N.Y. Politician Says He Cut Self in Suicide Try

Queens Borough President Donald Manes, whose political organization is under a cloud because of a bribery investigation, admitted today that he had slashed himself in the left wrist and ankle in a suicide attempt.

In a statement read to reporters from his hospital room, Manes said he lied in saying the wounds had been inflicted by two men who had been hiding in the back seat of his car and kidnaped him.

Early on Jan. 10, police officers found Manes in his car, dazed, bleeding profusely from his wrist and ankle and near death.

He underwent several hours of surgery at a Queens hospital, then was transferred to New York Hospital in Manhattan after it was discovered he had suffered a heart attack.

Allegations of Bribery

The incident occurred after it was revealed that officials of the Queens Democratic organization were under investigation for allegedly taking bribes to award lucrative contracts to collect parking tickets.

Reading the statement in a husky voice, Manes said today: “The wounds were self-inflicted. There were no assailants and nobody but me is to blame.

“The fact that I came to be in such a state of mind that would cause me to do such a terrible thing to myself is very painful for me to deal with.”

He said he had attempted to commit suicide for personal reasons he declined to outline.

Manes, 52, apologized for making up the story about being abducted by two men. He said he is under a psychiatrist’s care.