plans for phasing out the security detail.