Between Friends

By Jennifer Hull

Few people have paraded before the public in quite as many guises as New York City's Bess Myerson. The willowy brunet from the Bronx catapulted to prominence in 1945 as the first Jewish woman to become Miss America. In the 1950s, she was a television game-show star on The Big Payoff. By the early '70s, Myerson had entered government, making headlines as New York City Mayor John Lindsay's crusading commissioner of consumer affairs. In the city's 1977 mayoral race, the former beauty queen hitched her star to Ed Koch, accompanying the bachelor Congressman throughout his campaign. Said Koch after his victory: "I couldn't have done it without her." Following Myerson's unsuccessful try for the U.S. Senate in 1980, Koch appointed his close ally commissioner of cultural affairs in 1983.

Last week Myerson's political star dimmed considerably as she found herself embroiled in the scandals that have rocked New York over the past year. In a statement, Myerson, 62, announced that she is taking a 90-day unpaid leave from her $83,000-a-year job during a special city probe of her activities. Myerson also disclosed that she is the subject of a federal grand jury investigation into the activities of her companion, City Contractor Carl Capasso. Capasso, 41, was indicted the next day on charges that he evaded paying $774,600 in corporate and personal taxes.

Myerson's troubles began last month, when she invoked her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent during an appearance before the grand jury. She informed Koch of the incident only after a local television newscast reported it two weeks ago. Although Myerson explained that she had taken the Fifth on the advice of her lawyer, the mayor was distressed. Just six months earlier, he had threatened to fire city officials who failed to cooperate in such probes. Said Koch: "I want to find out the reasons for her appearance at the grand jury and whether her taking the Fifth Amendment in any way involves her performance as commissioner."

The mayor will appoint a special outside counsel to look into two allegations against Myerson: that she improperly used her influence to solicit a $53.6 million city sewer-renovation contract for Capasso, and that she abused her power by giving a job to the daughter of the judge who presided over Capasso's bitter divorce in 1983. During the divorce proceedings, Capasso's wife Nancy accused Myerson of "stealing" her husband. Records of the divorce action have been subpoenaed by the grand jury investigating Capasso.

As she left city hall last week, Myerson insisted she would return. "I ^ have done nothing wrong," she declared. "I state unequivocally that I never in any way helped Mr. Capasso to get any city contract." But the mayor, who has been stung by criminal prosecutions against more than half a dozen city officials, was hedging his bets on whether his erstwhile ally would reclaim her position. Said Koch: "I am withholding my judgment as it relates to her situation." Despite Myerson's determination, the former beauty queen may find herself ruefully pondering Shakespeare's famous lines about the head that wears a crown.

With reporting by Raji Samghabadi/New York