Another great Clinton photo [View All]

[geek tragedy]

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E07E0DA1039F937A15751C0A9679C8B63

The federal authorities in Manhattan are investigating whether there were any violations of the law in President Bill Clinton's decision to commute the sentences of four Hasidic men who were convicted of defrauding the government of tens of millions of dollars, people familiar with the investigation said.

Details of the investigation were not available, but questions have been raised in recent weeks about whether clemency for the four men was in exchange for votes for Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was running for the United States Senate.

Three of the four men are from New Square, N.Y., a village in Rockland County that on Nov. 7 voted 1,400 to 12 for Mrs. Clinton over Rick A. Lazio, a Republican congressman.

The tight-knit community, which has voted in the past as a bloc for candidates from both parties, had mounted an aggressive campaign to win the men's release.