Posted on 11/03/2006 3:33:19 PM PST by neverdem
(Albany - WABC, November 3, 2006) - Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's office determined Comptroller Alan Hevesi owes the state at least $90,000 more for the use of a staffer as a driver for his wife, lawyers for Hevesi said Friday.
A Hevesi official says the comptroller delivered a check for that amount later in the day. Officials say Spitzer aides ordered the money placed in escrow until an investigation is completed.
The order to pay the additional money comes as Hevesi seeks re-election to a second term while dealing with the driver scandal that has damaged his standing in the polls and among fellow Democrats.
A new poll released Friday shows that Hevesi's lead, previously at 52-25 percent, had slimmed to 39-35.
The state Ethics Commission recently said Hevesi violated the law by having an employee chauffer his wife.
Hevesi said the driver was providing security for his wife, but the commission ruled there was no threat that justified the arrangement.
Critics say Hevesi had no intention of repaying the state until his Republican opponent, Chris Callaghan, went public with a complaint.
Hevesi then paid the state almost $83,000, which Spitzer's office determined was too little.
Hevesi has apologized for what he called the serious error, but insists he did not break the law.
(New York - WABC, November 3, 2006) - Siena College's Research Institute poll of likely voters on Friday predicts that the Alan Hevesi-Christopher Callaghan race for comptroller is now too close to call.
The poll has Hevesi maintaining a 39-35 percent lead among likely voters, down from 52-25 percent last month. "Hevesi is defining the term political 'freefall','' says poll spokesman Steve Greenberg, who attributes the drop to the Hevesi car scandal.
"The 'Driving Mrs. Hevesi' scandal has turned Alan Hevesi from a shoo-in for re-election into a candidate fighting for his political life, holding a slim and ever-shrinking lead," Greenberg said.
Interestingly, Hevesi has also seen his support erode in his home base of New York City where he previously served as comptroller and as an assemblyman prior to that.
New York City voters have an unfavorable view vs favorable view of 46 to 27 percent, the result perhaps attributed to the pounding he has taken in the city's tabloid and other newspapers.
The poll's sampling error margin was 4 percentage points.
Wow! How many non politicians can come up with an extra $90,000 cash in an afternoon?
Whew! I wouldn't know. But now that he has reimbursed the money, PROSECUTE!
Of course, reading further, Spitzer ordered the $90,000 placed in escrow, which in political speak means, the check will not be drawn against, and the gesture is entirely intended to win an election.
Especially after paying $86,000 a few weeks ago.
A District Attorney in Albany is investigating. It's not like he didn't know this was wrong. He was caught pulling the same stunt with the same driver when he was Comptroller in NYC before he went to Albany.
At last, some good news in New York.
Thanks for the ping!
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