New York State Controller pleads guilty to charge, resigns from office

Hevesi pleads guilty to charge, resigns from office

ASSOCIATED PRESS

State Controller Alan Hevesi has said he committed a mistake in judgment, not a criminal offense.

Earlier story: Hev road ends in mug shot
ALBANY, N.Y. — State Comptroller Alan Hevesi's 35-year career in public service ended in disgrace Friday when he resigned and agreed to plead guilty to a minor felony for using state employees as drivers and companions for his wife.

The plea ends an investigation by Albany County District Attorney David Soares, who had been presenting evidence against the Queens Democrat to a grand jury. Hevesi will serve no jail time, but will pay a $5,000 fine and agreed not to file any appeal. He also agreed not to take office on Jan. 1. Friday's agreement also heads off a process that could have ended in the Legislature removing Hevesi from office.

"I want to apologize to the people of New York state who have given me the opportunity to serve them," Hevesi said after a morning court appearance. "I want to apologize to the 2,400 professionals who work in the comptroller's office and I want to apologize to my family who have been so strong and loving during this process."

Hevesi, 66, was first elected state comptroller in 2002 and was re-elected in November by a wide margin despite several investigations into his use of four employees to cater to his ailing wife from 2003 to mid-2006.

In October, with Hevesi coasting to a re-election win, the state Ethics Commission said the driving arrangements violated state law. Most of that driving was done by Nicholas Acquafredda, who also was a companion for Carol Hevesi and even helped with physical therapy. Three others also shared the duties early on, a subsequent investigation by the state attorney general's office found. Hevesi claimed the drivers were needed to provide security for his wife, but the bipartisan Ethics Commission said state police found no threat that justified the arrangement.

Further, the panel said Hevesi apparently had no intention of repaying the state for the drivers' service until his Republican challenger, J. Christopher Callaghan, went public with a complaint this year.

Hevesi immediately apologized for what he called the serious error of providing a "belated" reimbursement and quickly paid the state more than $82,000, but forcefully insisted he did not break the law. While the investigations dragged on, he continued to vow not to leave office and vigorously fight any attempt to throw him out.

The office of Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, a one-time Hevesi ally who was elected governor in November, ordered Hevesi to pay back another $90,000 and then tacked on another $33,000 to bring the total for the scandal to $206,293.79. Hevesi and his wife last year earned more than $335,000 from his comptroller's salary and their public pensions. Still, he said he had to remortgage his Queens home to pay off the debt.

In justifying the use of the driver, Hevesi said his wife has been ill for decades, undergoing numerous back surgeries, heart surgery and attempting suicide in the 1990s.

Earlier story: Hev road ends in mug shot

Controller becomes a felon today as
he pleads guilty after chauffeur scandal

BY JOE MAHONEY
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF

ALBANY - He will arrive some time in the morning, escorted to a police booking room where he will have his mug shot taken.

He will press his hand into damp ink to create a fingerprint card.

And by the time his day is done, State Controller Alan Hevesi will be a felon - his political career finished.

At 11 a.m. today, Hevesi is slated to plead guilty to a Class E felony charge of defrauding the government and resign his post, according to sources familiar with the plea negotiations.

The guilty plea stems from a grand jury probe into Hevesi's use of a state worker as his wife's chauffeur.

Courthouse sources said Hevesi's team of lawyers had pressed to get their client off with a misdemeanor.

But sources familiar with the talks said Albany County District Attorney David Soares was reluctant to accept that, since Hevesi could have faced a higher-grade felony under the law.

And although sources confirmed Hevesi won't have to do any time behind bars, he will still be treated like a criminal this morning.

After his mug shot is taken, he will then fill out a questionnaire asking for his place of birth, his religion, his marital status and even his Social Security number, law enforcement officials said.

Hevesi, 66, will even have to open his mouth as a deputy inserts a Baccal swab, resembling a Q-tip, in order to swipe saliva for a DNA sample that will enter a crime-solving databank of genetic information.

"He'll get the same treatment here that everyone else gets," said one official, who asked not to be named.

Hevesi spokesman David Neustadt declined to comment on the scheduled arraignment of his boss and would not say where the controller spent the day yesterday.

"He's not in Albany and he's not in New York City," he said.

Hevesi insisted during the recent campaign season that he broke no laws when he assigned the driver for his wife, but admitted he made a "mistake" in not repaying the money to the state earlier.

He has since agreed to pay more than $200,000 for the more than three years his ailing wife, Carol Hevesi, had a state driver - but insisted that his overwhelming reelection last month showed that voters believed he should stay in office.

The driver, Nicholas Acquafredda, admitted running errands for Hevesi's wife, including making her bed and picking up her dry cleaning.

The Legislature is expected to choose a successor for Hevesi after it returns to the Capitol next month.

The Rev. Al Sharpton told The News he is following the Hevesi succession developments closely and wants Spitzer and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to ensure that the replacement is committed to hiring more blacks, Hispanics and Asians as pension fund managers.

"Lack of diversity there has been a concern," he said.

Until a permanent successor is named, sources said the interim boss is expected to be Jack Chartier, who also had his own chauffeur issue.

The controller's office has acknowledged Chartier allowed "Mod Squad" actress Peggy Lipton to get free rides in Manhattan from one of his drivers.

Changing his tune

State Controller Alan Hevesi has steadfastly maintained that his use of a state worker to chauffeur his wife around was a mistake in judgment - not a criminal offense. A sampling of his denials:

Dec. 12: "I do not admit the [attorney general's] findings and, in fact, I deny many of them."

Nov. 7: "Now that the elections are over, I hope fair-minded people will see that mistake was just that."

Nov. 3: "Honest concern for my wife, Carol, led me to make a stupid mistake. I'm truly sorry. Now, unfairly, some politicians want to stampede me out of office. ... I'm human. I'm a good controller who did a dumb thing."

Oct. 30: "I don't think impeachment proceedings would be fair."

Oct. 27: "Even controllers who've been in the office for a long time ... can make mistakes."

Oct. 25: "I have no reason to resign. My record is a remarkable record."

Oct. 20: "I am going to have to reestablish with people my credibility, based on nearly 40 years of performance. This is the aberration."

Sept. 28: "I'm taking a pounding, and it's well-deserved. It was irresponsible of me."

Originally published on December 22, 2006