Raymond B. Harding, former leader of the Liberal Party of New York, which has advanced the careers of mayors and governors, but fell into disfavor in the corruption scandal that toppled the state comptroller, Alan G. Hevesi, died Thursday in the Bronx.
The cause was cancer, said his son Robert.
Mr. Smith came to the Balkans, as a child, a Jewish refugee during the war, the father was beaten by the Nazis. His family survived the camps and a dangerous journey across the Atlantic with a gauntlet of attack submarines.
As a teenager, he got his new American name of a favorite radio program, "said David Smith, CounterSpy." He is a lawyer and became a protégé of Alex Rose, the legendary founder of the Liberal Party.
And from his rise to power in 1977 to his political death, when the Liberals lost their ballot line in 2002, Mr. Smith was one of the corridors of power entrepreneurs of the state, with his party small, but influential in helping to elect Mario M. Cuomo as governor, Rudolph W. Giuliani as mayor, Mr. Hevesi as the city and the state controller, and many other public officials.
Instead, Mr. Smith, a brave, smoking a cigarette behind the scenes tactics approval remained alive long after his party critics called irrelevant, has gained power and patronage. Taking advantage of his influence in City Hall and in Albany, said a high profile, government jobs to his allies, including his two sons, and builds extraordinary profits for themselves.
In 2009, however, pleaded guilty to charges of receiving $ 800,000 for favors to Mr. Hevesi - a fictitious agent for members of the driver to get lucrative contracts to manage $ 141 billion state pension fund and intrigues for a seat in the Assembly of State for the son of Mr. Hevesi.
Mr. Smith has worked with the state investigation that led to the arrest of Mr. Hevesi and others. The criminal charges against Mr. Smith fell, and his own conviction in 2011 in a unique crime number was saved from prison and allowed to remain with the money he had taken. But it was a stunning humiliation for one of the last political leader of New York days old.
Like his predecessor, Mr. Rose, Mr. Smith helped the Republicans and Democrats elected, taking advantage of the small liberal party members - only 1 percent of the electoral lists - something more important: a second place to vote for candidates who thus acquired an undeserved approval times as progressives. It also gave voters a disgruntled liberal Democrat and Republican, to appease their consciences.
Since New York is one of the few states that allow a candidate the votes are added as a candidate, the parties have little influence beyond all measure, because supporting candidates or get support.
In turn, are guaranteed a line to the next statewide ballot, if they receive at least 50,000 votes. Playing both ends against the middle, Mr. Smith might be a maker of kings and the orchestration of the survival of his party.
For students of politics, watching the maneuver Harding was a rite of the season in New York elections. He took the crown of tin capo political flavor: an overweight chin, with heavy eyelids, fingers stained yellow from unfiltered Camel, a booming voice, the eyes with sunglasses that many are intimidating. He was suddenly, and often spoke as if the writing aloud titles Tabloids - "LP" for the game, "libs" for the faithful.
Harding was a collaborator of L. Governor Hugh Carey 1975-1977. He became the leader of the Liberal Party after the 1976 death of Mr. Rose, who founded the party in 1944 with a program to keep Republicans and liberal Democrats honest.
The party helped the election of Democrat Robert F. Wagner and Republican John V. Lindsay, as mayors, Republican Jacob K. Javits as senator, Democrat Edward I. Koch as a young congressman, and Mr. Carey and Mr. Cuomo, both Democrats, as governors.
Mr. Smith has never been elected to any office and has had little use for ideology. An old joke was that the Liberal Party was neither liberal nor a party. He carried out without primary or convention and its candidates had a few.
Harding has decided that the Democrats or Republicans, to support in order to earn your patronage and rewards. His title was also a fiction: the vice president with absolute power, the president of being a figurehead.
His smartest decision that was said to have been his first embrace of Mr. Giuliani, a Republican, Democrat, David N. Dinkins for mayor in 1989. Mr. Dinkins won that election, but after Mayor Giuliani won in 1993.
Mr. Smith took advantage of a pressure group and employment guarantees for their children, Robert, as director of budget and the deputy mayor, and Russell, as Head of Housing and Development Corporation, although he was a deserter from the university with no experience in housing. But in 2005, Russell Smith was sentenced to five years in prison for embezzling $ 400,000 from the agency.
Asked about criticism from Democrats for backing Giuliani, Mr. Smith said: "Political parties serve a purpose The purpose of the Liberal Party at that time was to save and restore this great city, and has done so. Ask the leadership of Giuliani. "
The leader of the Liberal Party, was born Helen Marie Branko Hochwald Hochwald and January 31, 1935, in Herzegovina. While World War II he moved through the Balkans, the father was attacked by the Nazis and the family fled to Italy in 1941, taking refuge in a refugee camp in Calabria.
Jewish immigration in times of war the U.S. has been virtually banned in 1944 but were among the 1,000 Jewish refugees Hochwald granted safe haven by President Franklin D. Roosevelt - the only large group of Jews admitted during the war - as told in the book "Haven", a press photographer Ruth Gruber.
Raymond graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1953 and City College in 1957 with a degree in political science. After his military service as an infantry officer, he earned a degree in law at the University of New York in 1961.
Besides his sons, Mr. Smith is survived by his wife of 55 years, the former Elisabeth Einhorn, and two grandchildren.
He practiced law for five years between 1966 and 1969 was the city attorney, research inspectors damaged buildings. In 1975, he joined the staff of Governor Carey as disaster coordinator, military adviser and legislative liaison.
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