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Scandal swirls as mayor vanishes

The disappearing act comes amid a federal investigation.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Under federal investigation for embellishing his Army service in Vietnam, a groggy-sounding Mayor Robert Levy called in sick at City Hall, climbed into his city-issued Dodge Durango and seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth.

A spokesman issued a 36-word statement saying the mayor was going on indefinite medical leave. That was a week and a half ago. Aides say he is in a hospital, but they won't say where, why or for how long.

The mystery and the gathering scandal over Levy's military record have worried civic leaders in this seaside casino resort, which has a long history of corruption, with four of the last eight mayors busted on graft charges and one-third of last year's nine-member City Council in prison or under house arrest.

"It's a national embarrassment," said City Council member Bruce Ward, who asked a judge Friday to declare the mayor's seat officially vacant and clear the way for the council to name a replacement.

Last fall, the Press of Atlantic City investigated Levy's accounts of his wartime service and used military records to verify that Levy was a 20-year Army veteran with two Bronze Stars and two tours of duty in Vietnam. But the newspaper found he was not a member of the storied Green Berets, as he had claimed.

Shortly afterward, Levy admitted misrepresenting his record.

"I'm sorry for having this happen at all," Levy told the Associated Press in November. "It's something I should have corrected 40 years ago."

But now, federal authorities are looking into whether Levy, 64, made the false claims with the intention of bumping up his veteran's benefit payments, an official with knowledge of the investigation said last week, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Military benefits

Specifically, investigators want to know whether Levy was properly awarded a Combat Infantryman's Badge that was used to obtain about $25,000 more in military benefits than he otherwise would have been entitled to, the official said.

Levy spokesman Nicholas Morici and the mayor's attorney, Edwin Jacobs, did not return messages over the past few days. Aides will not say anything about the mayor's condition, citing medical privacy laws. But close aide Domenic Cappella said Levy will remain on sick leave for weeks.

About two dozen demonstrators gathered outside City Hall on Friday to protest the stalemate.

Even before word of his embellishments became known, Levy was frequently absent from City Hall. Levy, who took office more than a year and a half ago and makes about $100,000 a year, took a leave several months ago because of what he said were back problems.

Before his disappearance, political opponents had begun gathering signatures to force a recall election, in part because of his sporadic attendance, along with his political affiliation with disgraced former City Council president Craig Callaway, who is serving a nearly 31/2-year federal prison term for bribery.

As for other city politicians, one council member is under indictment on charges of helping to set up another council member who was lured to a motel and filmed having sex with a prostitute.

Another council member is facing charges he drunkenly drove his city-owned car across the Boardwalk and onto the beach in the wee hours.

Cappella, who is the city's business administrator, told the Press that Levy called him from home Sept. 26, sounding groggy, and turned over power to Cappella.

[Last modified October 7, 2007, 01:54:05]