A once-powerful Democratic political consultant pleaded guilty yesterday to a felony securities-fraud charge and admitted that he played a central role in an influence-peddling scandal that shook the state’s massive pension fund (See Plea Agreement). “I intentionally engaged in fraud, deception…(and) corruption,” Henry “Hank” Morris said before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lewis Bart Stone (See Profile), his voice low but steady as he admitted being at the fulcrum of the pay-to-play scheme at the $125 billion retirement pool, one of the world’s largest government pension funds.
Mr. Morris acknowledged using his ties to former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi to get millions of dollars in payouts for himself, to channel money to cronies and to solicit campaign contributions for Mr. Hevesi from firms seeking state business. Essentially, Mr. Morris acted as an expensive go-between for firms seeking a piece of the state pension fund investment pie: They were told that their chances of sealing multimillion-dollar deals would improve if they paid him or certain others as “placement agents,” prosecutors said. Mr. Morris had argued in a motion to dismiss that the Martin Act could not apply to him because he was not an employee of the state. Also, he contended that the use of politically connected individuals to acquire access to state pension fund dollars is a long-standing practice in Albany. However, most of his arguments were shot down by Justice Stone (NYLJ, July 30).
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