ALBANY — Carl Paladino raised $1.7 million since March for his gubernatorial campaign — $1.6 million of it from his personal fortune.

The real estate developer, in five separate bank transfers beginning in early March, pumped

up his own campaign to provide cash for an army of consultants from around the country,

advertisements, polls and travel expenses.

Paladino did take in about $110,000 in individual and corporate donations — nearly all

of it from people or groups from Western New York. Paladino has said he is prepared to spend

$10 million of his own money; he has held only one fundraiser since his campaign began in

March.

"Andrew Cuomo will be spending $40 million to $50 million. Carl has committed to spend up to

$10 million of his own money, so obviously there is a need for fundraising," said Michael

Caputo, his campaign manager.

The businessman also is submitting 28,000 signatures today with the state Board of Elections

to try to force a Republican primary in September with Rick Lazio, who has the backing of

party leaders.

By law, 15,000 signatures were needed, and Paladino advisers expect a challenge by

Republicans trying to keep him off the ballot.

Lazio and Andrew Cuomo, the Democrat running for governor, had not filed by mid-afternoon

today campaign donation and expense reports with the state. Today is the deadline for the

financial activity reports for the campaigns dating to January.

Paladino reported spending $1.7 million since he began his campaign in March. The

campaign reported $53,000 on hand.

The campaign expense payments included $360,000 to Ellicott Advertising Co., a firm Paladino

founded to oversee his campaign advertising. Another $291,000 went to Caputo, his campaign

manager.

Caputo is a longtime ally of Roger Stone, a Florida-based Republican consultant whose

clients have included former Rochester businessman Thomas Golisano, the Buffalo Sabres owner

who ran and lost three times for governor in New York.

Caputo said Stone, whose political work goes back to the days of Richard Nixon, received no

payments from Paladino. (Stone has been doing work for Kristin Davis, the former "Manhattan

madam" involved in the ring that supplied prostitutes to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer; Davis is

also running for governor.)

Other major Paladino expenses included $37,000 to D.J. Thorne Inc., a Miami Beach

company run by Diane Thorne, identified in media accounts as a longtime assistant to Stone.

Caputo said Thorne is Paladino's full-time campaign scheduler. Another $32,000 went to

Sea-Odyssey Group, located in the same Miami Beach building; Thorne is a founder of that

company.

The Paladino campaign also made $20,000 in consulting payments to Rus Thompson, a tea party

leader from Grand Island.

Caputo, Paladino's campaign manager, said the businessman will jump-start fundraising

efforts as soon as he is an official candidate for the GOP primary. That timing will depend on

whether anyone challenges the petition signatures the Paladino campaign files today.