By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — This is the "kinder, gentler Carl"?
Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino took even more shots at State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver Tuesday, reportedly calling the lower Manhattan representative a "criminal" at an appearance in Manhattan.
He preempted his blast of Silver by telling attendees at a forum put on by Crain's New York that they were hearing from the "kinder, gentler" Paladino following his shouting match with reporter upstate last week.
Paladino, the fiery Buffalo developer who's become a favorite of the Tea Party movement, criticized the Democrat Silver Tuesday for not disclosing income received for his work at a private law firm, according to reports.
"The man is a criminal, and don't make him look like anything else," Paladino reportedly said during the forum.
Paladino previously referred to the Orthodox Jewish Silver as "Hitler" and the "antichrist" prior to the Republican's improbable primary victory.
His opponent, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, said Paladino's comment was a "very serious accusation" and that he should produce evidence of wrongdoing before making such statements, the New York Post reported.
Cuomo responded to Paladino's claims during an endorsement Tuesday from former Mayor Ed Koch, who also decried the candidate's language.
"It's an outrage," Koch said. "Every public official should stand up, including those who support Paladino, and denounce him."
