EMBATTLED state Comptroller Alan Hevesi’s Republican opponent will file a criminal complaint today with the Albany County district attorney, alleging New York’s top auditor stole public money by using a state employee to chauffeur his wife, The Post has learned.
Christopher Callaghan will take the action in the wake of The Post’s disclosure on Saturday that, contrary to claims by Democrat Hevesi, the state Ethics Commission never authorized his use of a $61,000-a-year public employee as a driver for his wife on trips that had nothing to do with state business.
“Hevesi lied about the Ethics Commission,” Callaghan, a former Saratoga County treasurer, told The Post. “I plan to ask [Albany DA] David Soares on Monday to investigate what transpired here, because it is my belief that a crime has been committed.
“The use of a public employee on the clock to accommodate an official’s personal needs is a theft from the public.”
Callaghan said he’s also considering filing a compliant against Hevesi with the Ethics Commission itself, a move likely to trigger an additional investigation.
Hevesi insisted last week that the Ethics Commission had authorized the practice as long as he reimbursed the state – something he conceded he had never done.
But on Friday, the commission’s spokesman told The Post no such approval – with or without reimbursement – had been given.
A spokesman for Hevesi said he had no comment.
Several state officials, meanwhile, said privately that they were stunned by Hevesi’s action and concerned by its implications.
“Is Hevesi saying that any high-level public official can use public workers for private purposes, as long as there is reimbursement?” asked one of the state’s most prominent Democrats.
Asked if Hevesi, the state’s top watchdog for public spending, believes other officials are also free to use public employees for personal purposes, spokesman David Neustadt responded, “No.”
Asked to explain the apparent contradiction in Hevesi’s position, Neustadt said, “I don’t have anything more to say.”
Meanwhile, Democratic and Republican insiders say Hevesi’s alleged misuse of a public employee is serious enough to endanger his re-election – but only if Callaghan had a base of support and a few million dollars in campaign funds to mount a strong television campaign.