Upstate NY Congressman Faces Harassment Charge

ROSENDALE — Rep. Maurice Hinchey is not expected to appear in a Hudson Valley court for the first hearing in a harassment case against him.

Mr. Hinchey was ordered to court to answer the charge today. A spokesman says a lawyer will appear instead.

The chairman of the Catskill Regional Friends of the National Rifle Association, Paul Lendvay, claims Mr. Hinchey smacked him on the head after he criticized the Democratic congressman's politics and told him to put down a gun he was examining at a street fair in Rosendale on July 19.

Mr. Lendvay filed a second-degree harassment complaint against Hinchey on Aug. 11. Mr. Hinchey's office denies the charge, which is a violation, calling it a complete fabrication and politically motivated.

Rosendale is about 100 miles north of New York City.