Alan Hevesi, former New York state comptroller, was sentenced Friday to one to four years in prison for his role in the political influencing of investment business with the $140.6 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany.
Mr. Hevesi was sentenced by State Supreme Court Justice Michael J. Obus. He received the maximum sentence allowable, Eric T. Schneiderman, the state attorney general, said in a news release.
Mr. Hevesi pleaded guilty in October to a felony charge of “receiving reward for official misconduct for receiving nearly $1 million in gifts in exchange for improperly favoring and approving $250 million in pension fund investments in private equity fund Markstone Capital Partners,” the news release said.
Mr. Hevesi was state comptroller from January 2003 through December 2006. He resigned after pleading guilty to a felony for using state employees to chauffeur his disabled wife.
“Alan Hevesi was appropriately punished for abusing his position as New York's comptroller,” Mr. Schneiderman said in the release. “Hevesi brazenly sold access to New York pension fund investments — a betrayal of the public trust that went to the heart of his duties as comptroller.”
Current Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who was chosen by the state Legislature to succeed Mr. Hevesi, said in a news release that Mr. Hevesi's sentence “is clear evidence that this type of criminal behavior will not be tolerated.”
At his sentencing hearing, Mr. Hevesi said: “I publicly disgraced myself. I have only myself to blame. I will live with this shame for the rest of my life.”
Mr. Hevesi “admitted that he accepted nearly $1 million in gifts from Elliott Broidy, a founder of Markstone Capital Partners, as a reward for giving preferential treatment to Markstone's investment proposal,” Mr. Schneiderman said.
