Who was that masked man?

It’s not unusual in political campaigns to see some mysterious person videotaping public appearances by a candidate. The shooter usually turns out to be a young, underpaid operate from an opposing campaign hoping to catch the candidate in a gaffe, or somebody gathering footage for a future commercial.

So who was the young man videotaping District Attorney Seth Williams’ endorsement of Mayor Nutter today?

His name is Greg Addo, and he told our Tom MacDonald he was newly hired and working for the city.

Which would be problematic for this most ethical of mayors, since city employees can’t be doing politics.

Addo previously worked for Newark Mayor Corey Booker, who was also the previous employer of Nutter’s communications director, Desiree Peterkin-Bell. Peterkin-Bell told reporters Addo doesn’t work for the city.

Nutter’s campaign spokeswoman Sheila Simmons said Addo doesn’t work for the campaign.

Asked to clarify his role, Addo e-mailed MacDonald that he is “currently working independently.” He didn’t explain why he’d picked this event to capture on tape.

Hmmmm. More to come on this one, I think.

UPDATE: I asked Greg Addo by e-mail why he’d decided to record this endorsement news conference, apparently for himself. He said he was in town visiting his brother and “I heard about the announcement and thought I’d shoot the event.”