Governor Pataki's office released a report saying there's enough evidence to recommend the removal of State Comptroller Alan Hevesi. Lawyer David Kelley wrote, "I do not feel that I am now in a position to advise you to proceed with a recommendation to the senate for the comptroller's removal...Considering the record as a whole, I believe there is a preponderance of evidence that the comptroller knowingly and intentionally violated New York's public officers law."
Hevesi's campaign released a statement: "The governor’s special counsel declined to recommend removal. Now, five million voters can choose their next comptroller based on the records, performance and qualifications of the two candidates.” Via the Daily Politics, here's the PDF of the report.
The State Ethics Commission found Hevesi did violate state law by having a state driver chauffeur his wife and found his conduct about the incident questionable. Pataki then appointed an outside lawyer (one with Democratic leanings) to investigate the matter to decide whether he should ask the Legislature to remove Hevesi. However, it seems unlikely that Hevesi would be removed before this coming Tuesday's election, where he's running against Republican Chris Callaghan. Recent polls show that Hevesi leads Callaghan by 4-12 points.
And yesterday, Hevesi paid the state an additional $90,000 to cover the cost of a state driver driving Hevesi's wife Carol over a couple years. The State Ethics Commission suspected the initial $82,688.82 that Hevesi repaid was low, and the Attorney General's office asked Hevesi to cough up the additonal money.
