By Steve Mosco
Former New York State comptroller Alan Hevesi, convicted in a state pension fund corruption scandal, was released from prison on Wednesday, said the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
Hevesi left the Mid-State Correctional Facility, a medium-security state prison in upstate Marcy around 8 a.m., the Department of Corrections said.
After being denied his first shot at parole last year, Hevesi was granted early release after serving 20 months in prison.
According to conditions released by the corrections department, Hevesi will remain under community supervision until April 2015 and must reside in Queens.
Hevesi, 72, has been in prison since April 2011, when he was sentenced one to four years in prison for taking $1 million in campaign contributions and travel expenses in exchange for pension business while comptroller.
Hevesi, who was state comptroller from January 2003 to December 2006, admitted to accepting nearly $1 million in gifts from Elliott Broidy, the California-based founder of Markstone Capital Partners, a hedge fund that specializes in Israeli investments.
In return for the gifts, Hevesi invested $250 million in pension fund dollars with Markstone.
The former comptroller also acknowledged the corruption began in January 2003 and continued until December 2006, when he resigned his post after he was found to have misused a state driver to chauffeur his ailing wife.
The former state comptroller also represented Forest Hills and parts of western Queen in the state Assembly and served as the city comptroller. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor in a four-way Democratic primary in 2001 and finished fourth behind Public Advocate Mark Green, Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer and City Council Speaker Peter Vallone.
Reach reporter Steve Mosco by e-mail at smosco@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
