Soon after arriving in his office at the Legislative Office Building, State Sen. Kevin Parker orders his staff to “huddle up.” Eleven hours before the Senate voted to expel Hiram Monserrate, Parker wanted to give a pep talk.

“Today is going to be crazy,” he said, after everyone had filed in and the door was closed. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen at this point. But it’s going to be pretty intense.”

Last year, Parker was indicted on assault charges related to an attack on a New York Post photographer outside his home. A year before, he was arrested after punching a traffic officer during a dispute over a citation he was receiving. And later on this particular day, Parker would again make headlines for reportedly “charging” State Sen. Diane Savino in a closed-door conference before Deputy Majority Leader Jeff Klein stepped in his way.

The impending vote was clearly weighing heavy on Parker, a garrulous Democrat from Brooklyn with his own illicit record.  One thing he would not talk about, though, is how his situation relates to Monseratte’s. There are no parallels, no connections between them Parker said, pushing back on every question.

But there are many who believe that by expelling Monserrate, other scandal-prone legislators could soon follow, including Parker, who is trying to work out a plea deal with the Brooklyn district attorney’s office. A bill was recently introduced that would make any misdemeanor conviction grounds for immediate expulsion.

 “I would take a close look at that bill,” said State Sen. Marty Golden, one of the more vocal supporters of Monserrate’s removal. “That could have some implications for some of our members who commit crimes like this.”

As for Parker, Golden said, “I think he may have a problem.”

But despite the ominous tones of the day, Parker was in a lively mood.

“You’ll be happy to know I’m not making any statements to the media,” he said to his staff. They responded with a resounding cheer.

This would turn out to be false. Over the course of the day, Parker spoke to reporters from NY1, the ABC affiliate, the New York Times, the Times-Union and the New York Daily News.

“The charges filed against me are totally different and have nothing to do with this,” he told a reporter from CNN when asked how today’s vote relates to his own legal situation. “It’s an unrelated issue.”

Even at the Codes Committee meeting that morning, tensions were high. Parker and Golden sparred (verbally) over a bill that would penalize businesses that did not post signs displaying a list of workers rights.

“This is not cumbersome,” Parker said. “Take the sign the Department of Labor gives you, take some thumbtacks and stick it up.”

“You are putting good businesses out of business,” Golden interrupted, “they can’t afford the fines!”

Their voices rising, Parker and Golden continued to try to talk over one another. Eric Schneiderman, the committee chair, attempted to head off the fight, but not before State Sen. Stephen Saland chastised them both.

“I have never seen behavior like this,” Saland said. “Those types of exchanges have no place in this committee.”

That evening, in conference committee, Parker took things a step further in the latest near-fistfight between the Senate Democrats, yelling “You want a piece of me?” at Klein.

The day after, Parker said he apologized to the people involved. But when pressed for an explanation, he worked up a version of events that had him valiantly defending the Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson with suggestions of another coup—which others in the room dismiss as another invention from a nervous colleague.

“There are some people who tried to make a move against the leader,” Parker said, referring to Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson. “Some people who were conspiring to get together with the Republicans and try to take away the Democratic majority. I wasn’t going to stay quiet or silent while that happened.”

Just as he believes the people who kicked out Monserrate were still angry over the coup, Parker says his own detractors are motivated by revenge. And he traces it all back to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“Who’s bringing the charges?” he asked rhetorically. “The Post. Who owns the Post? Rupert Murdoch. And who’s friends with Murdoch?”

Bloomberg, according to Parker, is orchestrating his indictment on assault charges and the resistance to a plea deal in retaliation for the senator’s opposition to the mayor’s congestion pricing proposal in 2008, in addition to his decision to block the vote to reauthorize mayoral control of schools last year. Not to mention the Bloomberg-backed primary challenge from then-City Council Member Simcha Felder in 2008, a race Parker won, he said.  

“It’s the mayor’s people,” he said.

He also attempted to tamp down the characterization of himself as a hot-head prone to flying off the handle. The charges against him for punching the traffic agent, for instance, were dropped after Parker agreed to enroll in anger management classes.

“I must be the worst bully in the history of America,” he said. “I can’t even get a lucky punch in.”

Parker was one of only eight votes against expelling Monserrate. He said he understands why his colleagues are angry, but he disagrees with their methods. After years of Republican rule, the Democratically controlled chamber is trying to improve itself—62 imperfect senators striving for perfection, he said.

“Take the Sphinx,” Parker said, who, between days in Albany and his travails is a part-time professor of African-American studies and political science at Brooklyn College. “The notion of the Sphinx is the idea of a human face on the body of an animal. What makes you human is your ability to control your animal instincts.”

Democrats, he said, are trying to control their animal instincts, through ethics reform and rules changes, and yes, even by expelling one member who had become too much of a liability.  

“This is an idea of becoming better and being better,” said Parker who, later this year, could face seven years in prison if convicted of assault. “Everybody wants to be better.” 

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ABOVE: Now that Hiram Monseratte has been expelled, State Sen. Kevin Parker may be next in line. Photo by Patrick Dodson