Another day, another corruption scandal in Albany. This one, focused on more possible wrongdoing by for mer Comptroller Alan Hevesi.
Will it never end?
As The Post’s Ken Lovett reported yesterday, investigators are looking into what may have been a multimillion-dollar payoff scheme involving investments by the state employees’ $150 billion pension fund. At the time, Hevesi – as comptroller – was the fund’s sole trustee.
The probe, by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Albany County DA David Soares, centers on the role of Hevesi’s top political aide, Hank Morris: Did he share in the alleged payoffs?
Perhaps tellingly, The Post reports today, Morris has hired a top white-collar criminal defense lawyer, William Schwartz, to represent him. (Actually, there’s a lot of lawyering-up going on in Albany these days: See below.)
Already, Hevesi and his aides face inquiries into possible pension-fund shenanigans and other abuse. Last year, he pleaded guilty to felony charges for using a worker as a full-time aide for his wife.
But it’s not just Hevesi.
Gov. Spitzerhimself is looking at up to four separate probes into his role in the “Dirty Tricks” scandal – his office’s use of State Police to tarnish his political rival, state Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno.
Spitzer’s troubles come on the heels of sexual harrassment and ethical abuses over the years by state legislators.
Yet instead of ending with Spitzer’s election, now he’s in the spotlight.
The good news is that Cuomo and Soares seem to be doing something about it. The two have forged a working agreement to collaborate on public-integrity cases.
Under this deal, they can merge Cuomo’s formidable resources, manpower and smarts with Soares’ own personal skills, commitment to public integrity and broad jurisdiction.
That can do much to clean up the Albany cesspool; the pension-investments probe seems an early example of that.
But just as corruption doesn’t stop with Hevesi, their efforts shouldn’t stop there, either. Indeed, their pair-up may be key to finding the truth about the “Dirty Tricks” scandal.
Cuomo’s findings of abuse in that affair has already led Soares to review it. But they should go further – this time, taking advantage of Soares’ subpoena power. Remember, Cuomo’s report raised alarms – but it remains inconclusive, because he lacked such power.
New York voters hired Spitzer specifically to clean up this sort of thing, but until he comes clean himself, he’s too tainted to do much.
That leaves Cuomo and Soares.
Go to it, guys.