ROSENDALE - A Rosendale man said on Thursday that he plans to press charges against U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, alleging the congressman struck him on the head during an argument at the recent Rosendale Street Festival."I do intend to press the issue," said Paul Lendvay, 46, who is the chairman of the Catskill Regional Friends of the National Rifle Association.Lendvay said he would file a criminal complaint against Hinchey, D-Hurley, with the Rosendale Police Department, but no complaint had been filed as of Thursday afternoon.A Hinchey spokesman said there is "absolutely no truth or validity to the claim" being made by Lendvay.Lendvay said he was manning an NRA table that had several guns on it during the Rosendale festival on July 19 and that he also was selling tickets to an NRA banquet and raffle tickets to win two firearms. He said Hinchey approached the table and picked up one of the guns that was being raffled, a 38-year-old Winchester 94 Teddy Roosevelt commemorative rifle, to look at it. Lendvay said he told the congressman to put the rifle down - because part of the NRA's agreement with Rosendale police was that no one except the people manning the table would be allowed to touch the weapons - and that when Hinchey "took his sweet time" in obliging, an argument ensued.Lendvay said he then offered to sell Hinchey a ticket to the banquet, Hinchey said he already had one, and Lendvay called him a liar - prompting an exchange of profanities."I told him what I thought of him as a person and as a congressman, and neither was pleasant," Lendvay said. "I don't like the man." Lendvay said that, during the argument, Hinchey approached him where he sat and "hit me on the top of my head." The congressman then left, Lendvay said.Hinchey could not be reached for comment on Thursday, but his spokesman in Washington, Jeff Lieberson, said Lendvay's claims were unfounded and that the congressman was "puzzled as to where this would come from.""There was no physical altercation of any kind," Lieberson said.Rosendale police said on Thursday that they were aware of Lendvay's complaint but that he hadn't filed a formal charge. Police said that, based on what they knew of the alleged incident, a charge of misdemeanor assault would be unwarranted. Harassment, a violation, would be the more likely charge, they said.Lieberson questioned Lendvay's motives in making the allegation nearly three weeks after the fact and speaking to the press before going to the police. The Hinchey spokesman speculated that Lendvay had a political motive and was "trying to plant a negative story in the press before an election."
Maurice Hinchey hits man
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