A-Pauling Behavior: Paul Egan's Embattled History with Decency and Morality - Part 2: Grab 'Em By the Quail
Twelve years after Egan's cheating scandal, Egan (possibly literally) said, “Hold my beer…” as he drunkenly berated restaurant staff over the size of his quail dinner, as per The New York Daily News and New York Post. We’ll let the Post take it away…
Eleven years after that embarrassing incident, Egan — who is now the political director of the United Federation of Teachers — is making headlines again with news that he was bellicose, belligerent and bombastic during a Valentine’s Day quail quarrel at an upscale Albany eatery.
Egan, 43, is even catching heat from Albany’s mayor, a former teacher himself, who called his conduct “unacceptable.”
But Egan today claimed that his big ol’ self was the victim of “late and rude service, drinks hot and cold spilled by waiters and uncooked meals.”
Police said that the super-sized squabble began after Egan — who earns $150,000 from his union gig — had dined Monday night at the upscale bistro Marche with 24 colleagues.
At about 9:52 p.m., an employee of 74 State — the downtown hotel containing Marche — called police to say that a man was “yelling and refusing to leave,” police sources said.
“Two officers were sent and when they got there they encountered a gentleman who said he was with the United Federation of Teachers,” sources said. The man and his group “were refusing to pay the bill.”
“The gentleman” — Egan — “who spoke to the officers was agitated and loud. He was told he would have to pay, that it was a civil matter if they had any questions with the bill,” sources said.
“Eventually the staff accommodated them with a reduced bill and they paid it,” police sources said.
“They were then escorted out.”
That reduced bill totaled about $1,500, sources said.
Albany Police Department spokesman Detective James Miller said, “We don’t get situations like this involving a large group very often. There’s a proper way to handling a situation like this and that’s in civil court if someone feels they have a case against a restaurant.’’
But Egan gave a very different version of the food fight when he sent a letter to Marche today — after a press account about his quail-fuelled meltdown in Marche.
“I write to make you aware of an incident on February 14, 2011 at your establishment,” Egan wrote.
“The circumstances are these:
On the night of February 14, 2011, I hosted a dinner for 24 colleagues. A number of untoward incidents occurred, including half the party not getting served for an hour and a half, late and rude service, drinks hot and cold spilled by waiters and cold and uncooked meals.”
Egan continued, “Despite the rudeness shown to us by restaurant employees, and their refusal of my repeated requests to speak directly to the manager on duty, I paid the bill in full — even though the first bill presented to me was for 30 meals rather than the 25 guests who actually attended.”
“Let me add that the problems of that evening were entirely uncharacteristic of what my colleagues and I usually experience at your restaurant, where I generally find the food excellent, the service first-rate, and the atmosphere more than hospitable,” Egan concluded.
The UFT, which represents the city’s teachers, sent the letter to The Post, but a spokesman there declined to make a comment.
But Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings, who spent 21 years as a popular teacher and high school administrator, said “As an ex-teacher I certainly would hope that all of our teachers and their representatives would be a better role model for our kids than these people apparently were.”
“This kind of behavior, as described to the police, is unacceptable, especially coming from representatives of a teachers union,” Jennings said.
We do not condone the personal attacks regarding Egan’s weight, but the quail incident as reported by the papers revealed his serious lack of self-control. Please join us for our final sobering installment on Paul Egan: Dismissed and Disgusting