Alan Hevesi Granted Parole

Alan Hevesi, who was jailed in 2010 for his role in a scandal involving New York State's pension funds, has been granted parole, according to multiple published reports. 

Hevesi at one time served as the assemblyman for Forest Hills before becoming both New York City and New York State Comptroller.

He was jailed after an investigation by then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

"Alan Hevesi presided over a culture of corruption and violated his oath as a public servant," Cuomo said at the time.  "He was solely charged with protecting our pension fund, but he exploited it for his personal benefit instead." 

He served 19 months of a possible 4-year sentence. According to the New York Daily News, he should be released before Dec. 19.

Hevesi's son, Andrew, is the current assemblyman representing Forest Hills. In a statement through his office Thursday, he said he hoped his father's release would allow his family to close a painful chapter in their lives.

His statement is printed in full below: 

"My father has publicly acknowledged that he willfully allowed himself to become unbelievably arrogant, entitled and personally corrupt. He let corruption flourish around him by intentionally denying what was happening in his office. In addition to the betrayal of the public trust, my father has also taken responsibility for several lifelong patterns that have hurt his family and friends that are unrelated to what happened in the Comptroller’s office.
 
I have witnessed my father confront his personal failings and overcome his own denial and defense mechanisms in an attempt to regain the fierce integrity that has always defined him. I can say without hesitation that I have never loved him more, been more proud of him or been more resolute in aspiring to be a man like him than I am now.
 
My dad has owned and taken responsibility for his actions, he has been extensively punished for them, and now he and my entire family are closing the book on this part of our lives.”