Lawyers: Paterson Aid Suffered from "Non-Filer's Syndrome" ALBANY, NEW YORK (WXXI) - Lawyers for Governor David Paterson's chief of staff says he suffered from what's known as "non-filer's syndrome", when top aid Charles O'Byrne failed to pay his taxes from 2001 to 2005.

The attorneys, Henry Berger and Richard Kestenbaum, distributed documents that they say shows Paterson's chief of Staff, Charles O'Byrne, has paid all of the over $200,000 he owed in back taxes and fees, when he failed to file his taxes between 2001 and 2005. Kestenbaum says O'Byrne suffered from a form of depression, known as "non-filers syndrome", a condition that he says has been used as a successful defense in criminal cases. O'Byrne does not face any criminal charges in connection with his tax problems.

"These are very high functioning people who otherwise can complete all of the ordinary tasks in their life," said Kestenbaum. "Many times that syndrome causes them not to be able to file their tax returns."

O'Byrne made the final tax payment on October 21st. The attorneys say that does not contradict previous statements that said the chief of staff's tax problem was cleared up in September. They say the original check got lost in the system, and O'Byrne wrote another one just to be sure that the matter would be now be closed.
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