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Commission To Examine Probes Into Spitzer Scandal

April 2, 2008

The State Commission of Investigation will examine previous and current probes into whether two of Governor Spitzer’s aides attempted to sabotage a political opponent with the help of the state police, the agency chairman, Alfred Lerner, said yesterday.

Meanwhile, Governor Paterson — who replaced Mr. Spitzer after he was connected to a prostitution ring and resigned in disgrace — has asked Attorney General Cuomo to investigate the state police to determine whether politics has inappropriately interfered with their work.

State statute gives the Commission of Investigation broad authority to look into potential corruption, fraud and mismanagement in government.

The commission won’t evaluate whether the Democratic Spitzer administration acted illegally or unethically when state police were asked to collect Senate Republican Majority Leader Joseph Bruno’s travel records. Instead, it will review investigations by the Albany County district attorney, P. David Soares, state Inspector General Kristine Hamann, and the state Commission on Public Integrity. The commission’s investigation could eventually branch out to other agencies that probed the scandal, including the attorney general’s office.

“We are concerned that the multiplicity of investigations has been somewhat dysfunctional,” Mr. Lerner, who was appointed by Governor Pataki, a Republican, said. “As a result of that, we thought it would be appropriate for us to determine whether these processes could be improved. It’s no secret that many people in this state have lost confidence in these investigations.” Mr. Spitzer has denied he directed the gathering of any documents concerning Mr. Bruno’s flights and said he didn’t order the release of any documents to the news media.

Last week, Mr. Soares issued a report saying Mr. Spitzer may have lied when he told investigators he wasn’t involved and that Mr. Spitzer could have been indicted had he not resigned. Mr. Spitzer’s former communications director and one of the aides implicated in the plot, Darren Dopp, told Mr. Soares that Mr. Spitzer was directly involved with the release of the records. Those new revelations seem to contradict a report Mr. Soares issued in September, saying no one in the Spitzer administration acted improperly and he found no evidence of a plot to discredit Mr. Bruno.

Source: NY Sun read the full story here

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