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Comptrollergate Ends With a Whimper

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Hevesi with his attorney at sentencing Friday.Photo: AP


Worth noting only because it seems to be the end of this saga: Alan Hevesi was sentenced Friday by an Albany judge. The former comptroller had already pleaded guilty last year to a felony fraud count for using state employees to chauffeur his wife (and, if we recall correctly, hang out with her, and help her with physical-therapy exercises, and so on). You’ll remember that Hevesi had previously quit his job despite handily winning reelection, paid back some $206,000 to the state to cover the cost of those employees’ salaries, agreed to never again run for public office, and submitted his DNA to the state’s criminal database. So what was the judge’s final blow to the fallen politician? A $5,000 fine. Seems a bit anticlimactic, no?

Given a Fine, Hevesi Praises His Successor [NYT]
The Penitent [NYM]

Comptrollergate Ends With a Whimper