Albany NY attorney fired for supressing 2001 arrest of William Scott Ritter

Daily Gazette Schenectady, NY ^ | January 18, 2003

[catfur]

By MARNIE EISENSTADT Gazette Reporter

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COLONIE - The assistant district attorney who handled a 2001 misdemeanor charge against former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter has been fired for failing to tell her boss the case ever even existed. "I was shocked and angered to learn that the case had been disposed of by one of my assistant district attorneys without consulting me," said Albany County District Attorney Paul Clyne. "Any arguably sensitive case should be brought to my attention."

Details of the specific charge against Ritter, who sources said was arrested by Colonie police and charged with a class B misdemeanor on June 15, 2001, were sealed.

On Friday, Clyne fired Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Preiser, who had worked in the DA's office for 15 years. She did not return calls for comment.

[MeekOneGOP]

Thanks !...

[Labyrinthos]

Here's the poop... In New York, an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal ("ACD") essentially means that if the accused is a good boy for six months and complies with any conditions that the court might impose (such as community service, anger management classes, alcohol awareness classes, etc.), then the orignal charges are deemed a nullity and all records of the arrest and the resulting proceedings must be sealed from the public, although the records remain available to law enforcement personnel for good cause shown, parole and probation officers, and the local sheriff's department with respect to an application for a handgun permit. An ACD is a very common plea bargain for first time offenders who are charged with non-violent misdomeanors and violations regardless of the person's political connections.

As a side note, the person who writes the "Practice Commentaries" for the New York Penal Code, as published in McKinney's Consolidated Laws of New York, is Prof. Peter Preiser, from Albany Law School. I wonder if he's related to the assistant district attorney who was fired over this incident.

Here are the Class B Felonies under New York Law: Self abortion in the 2nd degree, unlaful manufacture or distribution of an abortion device, adultry, criminal possession of an anti-security item, issuing a bad check, attempt to commit any misdomeanor, unlawful dealing with a child, unlawful collection practices, conspiracy in the 6th degree, misconduct by a corporate officer, failure to report criminal communications, criminal tampering in the 3rd degree, criminal trespass in the 3rd degree, loitering to use drugs,failure to report wiretapping, tampering with private communications, enterprise corruption, fireworks sale in excess of $500, fortune telling, unlawful possession of a graffiti instrument, harrassment in the 1st degree, creating a hazard, public lewdness, loitering for prostitution with prior conviction, unlawful possession or sale of marihuana in the 5th degree, menancing in the 3rd degree, criminal nuisance, perjury in the 3rd degree, patronizing a ho in the the 4th degree, unlawful possession of a radio device, reckless endangerment of property, rent gouging in the 3rd degree, sexual abuse in the 3rd degree, unlawful use of slugs in the 2nd degree, stalking in the 4th degree, tampering with private communications, and unlawful assembly. Take your pick.

[catfur]

let me make this clear, I am an excellent speller and that promped should be prompted

[mewzilla]

Someone should ask Scottie about this.

[catfur]

As a side note, the person who writes the "Practice Commentaries" for the New York Penal Code, as published in McKinney's Consolidated Laws of New York, is Prof. Peter Preiser, from Albany Law School.

hmm... yes interesting.

Thank you for your research and reply here. FReeregards

[catfur]

Well, yes, someone has asked scottie about it and he said he knew nothing about it.

Someone should ask him about this the next time he appears as a talking head expert. Oh, I'm sure they will.... ahem thump... thump....thump waiting for the question...... tap... tap.... tap..... zzzzzzz

[lawdude]

"just what kind of an infraction would be designated a Class B Misdemeanor..."

Not very darn serious. Up to 3 mos. + $500.

As an example -

Also illegal (as a class B misdemeanor) is the unauthorized acquisition of information from a telephone company relating to its wires, cables, terminals, and so forth or concerning records of communications passing over its lines. A class B misdemeanor is punishable by up to three months in prison and a fine of up to $500.

[Howlin]

LOL @ the PINGPINGPING!

[catfur]

Thank you for the added info. Freepers are the best.

[Howlin]

In all fairness, however, the article indicates that he was charged, not convicted.

In all fairness, just because the case was dismissed doesn't mean he wasn't guilty of whatever he was charged with.

For all we know, Ritter could have scared the living hell out of the prosecutor and judge. He sure scares me to death.

[Mo1]

When The Daily Gazette attempted to obtain a copy of the incident report from the 41-year-old former Marine's arrest, the Colonie town attorney's office denied that request, saying the record was exempt from disclosure. But the office did confirm that the record for Ritter, whose full name is William Scott Ritter, existed.
Ritter, though, said he knows nothing about the arrest.
"Sorry, you must have the wrong person," he said Friday when reached at his home in Delmar.

My My My .. ain't that just special .. I wonder what he did??

[Howlin]

Man, I would REALLY like to know what that is all about!

[Howlin]

Any ideas how we can find out what this charge was?

[Mo1]

LOL .. So would I

It's most likely something stupid like he lost his temper or being a loud drunk or even punching someone in the nose .. all of which I could see Ritter doing

But what is also of interest is WHY did this attorney decided not to tell the higher ups about Ritter's case??

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Howlin]

Well, let's bookmark this so that when we DO find it -- 'cause you know *we* will -- we can show he lied!

[piasa]

He's been making the rounds at universities or a couple of years now.

[piasa]

Here's a link to a lib site with the announcement of Scott Ritter's Iraqi film deal

[piasa]

This is from the Washington Post :

Ritter said that several months later, at a hearing on Capitol Hill, he met Iraqi-born American businessman Shakir Alkafajii, who had heard Ritter attack U.S. policy toward Iraq. Alkafajii asked what Ritter could do to end the sanctions and break the impasse in relations between the United States and Iraq. "I said I could do a documentary," Ritter answered.

Alkafajii, who is accompanying Ritter as a "translator and cultural adviser," secured the travel visas for the crew and agreed to put up a $400,000 line of credit to finance the documentary.

Source : Ex-UN Inspector Ritter to Tour Iraq, Make Documentary

[RightWingMama]

Thanks for the pingpingping!

[piasa]

That is kind of strange- why not 'fess up to a minor thing, if it were just a matter of an out-of-date license plate or something like that? And if you didn't do it, all you need say is "I got pulled over for this or that, but it was an error so they never pressed the case."

Curiouser and curiouser. Denying it happened is only going to make people look harder.