Caroline to sic Kennedy dogs on Paterson

"Caroline can't believe what Paterson did to her. She was smeared, and she's never going to forgive it or forget it," the source continued.

While neither source would say so, others close to the Kennedys believe the negative reaction of one of Kennedy's children was a determining factor in her withdrawing from consideration for the seat, which eventually went to Kirsten Gillibrand.

The new revelations explain why, as The Post reported yesterday, members of the Kennedy family are "apoplectic" over the way the daughter of President John F. Kennedy was treated.

"One of the untold stories here is that Paterson has destroyed the willingness of anyone of any stature to go through the vetting process for a job," said a state official.

"What this said is that no one who gives anything in confidence to the governor's office can be assured that the confidence will be honored, and that's as damning a thing in government as there can be," the official continued.