Governor David Paterson’s national media tour aimed at quelling the firestorm of rumors continued Thursday both on the ground and over the air.

Paterson once again addressed the contents of a pending New York Times profile piece which reportedly raises questions about his character.

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Far Rockaway, Queens, the governor said he’s ready to fight for his reputation.

“There once was a time when rumors had to have two sources before they could be printed in a newspaper, and the word unsubstantiated meant that it didn’t get printed, now it means they put it on the front page,” Paterson said. “Well they can do that all they want, but this time they are messing with the wrong hombre.”

Later Thursday, the governor appeared on Larry King Live where he said only “uninformed sources” could make what he called “salacious accusations” — saying there is not one shred of proof.

“Clearly somebody is. Three different media outlets were contacted in the first quarter of the Super Bowl and they called us before the first quarter could end to confirm that the governor was resigning over a scandal and there was no such conversation about resigning because none of this is true, it’s a flat out lie,” said the governor.

But that may be the least of Paterson’s problems. CBS2 HD reports that federal prosecutors are looking into his decision to award an Aqueduct gambling to firm with ties to powerful Queens Pastor and former Congressman Floyd Flake.

Paterson publicly admitted Thursday that his administration was contacted by the United States Attorney seeking information about a Queens non-profit with ties to the Aqueduct Entertainment Group — AEG — the firm that got the contract.

“They subpoenaed the New York State lottery,” Paterson said.

The state lottery was part of the review process on the Aqueduct bids, which seeks to install some 4,500 slot machines, similar to those operated at Yonkers Raceway.

Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on Thursday demanded a probe of the bid by the state inspector general, and Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos said the backdoor, secret bidding process should be opened to public hearings.

“This involves potentially billions of dollars for the state and also hundreds of millions of dollars in economic development in the Aqueduct community,” Skelos told CBS 2 HD.

Pundits said this latest twist is not good for the governor.

“Real bad news — I mean this is a bale of hay on the camel’s back and this may be the one that breaks it. The governor is not only a lame duck but he’s increasingly looking like a dead duck,” said Baruch College’s Doug Muzzio.

Paterson insists he still intends to run for election in November, but this latest probe court damages his chances.

(Source: WCBSTV / NY1)