Avoids Possible Jail Time
Hevesi Resigns in Plea Deal

By RICHARD STEIER

State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi resigned his office Dec. 22 to settle criminal charges that he improperly deployed an aide as a driver and companion for his ailing wife.

FORCED TO STEP DOWN: State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi had insisted that voters who knew of his improper use of an employee to chauffeur his wife gave him a mandate to continue in office, but the prospect of a felony charge leading to a jail term persuaded him to quit just before his second term was to begin.

The agreement with Albany County District Attorney David Soares allows Mr. Hevesi to avoid the jail time he would have been subject to if convicted of a felony for defrauding state government.

Stain on Fine Career

But it also tarnishes a distinguished 35-year career in public service that included 22 years as a State Assemblyman, two terms as New York City Comptroller and a term as the state's top fiscal official. He also taught at Queens College.

Mr. Hevesi was due to start a new term next week after voters - whom polls showed were virtually all aware of the investigation into his use of the state worker - had re-elected him by a 17-point margin over challenger J. Christopher Callaghan. It was Mr. Callaghan's complaint, to a hotline Mr. Hevesi set up to allow the public to report wrongdoing, that set in motion the events that ended in his demise.

ELIOT SPITZER: Renounced old ally.

The State Legislature will choose Mr. Hevesi's replacement, and the Democratic-led Assembly - because it is the largest faction - is likely to have the decisive role in the process. Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer also figures to be heavily involved.

Possible Choices

Among those whose names have surfaced as possible replacements are Assemblyman Richard Brodsky and former Erie County prosecutor Denise O'Donnell, both of whom dropped out of the race for State Attorney General earlier this year, and businessman William Mulrow, who was defeated by Mr. Hevesi in the 2002 Democratic primary and has ties to Mr. Spitzer.

Mr. Hevesi after winning re-election surprisingly easily had argued that it was the will of the voters that he continue in office. He had arranged to pay the state $206,000 that Attorney General Spitzer's Office determined was the cost of diverting Nicholas Acquafredda from his job handling constituent matters in the State Comptroller's Office in order to chauffeur Carol Hevesi.

JOSEPH L. BRUNO: A crisis of his own.

The state's chief fiscal watchdog had insisted that his conduct did not rise to the level of criminality and resisted pressure from both Governor Pataki and, more notably, Mr. Spitzer to step down, but the charges prepared by Mr. Soares irrevocably altered the dynamic.

Panel: He Broke the Law

In October, the State Ethics Commission concluded that Mr. Hevesi "knowingly and intentionally misused his office and broke the law" by having Mr. Acquafredda devote an increasing amount of time to escorting Ms. Hevesi while he collected his salary from the Comptroller's Office.

Mr. Hevesi claimed that finding was political, noting that he had asked the panel in 2003 whether he was entitled to have the state provide for his wife's security because of threats that had been made against him. If he intended to defraud the state, he contended, he would never have asked for the opinion and alerted the ethics panel to what he was doing.

The panel noted, however, that it had responded to the request by saying that he should seek an opinion from law-enforcement officials that a sufficient threat existed to justify security for his wife. Mr. Hevesi never did so, and the panel - as well as former U.S. Attorney David N. Kelley, a Democrat whom Mr. Pataki appointed to study whether there were grounds for Mr. Hevesi's removal from office - said that his lack of a detailed accounting of Mr. Acquafredda's time raised questions about whether the Comptroller planned to reimburse the state if he hadn't been caught.

Hardly a Bodyguard

It was also noted that Mr. Acquafredda had no special security training, and functioned as a companion rather than a bodyguard in taking Ms. Hevesi to and from medical appointments.

Mr. Hevesi tried to frame the issue as one in which his wife's safety was so important to him that he would not leave her alone. The Ethics Commission stated, "There is no question that Mrs. Hevesi suffers from debilitating illnesses, and that those closest to her have genuine concerns for her welfare. But State employees may not use public resources to care for their loved ones."

Mr. Spitzer had made cleaning up the ethical culture in Albany the centerpiece of his campaign, likening it to his success in rooting out shady practices on Wall Street as Attorney General. When Republican officials looked to make Mr. Hevesi's situation a litmus test for his sincerity, Mr. Spitzer responded by withdrawing his endorsement of his longtime ally and called for him to resign.

An Albany Epidemic?

Mr. Hevesi did so at a time when recent developments have focused public attention on improprieties involving state officials. Within the past 2-1/2 months, Queens Assemblyman Brian M. McLaughlin, who also headed the AFL-CIO New York City Central Labor Council, has been indicted for allegedly ripping off more than $2 million and his fellow Democrat, Bronx State Sen. Efraim Gonzalez, has been charged with embezzling more than $400,000.

Three days before Mr. Hevesi's resignation, Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno - who with Mr. Pataki's departure next week will become the top state Republican official - admitted that the FBI was looking into several of his business dealings for possible conflicts of interest. They include his granting of $500,000 in "member item" funds, and helping to steer $2.5 million in state aid, to a technology firm whose owner had business dealings with Mr. Bruno and allowed him to travel numerous times on his jet.

Mr. Bruno on several occasions during the past two months called for Mr. Hevesi's resignation. He insisted last week that he has done nothing wrong.