N.Y. Congressman confesses to soliciting two men for sex

[ WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Frederick Richmond, D-N.Y., confessed to his constituents but pleaded innocent in the courtroom yesterday to having solicited sex from two young men at his capital home.

After sending Brooklyn voters a letter in which "I prayerfully ask for your compassion and understanding" of his homosexual overtures, Richmond was formally charged in city court.

The brief arraignment, on a misdemeanor count of sex solicitation, took place after his law⚫yers had arranged with prosecutors to have the two-term congressman enrolled in a program for first offenders, thereby probably avoiding the nonjury trial set by Judge Dyer Justice Taylor for May 5.

Richmond, 54, a millionaire two-term congressman who is divorced and has one son, appeared drawn and red-faced in court. He was rushed into a waiting car immediately upon his release on personal recognizance. The charge is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $250 "fine.

Despite the innocent plea, a technical necessity for the leniency program, Rep. Richmond in his letter to constituents acknowledged he had solicited "a young man" (16 years old, government sources said) after taking him to his home about a year ago. And "Last February, I made further solicitations with payment of money, in my own home to a man who, unbeknownst to me, was an undercover police officer."

The police investigation came after parents of the boy complained, sources said.

In his "Dear Neighbors" letter, Richmond said that "during various periods of personal stress, I made bad judgments involving my personal life."

He told them it was "an extremely difficult time for myself, my parents, my son, my staff — and for you."

Even so, he said he would continue to represent his 14th Congressional District and "with an * unshakeable faith in God and a firm belief in the human capacity for undersanding and compassion, my family and I will survive this ordeal ... I apologize from the bottom of my heart for any hurt I might have caused."

The case was personally reviewed by Atty. Gen. Griffin B. Bell. Columnist Jack Anderson I said "high-level" officials had considered dismissing the case if Richmond would quit or refrain from seeking re-election but that was denied by the department.

Richmond's home near Washington's Embassy Row includes a full-time chef and maid. He also maintains an apartment in Brooklyn, a house Con Manhattan's Sutton Place and a home in the Carribean.

He is known to regularly date a Washington

woman.

Public reaction to Richmond's appeal was running in Richmond's favor, his press secretary

Rep. Frederick Richmond

Associated Press

said. And 21 members of the New York state congressional delegation, seven Republicans and 14 Democrats, issued a statement expressing their "compassion and support" for Richmond, whom they called one of the most effective and hardestworking congressmen.