DA had planned to seek criminal charges against Spitzer.

The plot unravels in the Spitzer-gate...


ALBANY -- Under fire for his investigations of the Troopergate scandal, Albany County District Attorney David Soares defended his probes Monday and said he would have sought criminal charges against former Gov. Eliot Spitzer had he not resigned.

Soares, the first-term Democratic prosecutor, has been knocked for not aggressively pursuing Spitzer when it became clear that Spitzer was closely involved in a plot to release travel documents that allegedly showed Republican Senate Leader Joseph Bruno was using state aircraft for political purposes.

Soares released a report Friday that found Spitzer kept close tabs on the rollout of information to the media, constantly calling his staff to find out the status of the news stories and helping to orchestrate leaks. He also used profanity-laced tirades when he spoke of Bruno.

Soares said Monday in an interview with Gannett News Service that he planned to take Spitzer's role in the plot to a grand jury - but Spitzer resigned March 17 amid ties to a prostitution ring.
Soares said he gave immunity to his initial target - former Spitzer communications director Darren Dopp - in order to go after Spitzer.

"On February 5, we had given Mr. Dopp immunity in exchange for information and cooperation against the governor who became the target of our investigation," Soares said.

"Unforeseeable events transpiring caused us to take a different approach. The approach we took was to disclose publicly the information that we had garnered as a result of our investigation."

Soares, who has sought to make public-corruption cases a cornerstone of his office, was a surprise winner in his race for office in 2004. He gained attention statewide for his prosecution of former Comptroller Alan Hevesi, who used state aides to chauffer his wife. Soares also has gained national attention for his probes into steroid use among athletes and entertainers.

But Soares' political career may be tied to the Troopergate case. Soares said he planned to seek charges against Spitzer, such as official misconduct or malfeasance by a public official.
Spitzer was interviewed by Soares as part of Soares' initial investigation into the case last year.

Yet Spitzer was not questioned under oath, and Spitzer denied to Soares to being closely involved in the plot.

Soares has been heavily criticized for not questioning Spitzer under oath. As a result, he could not subsequently pursue perjury charges against Spitzer.

Some Republican lawmakers, including Bruno, have said the fellow Democrat covered up for Spitzer and his aides. Soares is seeking re-election this year, and Soares was helped in his initial election bid by the Working Families Party, which also backed Spitzer.

Soares' initial report in September found no criminal wrongdoing against Spitzer or his staff, claiming that it was not illegal for the executive branch to follow Bruno's use of state aircraft.

Senate Investigations Committee Chairman George Winner, R-Elmira, contended Soares dragged his feet when he learned in recent months from Dopp that Spitzer was involved in the plot against Bruno. Winner said Soares should have pursued other Spitzer aides, as well.

"When he found that Spitzer lied to him for sure in early February, he didn't do anything,"

Winner said of Soares. "He never convened a grand jury and as a result was still hiding under the desk. He was afraid of Spitzer."
But Soares said it was only after he offered Dopp immunity did he find Spitzer had apparently lied to him. He didn't pursue criminal charges against Dopp in order to get Dopp's testimony about Spitzer, Soares said.

Soares reopened his probe last fall after the state Commission on Public Integrity claimed Dopp may have committed perjury in testimony to the panel.

He said he did not put Spitzer under oath because his initial interview was conducted during an inquiry into Troopergate, not a criminal investigation.

"When he lied, he did not lie under oath," Soares said. "He did not lie in an official proceeding.

Troopergate was an inquiry. During an inquiry, you're asking questions to determine whether or not a crime had in fact occurred and if you believe that, then you begin an investigation."

Yet Soares never brought the initial case to a grand jury. Soares said he handled the case properly and employed the same procedures as in the Hevesi investigation.

"At the end of the day, it's where the evidence takes us and what the evidence will support," he said.

http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080331/NEWS01/803310361

For those that are not familiar to what is Troopergate:

The Eliot Spitzer political surveillance scandal (also known as Troopergate) broke out on July 23, 2007 when New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office admonished Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer's administration for ordering the State Police to create special records of Senate majority leader Joseph L. Bruno's whereabouts when he traveled with police escorts in New York City.