N.Y. Rep. Biaggi Indicted on Bribe, Conspiracy Counts

Rep. Mario Biaggi, whose image as a tough New York City cop earned him the nickname “America’s most decorated policeman,” and Meade Esposito, one of the last of the big city bosses until his retirement three years ago, were indicted Monday on federal charges of illegally helping a ship repair company.

Biaggi, who received 28 citations for bravery as a policeman and was wounded 10 times in the line of duty, and the tough-talking former Brooklyn Democratic boss were accused of bribery and conspiracy in alleged attempts to obtain favorable treatment from government agencies for Coastal Dry Dock & Repair Corp.

A Democratic congressman since 1969, Biaggi was also charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly conspiring with Esposito to block the grand jury’s investigation. The indictment charged that Biaggi, after he was interviewed by the FBI, obtained Esposito’s agreement to give false and evasive explanations for their conduct.

“I maintain my total innocence of all charges,” the 69-year-old congressman told a crowded news conference at the offices of his lawyer. “I have done no wrongdoing.”

Biaggi, who walks with a limp from an an injury suffered when stopping a runaway horse, said he had ultimate faith in the jury system. “The jury will separate substance from sensationalism,” he said. “I will be exonerated.”

Expenses at Florida Spa

The indictment charges that Esposito, in return for Biaggi’s agreement to try to expedite payment by the Navy of Coastal’s claims and to persuade New York City officials to reduce the company’s utility rates, paid the congressman’s expenses at a spa in Florida and agreed to pay them a second time.

Coastal, based in the former Brooklyn Navy Yard, was one of the largest clients of Seeres, Visone & Rice, a Manhattan insurance company of which Esposito was a principal owner. According to the indictment, Biaggi phoned Esposito in the midst of the investigation after he was interviewed by the FBI last June 2 and asked the former Brooklyn political leader to mislead the grand jury.

“It was further a part of the conspiracy that the defendants, Mario Biaggi and Meade Esposito, would provide false, evasive and misleading information to and conceal information from a United States grand jury, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Justice,” the indictment charged.

“It was further a part of the conspiracy that the defendants . . . would conceal the existence of the conspiracy and would take steps designed to prevent the disclosure of their activities to government investigators.”

Firm in Bankruptcy

After a more than nine-month investigation, prosecutors charged that Biaggi actively lobbied city officials, including Mayor Edward I. Koch, on behalf of Coastal Dry Dock & Repair. Biaggi wrote the mayor twice and, with Esposito, met with Coast Guard officials in New York. Biaggi met also with a U.S. senator, who was not identified in the indictment, on the company’s behalf. Coastal filed for bankruptcy on May 11, 1986.

Cites Pay for Hotel Stays

According to the indictment, Esposito, through intermediaries, paid for the stay of Biaggi and an unnamed guest at at the Bonaventure Hotel and Spa in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., during December, 1984, and January, 1985.

The indictment alleged that Esposito arranged for a lawyer to pay Biaggi’s first Bonaventure bill and for a printing company, of which Esposito’s daughter was an officer, to reimburse the lawyer. Prosecutors charged that the defendants conspired to repeat the same arrangements the next year, although the indictment does not allege that Esposito actually paid those expenses.

Faces 32 Years

If convicted of all charges, Biaggi could face 32 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Esposito would face the same fine and 27 years in prison.

Biaggi figures in another federal investigation in New York. His contacts with Wedtech Corp., a Bronx-based company that once was a $100-million-a-year contractor with the federal government, have been the subject of a lengthy investigation aimed at determining whether the firm used political influence to obtain government business. Biaggi has denied any wrongdoing in this matter.

In his 23 years as a New York City policeman and 18 years as a congressman, Biaggi has been no stranger to controversy. The congressman, who was born in a Harlem tenement, won the Police Medal of Honor, the department’s highest award, after killing a gunman who jumped into a car with him and a friend in an apparent robbery attempt.

But prosecutors questioned Biaggi’s version of the 1959 shooting, which was investigated by the Bronx district attorney’s office 14 years later. No charges were filed.

Ran for Mayor

In 1973, Biaggi ran for mayor, denying reports during the race that he had taken the Fifth Amendment before a grand jury looking into allegations of payoffs to congressmen who sponsored certain immigration bills. When the grand jury’s minutes were made public, it was disclosed that Biaggi had refused to testify.

Biaggi represents the 19th Congressional District of New York, which includes parts of the Bronx and Westchester County. He has had only token opposition in recent elections. He is a member of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee and is chairman of the subcommittee on merchant marine.

In his 16 years as boss of the Brooklyn Democratic organization, Esposito, now 80, wielded enormous political power in New York City. Even though he was a Democrat, he knew how to deal with Republicans. The late Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller once asked Esposito’s help in putting over a key piece of legislation. The Republican governor called the Brooklyn Democrat and asked for help in obtaining two votes. Esposito called back in 30 minutes with six favorable votes.

Rockefeller was a noted art collector, and Esposito once casually remarked how much he admired one of Rockefeller’s paintings. The governor took it off the wall and gave it to him.

Researcher Siobhan Flynn contributed to this story.