Bill Thompson, in a letter never before published, begged a federal judge to spare his Brooklyn congressman boss jail time after the lawmaker pleaded guilty to tax evasion, drug and bribery charges, The Post has learned.
In the Oct. 16, 1982, missive, the Democratic mayoral challenger said then-Rep. Fred Richmond, who was facing up to seven years in prison, had been punished enough by the publicity and losing his elected office.
“As one who has witnessed the shame and humiliation that Fred has suffered, the living nightmare that he has endured, I feel that incarceration would serve absolutely no purpose,” wrote Thompson, who was Richmond’s chief of staff.
The letter noted the congressman was his child’s godfather and was like “family.”
The letter went on, “The psychological scars, the public noteriety [sic] and the prison that Fred has invented in his mind are things which he will carry for the rest of his life.”
Richmond, ironically, now has little good to say about Thompson and supports Mayor Bloomberg for re-election.
The letter to Judge Jack Weinstein was one of more than 50 in the publicly available court file reviewed by The Post, which included communications from Richmond’s son, parents, sister and several community leaders and officials with groups he had aided as a congressman. Thompson was one of only a handful who specifically urged no jail time.
Asked about the letter, Thompson campaign spokeswoman Anne Fenton said, “No one was more surprised and disappointed by Mr. Richmond’s actions than Bill Thompson. The letter, written 27 years ago, was a show of support for a man dealing with many personal challenges including substance abuse.”
Thompson noted in his letter that Richmond had been forced to resign his seat, and, “By his act of resignation and withdrawal of his candidacy for re-election, he has given up a great part of his life . . . This is the worst punishment that anyone could suffer.
“To say that he is repentant is a drastic understatement; devastated is a more accurate evaluation,” he added, praising Richmond’s staff as a “model” for other congressional offices.
Richmond, a four-term congressman, had been the subject of a wide-ranging probe by Brooklyn federal prosecutors.
He ultimately pleaded guilty to evading $50,000 in income taxes on his 1981 returns, possessing marijuana and illegally padding the salary of a civilian worker by setting up college tuition for a Navy Department worker’s daughter.
Richmond, a former head of Carnegie Hall and philanthropist who at the time was one of the richest men in Congress, was first arrested in 1978 over allegations of soliciting sex from a 16-year-old boy.
The charges were dropped after Richmond agreed to counseling, and he was handily re-elected.
But other probes followed.
There was grand-jury testimony from former staffers saying his aides had bought drugs for him, according to press accounts at the time. The feds were also probing his involvement with the timber company he created and how a Massachusetts fugitive ended up on the House’s payroll.
Richmond told The Post all the drug-related issues were out of his Washington office and didn’t involve Thompson, who was stationed in New York. Richmond was sentenced to one year and a day. While awaiting sentencing, a bodybuilder killed himself in his Sutton Place apartment.
Richmond was sprung about six months early, then went to live in Paris before coming home. He now works with his philanthropic foundation.
In the letter, Thompson wrote, “I have known Fred for over 8 years. When I started working with Fred, I was fresh out of college and have watched Fred grow over the years and have grown personally and professionally with him.”
He added, “On a personal level, Fred and I have become family over the years.”
He said that Richmond “is the individual who has provided the greatest guidance and direction in my life” and that he had been “shunned and scored by even his closest friends” thanks to the scandal.
But Richmond, now 85, slammed Thompson, telling The Post he gave Thompson his start “on the recommendation” of his dad, William Thompson Sr., a former state high-court judge.
“He’s not worthy of being mayor,” Richmond said, praising Mayor Bloomberg as “a walking genius” and saying that, as city comptroller, Thompson steered the municipal pension funds poorly.
“Between his father and me, he’s had everything handed to him on a silver platter.”
He went on to call Thompson a “weakling” and added, “He didn’t turn out to be a very good friend . . . after all, I was his employer and mentor and brought him up, and when I came back to New York, he never contacted me, except for [campaign staffers asking] for money.”
Baruch College political-science professor Doug Muzzio, said, “I think, for the most part, the second-tier candidates [such as city comptroller], even though they’re citywide candidates, tend not to get . . . the depth of the background investigation, that mayoral candidates do.”
Muzzio, who said he himself was once an elected official’s chief of staff and understood Thompson’s feelings of loyalty in penning the letter, added that humiliation is punishment but “is it sufficient punishment in a felony criminal case? My feeling is no.”
Richmond, who worked on major anti-poverty initiatives, said he had been guilty of “arrogance” at the time of his crimes.
maggie.haberman
@nypost.com