Daily News from New York, New York • 305

DAILY NEWS, THURSDAY, JANUARY 26. 1978 19 Bid h-Mks Suati Waltz Oty Aroun in 3-Quarter Time? BROWNE resigned as the city's ethical questions himself. Says Gays By ARTHUR Stanley Kreutzer, who recently year ethical watchdog, is now facing City records show that over the last four years, Kreutzer received a full-time salary for his work as counsel to the Board of Ethics although he had all along considered himself only a part-time worker in fact the only "three-quarter-time" emplove on the citv pav-roll. Also, court records for the same period show that Kreutzer supplemented his full-time salary with private legal fees averaging S20.000-a-year for guard- ian and trustee appointments given him by the late Supreme Court Justice Samuel Spiegel. Will Seek Severance Kreutzer also says he will be filing PD Don't rust PBA isk fa-, By WILLIAM FEDERICI Several high-ranking police officers are gay but they and other cops won't come out of the closet because they don't trust the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, a gay rights leader said yesterday.

Bruce Yoeller. a co-director of the National Gay Task Force, said he had consulted "with several high-ranking officers" in key positions in the department but said they will not respond to the PBA's invitation to homosexual cops to come forward. PBA President Sam DeMilia has sent letters to members asking them to talk to him personally if they are gay. He promised strict confidentiality about the discussions, which, he said, were aimed at determining whether homosexuals can adequately do their jobs as cops. "These people are suspicious of De Milia and won't come forward." said Voeller.

He said he had talked with Steve Arniotes. legal counsel for the PBA's Civil Rights Division, and then had sent a Mailgram to DeMilia suggesting that the gay officers communicate with him through intermediaries. Steinem Is Named Two of the names he suggested were Richard Hongisto. former San Francisco sheriff and now Cleveland chief of po lice, and writer Gloria Steinem. A PBA spokesman scknowledged receiving the Mailgram and said the re sponse to the Task Force was that no intermediaries were necessary.

The PBA. said the spokesman, reiterated its offer for DeMilia to meet with gay cops. First Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Hoffman added an official note to the affair as he noted: "The issue ot affectional preference has never been part of the personnel policies of the Police Department not in hiring, assignment or promotion." News photo by Michael Lipack Mayor Koch joins real estate tycoon Harry B. Helmslev and his wife, Leona, in toast to the Palace Hotel. Into Glitter of Hotel Biz, Enter, The Palace By OWEN MOKITZ Symbolizing a remarkable hete! boom here, work yesterday on the $75 million New York Palace the newest luxury hotel, which will rise 5 stories behind the landmark Viliarti Houses on Madison Ave.

between 50th and 51st St. When the l.OW-room tower ens in the fall of 1980. the average room will cost about $100 a night the first New York hotel to approach that figure. Industry sources say the average first-class hotel room here goes, about $60, although it is inching uu. Mayor Koch rnd real estate tycoon Harry B.

Helmsley drank a champagne toast to the hotel. Helmsley newest venture here. It is also the city's biggest construction project will mean still another luxury entry in a bullish hotel market. Last year Now York City hotels, with about 100,000 first-class rooms, had their best year since 1969. Heimsley said that his two other hotels the Park Lane and St Moritz are at 300 capacity on weekdays.

Besides the Palace Hotel, they are big plans for other hotels. The Commodore is being leb-iilt on E. 42d St as the Hyatt Regency; Halloran House, at Yath St. and l.exngton biggest in the Howard Johnson network, will open soon; Heimsley himself is planning still other more economically-priced 500-room hotei on the East Side. At the New York Hilton, the city's largest, with 1,200 rooms, is considerirg the addition of a wing.

Helmsley's 560 foot-high rectangular-shaped tower will be entered through the Villard Houses, 100-year-old Italian Neo Renaissance structures facing Madison Ave. The Villard Houses will have sp-ce that is to be rented out to groups such as the Municipal Art Society, and other rooms to be used as banquet and meeting space for the hotel. The last occupant of the V.ltrd Houses was the Archdiocese of New York. The arcnidose will continue to own the land under the hotel, and will receive $1 mib'on in annual rent. The hotel will offer 775 double rooms and 103 suites ranging in size from one and two Dedrooms to three and four bedroom duplex and triplex maisonettes.

Beneath the hotel will be a 3.50-car parking garage. Of the $75 million. Helmsley is puttinf up S25 rniiiiori. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.

are providing the balance. The last luxury hotel to open here was the United Nations Plaza Hotel two years ago for severance payments, including any accumulated overtime, based on a three-quarter-time schedule. He explained that he hasn't determined how much he will apply for, but said that it will be that I am ethically, morally and legally entitled to." Spokesmen for the city budget and personnel departments say that over the last seven years, Kreutzer has received approximately $10,000 in raises based on the belief that he was a full-time emplove. His annual salary when left office on Jan. 5 was $37,400.

In 1974. however, based on statements by then Budget Director Melvin Lechner that Kreutzer was only a three-quarter-time employe, former Corporation Counsel Adrian Burke issued an opinion stating that Kreutzer was permitted to conduct a private law practice. Differing sharply with budget officials. Kreutzer said that his outgoing salary of $37,400 was only for three-quarter-time as the Burke opinion indicated. "Not Full Time Salary" "That is not a full-time salary.

My salary was part-time," Kreutzer said. "It was set at that level so that it would be commensurate with the salaries of top men in the corporation counsel's office if I worked full-time." Based on Kreutzer's analysis, his full-time salary would have been a year, more than $3,000 higher than the pay of anyone in the corporation counsel's office except the corporation counsel himself. By comparison, the full-time counsel to the mayor now earns $47,000 (S37.402 under Mayor Beame), while the full time salaries of counsels to various city departments now range between $25,000 and $35,000. Kreutzer left the city after 15 years to become a SlOO-a-day commissioner of the state's lobbying board. Accuses Ex-Cov Wilson in Lawsuit-Election Aid Trade-Off ices, would remain in office despite the change of administrations and therefore would be available to handle the settlement.

Denial by Wilson Fahringer said the builders also met O'Hara in late 1974 and again displayed the photostats of their campaign contributions. O'Hara told them. Fahringer said, that the governor's office had already called and had recommended a settlement. Asked about the allegations, the former Republican governor said that Fah- awarded a $9.5 mill ion negotiated claims settlement to the Foster-Lipkins construction firm in early 1975, a few months after Wilson's defeat at the polls According to Fahringer. officials from Foster-Lipkins and the subcontractor, Peter Brati, paid two visits to Wilson in late 1974 after contributing to Wilson's unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign.

Fahringer said the builders showed Wilson photostatic copies of their campaign gifts, and after pushing for a settlement, were assured by Wilson that he would "do his best." During a second meeting, Fahringer the builderr -were told that O'Hara. head of General Serv The disclosure came at the opening of the bribery trial of Martin Geruso. a former attorney in the General Services Office and a one-time aide to state Attorney General Louis Lefkowitz. Assistant District Attorney Stephen Shiffrin told the jury yesterday that Geruso obtained nearly $21,000 in alleged bribes from Bratti. At least $5,000 of the money, Shiffrin said, went to pay for the services of a prostitute and $2,000 for settlement of Geruso's Las Vegas gambling debts.

Bratti is expected to be one of two key witnesses against Geruso. and Fah ringer's disclosure to the trial jury was apparently, intended to damage Bratti credibility. By ROBERT CRANE Former Gov. Malcolm Wilson was accused yesterday of promising to arrange settlement of a muLi-million dollar lawsuit for a construction firm after he received $35,000 in campaign contributions from the firm and one of its subcontractors. The allegation, by Buffalo attorney Herald Price Fahringer, was made in Manhattan Supreme Court.

It was attributed to testimony obtained during a grand jury probe of the $985 million Albanv South Mall construction project. Wilson said later that the allegation is "totally false." The ex-governor said he had never met with the builders, as was alleged by Fahringer. The state Office of General Services I ringer's "statements made with respect to me are totally false." Wilson said "neither meeting took place." The builders could not be reached for com-' ment..