Fatal Flaw
In classic tragedy, the tragic figure has a fatal flaw that leads to his or her demise. In King Lear, for example, Lear's fatal flaw is hubris, as is often the case in tragedies.
Alan Hevesi seems to suffer from the same problem. The correct course of action for Hevesi is to resign from office, withdraw from the election, and when indicted, which no doubt he will be, to strike a plea agreement. Instead, he insists on fighting to the bitter end and enduring continued public humiliation that will only get worse as the days pass.
It's hard to fathom why, but I suspect that it's hubris, plain and simple. He felt that the law didn't apply to him, and in the words of the NYS Ethics Commission, that he could substitute his own judgment for theirs. Now he insists one mistake, no matter how criminal, should not erase 35 years of public service. Yes, it should. You break the law and abuse your authority and the public trust, especially as New York's chief auditor, and you don't deserve to be in office. He is pathologically unable to understand this fundamental truism. He is the big bad Alan Hevesi, the trusted public servant and steward. New Yorkers should be allowed to choose their own Comptroller, independent of what he feels are partisan machinations. True they do, but he has forfeited the right to earn anyone's trust, and I suspect he will find that New Yorkers will choose Chris Callaghan over him.
One way in which Hevesi does differ from classic tragic figures. He doesn't recognize his flaw. As a result, he deserves no sympathy or absolution. He will suffer a well deserved public humiliation.