The Bandit gets himself a million-dollar handler:

Citigroup Inc. chief executive Vikram Pandit reached outside the Wall Street financial world to enlist a top deputy to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to buff up his and the bank’s image and mend often-stormy relations with regulators.

Edward Skyler, 36-year-old New York Deputy Mayor for operations, will become Citigroup’s executive vice president, global public affairs, in charge of all internal and external communications, reporting directly to Mr. Pandit and serving on the bank’s 18-member executive committee.

The choice of Mr. Skyler was driven by the need to show off Mr. Pandit’s progress and have better relationships with governments and regulators at all levels, according to people familiar with the selection process.

Interesting – and probably sensible – choice of a NY insider instead of a Washington insider; it tells you where The Bandit thinks he needs the most help. $C was serious about selecting someone from Bloomberg’s staff, attempting to oust a different deputy before settling on Ed, who started in NYC’s parks and rec department (no wonder everybody on that show wants to get into politics) and also served as Bloomberg’s press secretary, where he became notorious for responding to reporters with colorful phrases such as “Go f–k yourself” in lieu of “No comment”. He is also experienced in tackling muggers, so if anyone ever attempts to swipe The Bandit’s BlackBerry, there will be hell to pay, we are sure.

And we hope he reads blogs.