Lawmaker in Rape Case Under Pressure To Resign

Pressure is mounting on a City Council member of Queens charged with raping a woman in his campaign office to resign from the council.

At least one council member and the president of a Queens civic association are calling on the embattled Republican lawmaker, Dennis Gallagher, to step down, saying he cannot be an effective representative while mounting a defense against a 10-count indictment that charges him with rape, criminal sexual acts, and assault.

The council's standards and ethics committee is holding a closed-door meeting today to discuss the charges against Mr. Gallagher.

One committee member, Council Member Eric Gioia of Queens, said it would be appropriate to hold off on a council investigation until the Queens district attorney, Richard Brown, completes his own.

The president of the Juniper Park Civic Association, who has sparred politically with Mr. Gallagher and lodged complaints against the lawmaker with the city's department of investigation, Robert Holden, said the council member should resign or be removed from office.

Mr. Holden said he hopes to present a case to the ethics committee against Mr. Gallagher.

A council member of Queens, Tony Avella, also said Mr. Gallagher should resign.

"If he really believes he is innocent, then he should be devoting his full time to his defense," he said. "He is not going to be able to devote himself full time to his constituency."

Council Member Simcha Felder of Brooklyn said Mr. Gallagher should remain on the council, while other council members said they others did not want to weigh in, saying they preferred to let the council's ethics committee do its work and for the impending trial to run its course.

Mr. Gallagher's lawyer, Stephen Mahler, said his client appears resolute about staying on the council. On Friday, Mr. Gallagher stepped down from his position as minority whip and from the budget negotiating team and his committee assignments. The council member faces his term limit in 2009.

Mr. Mahler said he assumes Mr. Gallagher will attend today's council meeting at City Hall, the first since his indictment.

The last sitting council member to be indicted was Angel Rodriguez of Brooklyn in 2002. He remained on the council for five months, resigning just before he pleaded guilty to taking bribes.

In 1993, Council Member Rafael Castaneira Colon was indicted and charged with stealing $383,000 from the city budget about two weeks before the primary for his council seat, which he lost.

A former assemblyman, Roger Green of Brooklyn, resigned his seat in 2004 after pleading guilty to charging the state for free rides he accepted from a firm seeking state contracts.

The last time the council's ethics committee investigated a council member was in 2005, regarding allegations of sexual misconduct against Council Member Allan Jennings Jr. of Queens. The council voted to censure Mr. Jennings, stripped him of his committee assignments, fined him $5,000, and required him to attend anger management classes.