Big Fish Is Hooked

Out of the Closet

And Into the Cooler

The forces of good scored a major victory in the indictment of State Senator Carl Kruger, Assemblyman William Boyland and six accomplices in a bribery ring that goes back five years.

Until now, corrupt legislators had been picked off by the authorities one at a time, and their venality, although felonious, was relatively limited in its scope. This time a big fish has been nabbed, along with his bottom feeder associates.

The investigation was helped over the years by co-operating public officials seeking lighter sentences. Brian McLaughlin was the first to go; he gave up the late Anthony Seminerio, who was taped in expletive-laced conversations with Kruger's confederates.

We wonder how many more legislators, particularly from Brooklyn and Queens, are shivering at the prospect of future undesired contact with law enforcement agencies. The Aqueduct casino conspiracy of 2010, although well publicized, has not yet led to indictments. Since the plot was foiled, there may be insufficient grounds to send the plotters upstate. If they should be incarcerated, however, they will be counted as residents of their home districts downstate, thanks to their Democratic colleagues in the legislature who wanted to minimize Republican districts upstate.

The daily press gave substantial and well-merited attention to the arrests, which we do not need to retreat. We will, however, provide links which will inform you of the accusations, and articles about the case:

First is the 53-page criminal complaint, obtained by Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, a position formerly held by Robert Morgenthau and Rudy Giuliani. Note the intercepted telephone conversations (p22 et seq.) between the alleged conspirators, including an Assemblymember who died in prison.

Among the other published accounts of the defendants' activities, both criminal and extra-curricular, are:

GAY POL'S $1 MIL "BRIBE" OUT-RAGE by Bruce Golding, Rich Calder and Dan Mangan (Post)

STATE SEN. CARL KRUGER AND ASSEMBLYMAN WILLIAM BOYLAND SURRENDER TO FEDS TO FACE BRIBE RAP by Scott Shifrel and Greg B. Smith (Daily News)


GRAFT CHARGES DEPICT KRUGER'S LAVISH LIFESTYLE by Nicholas Confessore and Michael Barbaro (New York Times)


ABOUT THAT CARL KRUGER CASH by Celeste Katz (Daily News)

THE ALBANY RACKETS (Editorial - Post)

INDICTED STATE SEN. KRUGER IS THE POSTER BOY FOR SLEAZE THAT AFFLICTS NEW YORK'S LEGISLATURE (Editorial - Daily News)

For nine years, we have railed against public corruption, starting with former Councilman Angel Rodriguez in our first column (3/21/02). Whenever one wrongdoer is found out, however, it seems that another rises to take his or her place. The system is remarkably enduring.

We believe that most public officials are honest and decent. Unfortunately, many are held in low regard because of the derelictions of their colleagues. It is also true that very few officials are concerned with the misconduct of their fellow legislators, they are much more comfortable ignoring fraud or corruption by their next door neighbors and running mates. These don't commit crimes themselves, but they are quite tolerant of those who do. There is no honor code in Albany.

Most New Yorkers are relatively satisfied with the people who represent them. This is in part because over the years they have received publicly-funded mailings or relied on constituent services. They may have met their local representative in the park.on the street, or in a church or synagogue. Voters may identify by gender, orientation or ethnicity with the name they see on election posters.

In addition, challengers to politicians are usually even less well known than the incumbents. That is why the re-election rate is so high, and why legislators have more to fear from prosecutors than from electoral rivals.

Nonetheless, the indictments are good news. We are aware that an indictment is merely an accusation, and a jury must be convinced of the defendants' guilt. Kruger has hired a fine lawyer in Benjamin Brafman, who while representing him will no doubt divest his client of a good portion of his allegedly ill-gotten gains.

We suggest you read as much as you care to of the US Attorney's complaint, and particularly the transcripts of the defendants' telephone conversations. A reasonable person would be hard pressed to develop a scenario under which the alleged conspirators would not be at fault.

It will probably take over a year before this matter is disposed of. We have on occasion quoted an old Greek saying, which was rendered in English in 1640 by George Herbert: "The mills of the gods grind slow, but they grind exceeding fine."

Let justice be done.

Jail to the Thief

Hevesi Cops a Plea,

Cuomo to Accept It

26 Days to Election



There was little surprise in Alan Hevesi's confession that he was a corrupt Comptroller. News of the Attorney General's investigation had leaked over the years, and the guilty pleas of his co-conspirators made it clear that his office was a cesspool of favoritism obtained through bribery.

For a person in such high office to betray it so completely is shocking, even to those of us who are accustomed to reporting on political corruption. It is one thing for a Vito Lopez, Pedro Espada and Larry Seabrook to turn their anti-poverty organizations into automatic teller machines for themselves, their mistresses, their unemployed children, their campaign managers, and the friends and relatives (kith and kin) of any of the above insiders. Their conduct is highly offensive and, if convicted of the allegations against them, they should go directly to prison. Efrain Gonzalez, another state senator from the Bronx, was sentenced to 7 years in a Federal prison for similar crimes.

But for Alan Hevesi, a reasonably affluent, well-educated intelligent and articulate elected official, descendant of rabbis, state legislator for 23 years, two-term Comptroller of the City of New York, Professor of Political Science at Queens College, recipient of a Ph.D. degree from Columbia University in 1971, after having written his thesis analyzing the leadership of the state legislature, to turn out to be have repeatedly betrayed the public trust - that is difficult to accept.

Since Hevesi has turned out to be a crook, what politician can we believe to be honest? We assume that most of them are, but we know there are some who are dishonest, even if we do not know their names. We are familiar with those who have been convicted in recent years. Former Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno heads the list, with Senators Guy Velella and Hiram Monserrate, Assemblymembers Diane Gordon, Roger Green, Brian McLaughlin, Clarence Norman, Anthony Seminerio, and Councilmembers Angel Rodriguez and Miguel Martinez. Governor Eliot Spitzer and Congressman Vito Fossella were not tried for criminal behavior, but were disgraced when their extra-curricular activities became known to the public. Councilman Dennis Gallagher was convicted of criminal harassment. Spitzer and Gallagher resigned, Fossella finished out his term, but did not seek re-election. For appointed public officials, one can start with former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, now in a Federal prison in Maryland.

If we have omitted any convicted public officials, please let us know and their names will be added to the list.

The question arises: what is an appropriate punishment for a high official who betrays his trust? He is responsible not only for the money he took for himself and his family, but the depredations of Hank Morris, who was his political manager. Morris appears to have enriched himself far more than Hevesi, but we do not really know where the money extorted from people who wanted to deal with the pension fund ended up.

In China, such a person would be executed, but that is not the American way. Hevesi was born on January 31, 1940, and is now 70 years old. A prison sentence is required, but should the length be calibrated with his life expectancy? One obvious penalty is to forfeit the pensions he now receives from the City University and the State Legislature. He certainly did not provide honest services to the public while holding high elective office. Restitution to the state for his ill-gotten gains should be part of any plea arrangement.

It is likely that when a person demonstrates such a basic character flaw as we have in this case that there are all kinds of other situations in which he behaved improperly. Without going into rumors, we will not go into rumors.

We have not so far mentioned Governors John Rowland of Connecticut or James McGreevey of New Jersey, who resigned in the face of allegations of misconduct, financial and sexual. Since Governor Spitzer was forced to resign to avoid impeachment by the state legislature which hated him, none of the three governors in the tri-state area was able to complete his term in office. That is highly unusual, and thoroughly shameful.

Back to Hevesi, whom we defended in 2006 because we felt using a state car for a sick wife was not a felony. We would send him to state prison for at least five years, forfeit his pension and require restitution of any money or benefits he received through his misconduct. He should also be asked (he cannot be compelled) to write a book about his crimes and their punishment, to be distributed to all newly-elected public officials as required reading. That is unusual, but in the circumstances it does not appear to be cruel. See the Constitution, Eighth Amendment.

This is a terribly sad case: for the former Comptroller, for his family, for the people he victimized, for his community and for those who admired him. I am reminded of the kid who met "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, a star outfielder on the 1919 White Sox who took bribes from gamblers to throw the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. "Say it ain't so, Joe," the youngster said to his hero, or so the legend goes.

Sadly, it was so. The eight guilty athletes were banned from baseball for life. Jackson and pitcher Eddie Cicotte confessed their participation to a Chicago grand jury, but the players were acquitted.

The reputation of the national pastime was so scarred by what was dubbed the "Black Sox Scandal" that the owners named Federal Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis to be the first Commissioner of Baseball. Kennesaw Mountain was the site of a major battle in General Sherman's march on Atlanta in 1864. Judge Landis was born in 1866 in Millville, Ohio.

Landis served from 1920 to his death in 1944. During that time, his word was considered law in baseball. Since then, there have been a series of commissioners appointed by the owners and generally serving their interests.

INFORMATIVE LINKS

In the wonderful world we live in, documents relating to legal proceedings are often available immediately.

To read Hevesi’s allocution, click here.
To read the charges against Hevesi, click here.