New York State, via Associated Press
William Sulzer, the only New York State governor to be impeached and removed from office.
Posted on 10/30/2006 11:59:47 AM PST by neverdem
If Gov. George E. Pataki seems less than certain about what to do with Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi, there is a good reason: no statewide elected official has been removed from office since Gov. William Sulzer in 1913, and that case remains debatable to this day.
The accusations that may deliver Mr. Hevesi to the Legislature’s rusty gates of justice center on findings of the State Ethics Commission that he broke the law by using state employees to chauffeur his ailing wife. He has apologized for not reimbursing the state promptly. The Ethics Commission also said that the amount he eventually paid — $82,689 — may not have been sufficient.
Governor Sulzer was accused of what might be considered a technicality, but which a special court concluded amounted to misappropriation of campaign funds.
If Mr. Hevesi is tried by the Senate, it will not be surprising if he invokes a defense similar to the one advanced by Mr. Sulzer’s lawyer, D. Cady Herrick: that the colleagues sitting in judgment, in the very Legislature where Mr. Hevesi, like Mr. Sulzer, once served, might be aware of his “carelessness in money matters” and his “egotism” but that “none of you in the past has ever regarded him as a dishonest man, a perjurer, or a thief — and that is what these charges come down to.”
In Governor Sulzer’s case, what the charges came down to — in addition, apparently, to arrogance and greed — was a legal coup by Charles F. Murphy, the Tammany Hall leader whom Mr. Sulzer, a fellow Democrat, had defied. Mr. Sulzer not only campaigned for political reform and against corruption — that might have been excusable — but also unforgivably pursued his agenda once he got elected in 1912 .
Mr. Sulzer refused to name Mr...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
"In Governor Sulzer’s case, what the charges came down to — in addition, apparently, to arrogance and greed — was a legal coup by Charles F. Murphy, the Tammany Hall leader whom Mr. Sulzer, a fellow Democrat, had defied. Mr. Sulzer not only campaigned for political reform and against corruption — that might have been excusable — but also unforgivably pursued his agenda once he got elected in 1912."
Since it's Tammany Hall, Sulzer must've been wrongly impeached and in reality a good guy.
FReepmail me if you want on or off my New York ping list.
P.S. Surprise, surprise, the NY Post apparently just announced according to WABC-AM radio that it endorsed the beast saying Spencer was not credible, as if the beast is.
NY Post endorsed the beast? What the heck?
NY politics is always such a mess - no wonder Hillary decided to run here. She knew a sucker state when she saw it.
We are doomed in NY...get out before its too late
The New York Post endorsed Clinton for 12 years, saying she shouldn't run for President.
the putz, spitzer endorsed as well? what is the nypost thinking?
IMHO, the NY Post has the editorial integrity of the Olde Gray Whore.
They're not (thinking, that is) that is the problem........
Spitzer is ___________(fill in the blank)
The putz as in putzhead was also endorsed by the NY Post in 2004. With their ranting about gun control, I don't care for the Post much anymore. It's become a lot like the British tabloids. I like the NY Sun best. It's too bad the Sun doesn't have the resources of the Slimes.
What does that mean for those like me who were born here, bad karma? I can't believe all of the utter idiocy, whether it's NYC or Albany.
I was born here too. Just an angry response from me for my state. I hate seeing such an easy win for Hillary again! Just frustration.
Thanks for the link. I wonder what Callaghan thinks about the Post's endorsement. I've become so disappointed with the supposedly conservative NY Post.
I agree with you - I share that frustration. Nevertheless, my vote will be with Spencer, at least I can lay my head down on the pillow at night with a clear conscience. NYS has been and is doomed! Too bad.
Oh definitely. I will vote for Spencer.
Thanks for the ping.
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