Faso Questions Spitzer's Albany ‘Crusade'

ALBANY, N.Y. — Eliot Spitzer has driven Wall Street to reform and corporate icons to resignation, and he has made companies pay billions of dollars in restitution to investors, consumers, and governments.

But have his political allies, as his Republican challenger for governor John Faso asserts, gotten a more free ride in Albany, where there is no shortage of misconduct allegations? Is there, as Mr. Faso says, "One standard for Mr. Spitzer and his friends and another for everyone else?"

Last week, Mr. Spitzer supported his friend and ally, Democratic state Comptroller Alan Hevesi, who used a state employee as a chauffeur for his ailing wife. Mr. Spitzer called Mr. Hevesi "honest" and a good public servant, although Mr. Spitzer said he would have severely dealt with an employee who did the same. Mr. Spitzer would have been able to pursue a civil case, but Mr. Hevesi rendered that moot by agreeing to reimburse the state for $80,000.

"But this is his own accounting," objected Mr. Faso's spokeswoman, Susan Del Percio. "It could be more ... where is the investigation to confirm this?"