Alan Hevesi has been something of a hero to taxpayers. For the past four years in his role as New York’s comptroller he has positioned himself as the voice of fiscal reason in Albany, holding the politicians, government officials, and state authorities accountable to their expenditures and decrying their misuse of funds. More than just talk, Hevesi has had a fair amount of success in this crusade against political avarice, exposing millions in fraud and introducing many more millions of dollars in savings.

It could be believed that Hevesi has been so effective in his role that he was above the games that other elected officials tend to play.

Unfortunately, despite his successes, his cleanliness has proven to be a complete façade. He is no better than the others and is guilty of the very behavior he has been battling for years. Over two weeks ago Hevesi’s opponent Christopher Callaghan brought to light that Hevesi himself was taking advantage of his position and misusing state funds. The comptroller utilized a taxpayer-funded chauffer to cart his wife around continuously over the course of a few years.

Although the primary content of his accusation was more than damning, Callaghan’s announcement itself was based more on politics than it was upon truth and justice. To bring up this subject during the few weeks leading up to the election cements this electioneering position. Unfortunately, the taxpayers and the media perceived the announcement as the political grandstanding it was intended to be and many passed-over the issue or have forgotten about the situation.

The real value of the announcement – the fact that our fiscal watchdog has been identified as a charlatan – has been lost in the shuffle. Very few people seem to realize that Hevesi broke our trust and actually committed a real crime. This ignorance of the ramifications of his misdeed is epitomized by the fact Hevesi is still employed by New York State and no one is in an uproar. Had he been employed in the private sector he would have been immediately terminated for stealing from his employer, no questions asked.

Even Hevesi now admits his own ills. He openly admits to stealing the state’s services and is so wracked with supposed guilt he’s paying us back to the tune of $83,000. Quite frankly, none of this rights the wrong. He’s guilty of thievery and his placating of the voters through repayment is a sorry cop-out and a poor mind game. Only in Albany’s political world could a payback stop punishment.

For as much as the Hevesi’s act may reek of evil it was as equally sad, too. Hevesi was indifferent to the honor of his position out of love for his wife. She has been ailing for years due to back surgeries, open-heart surgery and depression and now resides in a nursing home. Obviously, the services of the state-funded driver were used to tend to Mrs. Hevesi’s needs.

Love can blind the senses and in Alan Hevesi’s case it did. Coupled with the fact that power corrupts, he abused his position by secretly calling upon resources funded solely by taxes, in the process slapping across the face all the New Yorkers who had entrusted him as their financial overseer. He put his needs above those of the common good and defied his oath of office.

Because of this hypocrisy, Hevesi should not be running for re-election and, as a matter of fact, he should no longer be employed by the state. Yet, he continues to do so on both counts, making one wonder: if the man we empower to watch for indiscretion thinks nothing of being injudicious himself, how much evil does he allow to continue throughout New York?

Taking all of this into account, Hevesi’s saga truly is a tragedy by any definition of the word. He was a hero once, but has become quite flawed, falling victim to the very foibles that mark his enemies.